Halloween: HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT THIS HAUNTED HOLIDAY??

Undoubdedly, it is a good question!
Since I didn’t know very much about the origins of this holiday, I decided (as Sarah suggested us to do!) to surf the net to search for further information and I found a lot of interesting things! :-)

First of all, its name is a shortened form which stands for All-hallow-even, as the 31th of October is the eve of All Halows day (i.e. All Saints day) and traces its origins back to the ancient Gaelic festival called Samhain, which celebrated the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. It is believed that on that day the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead are blurred, so people used to dress as otherworldly creatures in order to drive out evil spirits. This gradually evolved into trick-or-treating because children would knock on their neighbors’ doors, in order to gather fruit and sweets for the Halloween festival. During the centuries this ancient belief spread throughout Europe and in the 19th centrury was exported in America, where it became a rooted tradition.

Nowadays these ‘American’ custom of celebrating Halloween has influenced our culture as well, even though in my opinion it has only become a way to make money and feed consumerism, as shops sell any kind of pumpkin and fancy dress, and the same do locals and discos, which organize for that occasion any kind of party and stay open till early in the morning!

As you clearly see, on the one hand it is difficult for me to have arguments in favour of this ‘imported’ custom, which I didn’t absolutely feel part of our tradition; however, on the other hand, I think that we should begin to open our mind to different traditions, as nowadays globalization is entering our world day by day: this doesn’t mean that we have to have the same holidays and celebrations which other countries have, but that we should know and appreciate the positive effects which they may have on our culture. For example, the Halloween festival can have positive sides as well, as this is an occasion in which children begin to overcome their fears of spirits, evil creatures and darkness by dressing up as monsters and ghosts, so that they can go out from rational thought, even if for a moment, giving free play to their wistful imagination and to the world of their dreams and fairy tales, which I think it is very important for their growth.

Let me know what you think about this topic!

Bye!