Halloween

 

  

  Each passing moment spent here reminds me of just how unique the western culture really is in its own light.So last week on the 31st of October I got a first hand experience of a celebration I had been aware of since I was a child but never really grasped the concept of until now "Halloween". Where I come from, Halloween has been misconstrued to mean the same as Satanism (essentially the worship of Satan and all that he stands for). Now before I receive any backlash I’m not coming in from a religious or sanctimonious point of view…needless to say I actually agreed with this notion up until last week.I learned all about Halloween and realized what it really stood for or what i think it stands for... Apparently the dressing up and lighting of bon fires is in line with the belief that ghost and spirits of the departed return so the bonfires and the costumes is in order to ward them off... silly me... Not that I’m not a believer in the supernatural or anything of the sort but if I learned anything from my experience, it is that it is really just another day for people to come together for a common purpose and have fun which is exactly what I and a couple of my friends did on the day. Observing certain cultures or traditions from afar off could be quite misleading and is arguably one of the leading bases for many contemporary disputes that we have in the 21st century.

    Not fully understanding a culture, a person’s or set of people’s way of life can lead many to read malicious intent into the most harmless of activities. I have been privileged to mingle with different people from different races during my stay here and respect how beautifully we are able to interact and coexist without having to appropriate the other’s way of life or even probe certain “peculiar” activities.

    I guess the basis of this write up is that we should do less scrutiny of other people's way of life. If you do not understand a person’s (or group of people’s) way of life, research extensively if it intrigues or interests you; if not so long as it doesn’t pose a threat to you or other people, leave it alone.

We shouldn’t demonize culture or tradition due to our misunderstanding of it.