Creepy-looking pumpkins, black cats, fake blood and candies—that’s right, Halloween! Other than Christmas, Halloween has always been my favorite western festival to celebrate. The usual spookiness combined with the opportunity to scare people without getting reproached by angry parents is what makes Halloween epic for me. If you are also a fan and already thinking of what to wear, then this is for you: keep reading and learn more about the cultural (and fun) aspect/myths of Halloween! Hopefully, by the end of the article, you’ll love it, too.
To understand why Halloween fascinates me so much, let’s return to its long, storied, and multicultural history: this holiday traces its root all the way back to “Samhain”, a celebration held by the Celtic Pagans. Samhain (pronounced sow-in) marks the end of the Celtic New Year, signifying the winter soon to come, according to the Boston Public Library’s article, “The Origins and Practices of: Samhain, Día de los Muertos, and All Saints Day.” Traditionally, winter is related to death in Paganism, and Samhain was the day when the boundary between the dead and the living became easily breachable, allowing the spirits of the dead to visit the living world. The Pagans would put photographs of their deceased relatives and bake Samhain bread so the spirits do not leave hungry. Some families would take a walk in nature and form a circle and share stories of their deceased loved ones. Many of the rituals are still carried down today to the Wiccans (modern pagans) and people continue to celebrate Samhain as their ancestors did a long time ago.
In central and southern Mexico, people have their own—and unique—way of celebrating the dead. “Día de Los Muertos” or “Day of the Dead” as translated in English, is entirely different from Halloween, which is commonly celebrated in European countries. La Día de Los Muertos is a bright and hopeful celebration that usually has little elements of dark and spookiness involved. As mourning is considered disrespectful in the culture, the day is spent not on the loss of a loved one, but is instead focused on the joy and happiness of life. Calaveras (skulls) and calacas (skeletons) are common decorations for the festival, along with flowers, candles and pan de muerto (bread of the dead). Families also set up altars to put pictures of their deceased relatives. For those who celebrate La Día de Los Muertos, it is only through celebrating life can one honor the dead.
And there’s more! On of that, most Christian church goers would hasten to add that All Saints Day could not be ignored as another way of honoring the dead. As the name suggests, it is a day to worship all the saints of the church. For Catholics, it is a day to honor the spiritual connection between Heaven and Earth, while to the Methodists, it is also about showing God the gratitude of everyday life. Sometimes certain figures of Christian history are celebrated too.
Despite the many differences resulting from cultural and religious beliefs, all of the three festivals are united in their celebration of life and death, a renewal of memory of the past and looking ahead into the future. Across cultures, we seem drawn to remembrance, and that’s a unique facet of Halloween.
But is Halloween losing its original meaning due to commercialization and pop culture influences? A good place to start is to think about what we often associate Halloween within a 21st century context. Arguably, a large part about the holiday is about dressing up, and I’ve been well informed by a variety of people on this topic: aurora and maleficent from the Disney film Maleficent, mean girls is just another popular choice, and still some people choose the slightly more old-fashioned vampires or wizards. Many of these ideas often come from books, movies, TV shows and YouTube videos that we’ve watched, as social media and different ways of sharing information shape the way we think and behave. A hundred years ago, it was hard to picture children running in the street wearing fluffy white dresses because Disney was not popular then, and going even further back in time, a person in modern-day stylish hot pink barbie costume would be—at best—considered a weirdo.
This anachronism was not the only disconnection when it comes to Halloween. Incongruity is another one where it operates not on a time difference, but spatially. A group of children in colorful clothes singing and dancing could be judged as offensive and disrespected when carried in a church, although it would have been fitting on the streets of Mexico. Same day, but different places. Connecting with nature might have been a favorite way to celebrate the Wiccans, but hardly thought of by most teenagers in the U.S. who own a cell phone. In both cases, the geographical and spatial distance between those three cultures (and I am sure many more) are distinct. And as the melting pot of cultures, religions and background America is, it is hard to reconcile those different styles and ways of celebrating “Halloween.”
However, the anachronism and incongruity might not be entirely a bad thing. I like to think of how every day we are simultaneously living and creating history, just like with every new bestselling horror book of Stephen King there might be a new inspiration for Halloween pranks. It is through those art forms and the interpretations, reevaluations and transformation of those art forms that the present is being morphed with the history, and the history integrated into the presents. It seems exciting to me that the trendy fashion and social norms are constantly changing when it comes to Halloween. In our own way, we are talking to a past that expands beyond a single culture: we are “reimagining” ancient celebrations and turning it into something of our own, with distinctive marks of our own time, own background, cultures and beliefs.
In addition, the incongruity is perhaps more of an opportunity than a “problem.” At an intentionally diverse place like Andover, everyone is free to celebrate whichever holidays as they are most comfortable with. It is truly a celebration of all races, identities and religions. And I would say that in an effort to make sure no one feels incongruous or out of place, the ancient traditions of “Halloween” are not lost but added with a new meaning—that everyone belongs.
At this point, if you have read this far, I certainly hope you have learned some new things and possibly came up with a better idea for your Halloween costume. Because ultimately, Halloween should be about having fun. As the clock ticks to Abbotween, I encourage you to make your holiday one that is funny, quirky and silly. This could be a chance for you to be who you wanted to be, while ironically in the costume of someone else. Don’t be afraid of trying out new things and exploring new territories, or asking how your friend from another country celebrates Halloween. Who knows, maybe together you will come up with the spookiest multicultural decorations for your dorm!
