Halloween And It’s Relevance To People

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 different from the rest. On this day, we remember our loved ones who have gone before us. Sounds scary, right? Not really, for the celebration of Halloween is really fun.

Halloween, which falls on October 31, is oftentimes confused with All Saints day, which falls on the first day of November. In the 16th century is where the word Halloween was first manifested. It represents a variant of the fuller Scottish term “All-Hallows-Eve”, which is the night before All Hallows Day.

Halloween is celebrated around the world in many ways nowadays. However, not all people celebrate it, but for those who does, its traditions and importance varies greatly. Because it can often be seen particularly in iconic and commercial events, other nations tend to follow the American way of celebrating Halloween.

Halloween is sometimes celebrated, especially in the United States, by parties which participants will attend wearing different kinds of costumes. 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”. If they do not oblige, the children will perform a “trick” to the homeowner, which is usually a mischievous but harmless prank. 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.

As for me, the celebration of Halloween is rarely noticed here in the Philippines, although lately Halloween is being celebrated in some places. When I was a kid, we did not experience Trick-or-Treating, for at that time we did not know what it is. But, in my elementary days, we would usually plan a costume party for the Halloweens, although at times it does not exactly fall on the day of Halloween. Instead of wearing uniforms, we would go to school wearing costumes. We would still have classes, but we would only take our exams and quizzes and then the teachers will end the classes early, after which we will 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. But you can see that their costumes are just improvised. For example, a boy will wear a “barong” and put lots of powder in his face making him a zombie or a little girl wearing a gown which will make her pass as a princess. Character costumes are very rare here, so I do not see kids wearing Pirates of the Caribbean Costumes. But at least the Halloween spirit is there. But still, like in the other countries, it’s a lot of fun to watch!

Halloween is really a fun celebration, although there is a deep meaning behind the celebration. This celebration actually teaches us lessons about 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!