Halloween was brought into America by the European immigrants who celebrate it to remember those who have passed onto the other world. Whether they are martyrs, saints or the sacrificed, they would spend the day remembering the dead. Now Americans have costume parties, kids go about collecting sweets in their costumes and families carve out pumpkins to light candles within them.
But what have Indians got to do with it? We have our own period of mourning called ‘shraddh’ before the Dussehra. We have constant celebrations, right from Ganesh Chaturthi, Rakhi, Dussehra and then Diwali. Apart from the other festivals that are celebrated by the whole country like Id, Navroz, Christmas, Baisakhi, Sankranti and so many others. Our festivals are a celebration of light, colour, warm greetings, amazing food and all the other good things that go with it.
Recent years have seen a rise in the trend where cities host parties and other events for Halloween. But it just seems a superfluous influence, in our desperate attempt to ape whatever is American.
And of all the festivals that we could have imported, the one we picked up is a morose day, where ironically people dress up in costumes, apply face paint and mingle with only a spirit of enjoyment, forgetting what the day is really about.
Image Credit: oneindia
It also goes against the national ethos of how we mourn our departed. Whether it is Vijay Diwas or Gandhi Jayanti or Martyr’s Day, we don’t host fancy dress competitions on that day. For Indians, these are days of reverence, where we spare some time to think of their great work and sacrifices. So, it seems contradictory to party in remembrance of the dead.
And why do we need to celebrate a day dedicated to horror? We are living with so many demons every day, as shown by the rising cases of crime against women, increasing rate of poverty, and other social and environmental concerns, that are making life a living hell for the victims.
It is high time we put a thought to our national culture before we start imitating alien tendencies just out of FOMO.
