Halloween Celebration And It’s Relevance

I have always regarded Halloween as one of the special holidays in a year. But Halloween is not like Christmas or Valentines day, where we celebrate Christ and saints. This is not the case in Halloween. In here, we celebrate the souls of those who passed before us. Sounds scary, right? Actually, it ain’t so, for in reality it is really a fun celebration.

All Saints day, which falls on November 1, is sometimes confused with Halloween, which falls on the last day of October. In the 1600s, the word Halloween was first manifested. A variant of the fuller Scottish term “All-Hallows-Eve” is what the word represents. All-Hallows-Eve is what they call the night before All Hallows Day.

Halloween is celebrated around the world in many ways nowadays. Although not all celebrates it, those who do has different views on its traditions and importance. Because it can often be seen particularly in iconic and commercial events, other nations tend to follow the American way of celebrating Halloween.

Usually, Halloween is celebrated by parties in which participants will attend wearing different kinds of costumes. This is more prominent in the U.S, of A. The costumes are often like ghost, witch, ghouls but recently more costumes are being used such as characters from TV series, Pirates of the Caribbean Costumes, space-themed costumes, and much more. As for the kids, they celebrate Halloween through Trick-or-Treating. Children of all ages wear different kinds of costume and then go door-to-door asking each homeowner for candies by shouting “Trick-or-Treat”. Usually the homeowners give the children candies, but if they don’t the kids will usually do a mischievous but harmless prank to the homeowner, which is the “trick” in the phrase Trick-or-Treat. Although some people view this tradition as a nuisance, many people enjoy seeing little kids wearing monster costumes or Pirates of the Caribbean Costumes while roaming the streets asking for treats.

Halloween is rarely noticed here in the Philippines, because people are more focused on All Saints day. But lately, especially in the urban areas of the country, some people celebrate Halloween. When I was a kid, we did not experience Trick-or-Treating, for at that time we did not know what it is. In my elementary days, however, we would plan a Halloween party, although usually on November, instead of the last day October. We would go to school wearing costumes instead of our uniforms. After our classes, which would be dismissed early because we would only take our quizzes and have no lectures, we would have our party. Nowadays, I see children, sometimes wearing costumes, go door-to-door asking for treats. But because some people cannot (or prefer not to) buy costumes, you will see improvised costumes such as a boy zombie wearing a “barong” while having lots of powder on his face, or a girl princess wearing a gown her parents probably got for a weeding or something. Although I do not see character costumes like Pirates of the Caribbean Costumes, at least the spirit is there. And it is still a lot of fun to watch!

Although a lot of fun, there lies a deeper meaning on the celebration of Halloween. Halloween actually teaches us death and mortality. We should value our own lives, for once it’s lost, it’s gone forever. And also, we should enjoy our lives to the fullest, for it only comes ones.

Have a great fun Halloween!