Partly locked down Halloween

With some of my family living in the US, I keep tabs on their celebrations since they involve me vicariously in their festivities – mostly Thanksgiving on the third Thursday of November which to the Americans is even more festive than Christmas. But though their youth protest against lockdowns and closure of cafés and restaurants early, they too have forfeited their usual celebrations, one being Halloween on October 31 and the other later in November. Predictions are Christmas too would be very low-key.

We in Sri Lanka know this only too well even though we are suffering the full effects of the Covid 19 pandemic quite after it smothered much of the western world. We missed celebrating April New Year; had to forego commemorating Vesak and Poson. The Esala Perahera in Kandy was a mere semblance of the usual splendorous procession. We have no hopes for Christmas which most Sri Lankans, notwithstanding their religion, enjoy.

Subdued Halloween in Atlanta

I had pictures sent me of houses decorated in ‘devilish’ style with skeletons hung on house fronts and accouterments of the macabre out on display along Peach Tree Street in this southern city. Trick and treating is out, my informant tells me, as Atlanta has a Democrat Mayor and strictures are in place. A tube has been fixed from indoors to out by which sweets could be sent to kids who dare trick and treat. This last will be minimal as though no lock down is imposed as in Sri Lanka, the wiser American citizens, particularly those who don’t go along with Trump, are taking stringent precautions now that it is proved that children are as vulnerable as the older are to Covid 19.

Thus their concentration on home decoration on the outside. As I said all sorts of ghosties and ghoulies hang from home fronts as does the American flag which flies alongside the front door in many an American home.

It is surprising that a basically child’s celebration is so macabre and tied up with the supernatural and death. But then what are the best fairy stories? The Grimm brothers introduced wizards and giants and kids abandoned in forests by parents and witches awaiting to fatten little ones to feast on them. Even our legends and old tales for children have their fair share of yakkas and holman. We in our childhood, though surrounded with a sense of security and love, were always reminded of the goni billa with his sack waiting to take away misbehaving kids.

Origin and practices of Halloween

Halloween is a Christian flavoured celebration of saints, influenced by the ancient Celts. It is also known as All Saints’ Eve. Saints they may be celebrating and remembering their dead with love, but ghosts and ghouls, witches and dwarfs predominate. Children dressed in macabre costumes get out late in the evening demanding treats from neighbours or threatening to bewitch them. Kids aim to frighten neighbours, and elders get into the spirit of the tradition and have plenty of sweets ready to drop into held out bags. Thus the main thrust of Halloween is Trick or Treat. The kids threatened tricks are certainly not minor practical April 1 jokes, but threats of harnessing evil forces.

Wearing gruesome masks, painting faces and moving around with Jack’O lanterns are resorted to. Food too is more vegetarian with potato much on menus. We are all indulgently familiar with pumpkin faces with lighted candles inside. But ghoulish it is when house parties hire a coffin and have a pretend corpse with white dusted face and hands awakening to clutch you with his cold hands.

In Mexico and Spanish speaking countries, October 31d 12 is known as the Day of the Dead. In spite of this name, it is more a day of celebration than mourning. It could be a recognition of nationalism through an Aztec identity

It’s all sheer fun, but in a country that really goes to town with American costumed children roaming neighbourhoods, demanding sweets or threatening to bring down curses, this year it is confined to decoration of houses on the outside.