In the Oswegoland area, Halloween is celebrated on Oct. 31, and some people celebrate every year with costumes, candy, decorations, and parties. However, not everyone recognizes this as a holiday to celebrate.
OH senior Jarethzy Trenado said, “My family and I don’t go out that day or decorate our house like others would.”
The real meaning behind Halloween is the contraction of All Hallow’s Eve.
All Hallow’s Eve is the evening before All Saints Day became a holy, or hallowed, eve and thus Halloween. According to CNN, on All Saints Day, many Roman Catholics and other Christians all over the world view All Saints day as a day to “honor all saints of the church deemed to have attained heaven.”
According to Good Housekeeping, Halloween was invented 2,000 years ago. Celtic people in Europe celebrated the end of the harvest and the start of a new year in a festival called Samhain.
Trick or treating evolved from a tradition called souling, in which poor kids would usually knock on doors to ask for food and money. Children would promise to pray for the souls of their recently deceased loved ones in exchange for their altruism, which is how this behavior came to be known as “souling,” according to Business Insider.
“My kids are grown now, but, when they were little, they’d spend the entire month of October planning and making their costumes,” OHS English Language Learner teacher Karen Ferguson said.
“We usually didn’t buy costumes from the store. We put together costumes from old clothes and craft supplies that we already had,¨ said Ferguson.
Ireland, Canada and the United States all participate in the same Halloween traditions, including costume parties, trick-or-treating, pranks, games, pumpkin carving, and wearing scary costumes.
Skeletons and ghosts are the most popular traditional costumes, while zombies and vampires share third place.
An added bonus is that Halloween helps children with their language skills, social skills, emotional skill development, thinking and imaginative skills according to Flippos, a children’s organization.
“We’ve always looked at it like a fun day for kids to dress up and get candy from neighbors,” said Ferguson.
However, there are different ways to celebrate this day. In Mexico, this celebration is called Dia de las Brujas, celebrated Oct. 31, and it is overshadowed by the Day of the Dead. For others that view Halloween as a spiritual way, they see it as the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
As part of religious practices, they attend church services and light candles on the graves of the dead. Halloween reminds Catholics to pray for the souls of those who have passed on.
“Halloween is just another normal day. Due to my religion, I don’t celebrate Halloween,” said Trenado.
The Celts believed that on the night of Halloween, spirits came to the living to only cause harm. They would turn people into black cats for misbehaving or doing bad things, especially those who were cursed with black magic.
There is no mention of Halloween in the Bible, and many Christians liken the celebration to other moments where the Bible discusses witchcraft, sacrifice and worldly behaviors according to Country Living.
“Unlike other people that dress up and maybe go out to trick-or-treat, my family and I stay home and spend time together. Ever since I was born, my parents have been Christian, they are very religious when it comes to yearly celebrations,” said senior Trenado.
“For example, we celebrate Hanukkah instead of Christmas. There have been times we went out to eat on Halloween because my parents notice other kids going out for candy and they feel bad.”
No matter how you celebrate the holiday, it’s a holiday for all to celebrate and it is not meant to be celebrated in one way.
Hello, my name is Alexa Cuevas and I'm currently a senior in high school. This will be my second year on being a staff member for 42Fifty and being a spanish editor.
Great article!