Halloween Celebrations for You and Me

Halloween, for me, is one of the special days of the year. Still, Halloween is not like Christmas or Valentines day. At Christmas and Valentines, we celebrate Jesus and the saints. Halloween is not the same as these celebrations. The souls of the ones who died before us are the ones being remembered in this day. Pretty scary huh? But actually, it isn’t so scary, for Halloween is one fun holiday.

Halloween, which falls on October 31, is oftentimes confused with All Saints day, which falls on the first day of November. The word Halloween was first manifested in the 16th century. 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.

There are many ways Halloween is celebrated around the world these days. Although it is not celebrated in all parts of the world, in those parts of the world that celebrates it, its traditions and importance varies. However, other nations often follow the American way of celebrating Halloween, which can sometimes be seen particularly in iconic and commercial elements.

Costume parties is the most common way of celebrating Halloween, especially in America. The participants will wear costumes representing different characters. 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. Many people love this part of Halloween, as they enjoy seeing children of all ages wear Pirates of the Caribbean Costumes or something and smile to them when they open their door, but still there are individuals who does not enjoy this practice and views the children as a nuisance.

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 instead wear costumes rather than uniforms when we go to school that day. After our classes, which would be dismissed early because we would only take our quizzes and have no lectures, we would have our party. These days, I see little kids wearing costumes (but more often in their casual clothes), asking for treats and candies at each house. However their costumes are sometimes just makeshift, like a boy wearing a “barong” and putting too much powder in his face or a girl wearing a gown, which will make her a princess. Although I do not see character costumes like Pirates of the Caribbean Costumes, at least the spirit is there. And like in the other countries, it is still fun to watch!

Halloween, which is really a fun celebration, really has some deep meaning behind it. This celebration actually teaches us lessons about death and mortality. Thus, we should value our lives, for if it is lost, it is lost forever. And also, we should enjoy our lives to the fullest, for it only comes ones.

Have a happy Halloween!