Halloween is approaching – a favourite date for kids, and a lot of adults too, to dress up and make believe. My two boys love thinking about what they will “be” on the evening of October 31. Maybe a witch, a ghost, or a fairly tale prince or princess. Sometimes kids want to imagine a future adult job when they grow up. One year our oldest son went trick-and-treating dressed as a policeman. I’m glad he was thinking of a lawful occupation. (It was my neighbour who wore a prisoner costume and let my son keep him under arrest while going door to door for free candies).
I think it’s a great time for kids and parents to enjoy a harmless and fun time, but like any event in our modern, multicultural country, it needs to treated in a way that fosters our children’s sense of community, and avoids costumes that can cause hurt to others. Sometimes this is inadvertent, simply because many costumes on sale in stores are throwbacks to a period of history when they were worn simply to be different. Today, they may cause offence because we now realize they may represent something sacred or otherwise sensitive part of another person’s religious or cultural heritage. Globe and Mail writer Elizabeth Renzetti had a good column recently about this entitled Offensive Halloween Costumes Should Go to the Grave. (October 14, 2017). Renzettti points to headwear such as turbans or feathered headdresses as such examples.
Of course, if you look at the history of Halloween you understand this peculiar celebration has its roots in ancient cultural and religious beliefs. This also provides a lesson for modern folks. We should try to understand how celebrations like Halloween can evolve, and how a multicultural nation like Canada has a unique opportunity to continue the transformations that occur in its evolution – a learning experience that has value for adults and children alike. I found it very interesting to learn that Halloween actually had its origins in an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain. This dates back 2,000 years ago when the Celts, a people living in what is now Ireland, Britain and northern France had a festival on November 1st, which was their New Years Day. The Celts had a religion with Druid priests who believed the ghosts of the dead ancestors returned to earth on their New Year’s eve. Hundreds of years later, when the ancient Roman empire had conquered the Celtic lands, the annual festival came to include honouring the Roman deity Pomona, the goddess of fruit. Today, our Halloween activities for kids often include “bobbing” for apples, (trying to take a bite of apple while it floats in a tub of water), which we can connect to this ancient Roman aspect of the festival. Then, hundreds of years after this period, when the Christian religion through the Roman Catholic Church was dominant in the empire, the celebration blended the Celtic belief of the returning souls with the Church holiday of All Souls Day. This saw people dressing up as angels and devils.
The modern idea of “trick-or-treating” from house to house appears to have its origins in later celebrations of Halloween when poor people were given pastries called “soul-cakes” – a possible reference to earlier times when food was in short supply during the winter, the start of which was Halloween. This may have been the beginning of our modern celebration when kids go door to door for candies, apples, and other goodies.
Since my wife and I have come to Canada from China, we also want to teach our children about their Chinese heritage. We’re looking forward to seeing dragons and other Chinese icons also becoming part of Halloween festivities. We love raising our two sons in this exciting multicultural country!
Check out some of the fun, family-friendly activities happening in Surrey for Halloween this year, here.
Thanks for reading!
Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®