October 27, 2012
Becoming Someone (Or Something) Else For One Night
Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve, Dia De Los Muertos, Samhain- countries and cultures across the globe celebrate the end of autumn and the beginning of winter in endless ways. Often these celebrations are at the end of October or the beginning of November, and they usually have some sort of connection to the afterlife or the supernatural.
Getting ready for Halloween begins early in my family. My sister and I have already carved pumpkins (and they have already rotted).
I am an American girl, and my experiences with Halloween have not extended far past the average American customs of trick-or-treating and costume parties. Even so, the traditions that my family and country take part in are something that I hold very dear to my heart. When September rolls around and my life is once again consumed by homework, school, and panicking over grades, I only have to look a few weeks into the future to find Halloween celebrations begin. My family starts off the the month of October with Halloween decorations- my front porch is covered in fake spider webs, Halloween themed stickers, and skeleton shaped lights at this very moment- and cookies- sugar flavored baked goods that are decorated with sloppy (yet delicious) icing spiders and ghosts. Tomorrow I am headed to a friend’s house to carve pumpkins and roast pumpkin seeds, and on Wednesday I will be throwing on a costume and handing out candy to all the little ghouls and vampires at my door. Halloween celebrations, to me, mean pumpkin-flavored everything; costumes, both of the last minute variety and ones that have taken months to perfect; and candy- far, far too much candy. I know that I will feel sick on the first day of November from eating too much, and I know that the pumpkins we carve this weekend will probably rot before Halloween due to the Texas heat (the black mold makes it that much scarier), and I know that the costume my sister has spent months making will be forced to the back of the closet until next year, but I don’t care, and neither does anyone else. It’s the beauty of Halloween, the one night that you can put on a costume and become whoever you want to be- an alien, a princess, a ninja, a Hogwarts student. It is one of the many reasons that October is my favorite month of the year.
Celebrating Halloween the way my family and I do is just one of the literally infinite ways to participate in end-of-October festivities. Halloween originated from a Celtic festival that dates back 3000 years, which likely merged with Roman celebrations before it was influenced by Christianity. From there it has evolved into many different celebrations and holidays. Although Americans generally do not celebrate the religious aspects of Halloween, the idea that the living and the dead come together on this night is one that is still widely accepted in other versions of the holiday (and one that I find beautiful). I think the rich history of Halloween and the varied cultures that participate in it is one thing that makes Halloween so unique.
And so now I have a question for readers: How do you celebrate Halloween? Do you call it by a different name, do you have different traditions or beliefs? How has your culture impacted the way you celebrate this holiday?
And of course, the most important of all- how many times have you dressed as a Harry Potter character for Halloween? (My answer: 4)
Kara O'Brien
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Elizabeth, I love this article! Halloween is my favorite time of the year too. My family has Irish roots, and we tend to celebrate it with a traditional Celtic twist–which means building fires (usually in the fireplace. Bonfires are more traditional–but in the middle of a pine forest, not a great idea), baking lots of tasty treats, and staying up till the wee hours reading tarot cards and playing games. Before we go to bed, we set places at the table for people who have died in our family–often with specific treats they were fond of–in the hope they’ll carry on the party long after we’re asleep.
To the Celts, Samhain (their name for it) was this biggest party of the whole year (and trust me, those guys knew how to party) because it was the harvest festival, a celebration of the dead and the fairie worlds, and their New Years as well.
So that’s where my Halloween traditions come from–though we also dress up, of course, carve pumpkins–which is a remnant of the old Celt’s tradition–and eat way too much candy as well. Because, let’s face it, what’s the point of Halloween if you don’t have a major stomach ache the next day?!