Halloween
From the festival of lights to the night of horror, the month of October has been full of surprises! With the rise in globalisation, traditions and values of diversified hues are being adopted regardless of the geographical borders. The world has become a ‘global village’ and events happening miles away have come to affect local happenings. One of the most influential celebration as such being Halloween. The origin of Halloween can be traced to the ‘Samhain’, an ancient pagan festival celebrated by Celtic people over 2000 years ago. The predominant belief being that the barriers between the natural and the supernatural world were broken and the dead could walk among the living during this period. Talking about ‘trick or treat’ or ‘guising’, the practice started in 1927 and evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain. It involves children going from house to house in search of candies and other goodies and playing a prank on those who refuse. Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween for Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold, stands for harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death. However with all the cultural aspects in place, we cannot deny that Halloween today has become highly commercialised. Yet, the very essence of it still remains and the night of ghosts never fails to intimidate us!
