Halloween came really early to my kids, their cousins, and classmates this year. Instead of “treats,” however, they got “tricks” when Manila Water blocked a main road and forced them to detour through the middle of a cemetery to go to school. I must say that the practice of perfectly timing what appear to be indiscriminate diggings in the heart of the typhoon season is really an effective scare tactic. This calamity of ours was originally forecasted to hover over our area of responsibility for only two weeks. Alas, two became seven and now there’s a 50% chance of this lasting until kingdom come. Even the dead have started to complain. In my desperation, I’m tempted to take my kindergarten nephew to the authorities and have him flash his patented cross sign that he says has really been effective against ghosts, vampires, and werewolves.
Speaking about the upcoming ghoulish festivities, Halloween is believed to have originated from the ancient Celtic festival called Samhain. During the event, people were said to have lit bonfires and worn costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. Food was also placed in bowls outside homes to keep the spirits happy. As in many of our Christian practices today, when Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as All Saints Day during the eighth century, some of the pagan customs of Samhain got incorporated into it. The evening before (or October 31) was also known as All Hallows’ Eve which over time morphed into the word Halloween. In the US and some other countries, Halloween has evolved into a secular holiday for kids. For what is supposedly a child-friendly event, however, it is intriguing to note that its main ingredients are fear and death. As psychologist Cindy Dell Clark notes, “It is striking that on Halloween, death-related themes are intended as entertainment for the very children whom adults routinely protect.” Clark warns that parents should not underestimate just how terrifying the holiday can be for young kids and that an especially harrowing Halloween experience might have long-lasting effects. A parent of a six- and nine-year-old confided that her kids love “…the spooky aspects of Halloween and want to be a little scared, but on a kids’ level.” She therefore keeps them away from overly scary and age-inappropriate images like mutilated body parts and fake blood. Unfortunately, there is no way of exactly knowing what is too scary. Some kids may react with a snort and a laugh to the image of a man dressed like a zombie. On the other hand, the mere sight of a coffin may already be enough to send a sensitive child cowering in fear. The key for parents is to know their children well and to not belittle their kids’ fears and vivid imaginations or take them for granted. When we say something is not scary, we’re doing so from our perspective as an adult. However, a child below 10 years of age may still be unable to fully differentiate real life from make-believe. What may be funny to us could be traumatic to them. It’s therefore prudent to not expose young kids to things that might truly scare them, whether it’s Halloween or not.
While Halloween is becoming increasingly popular in the Philippines, it is still largely a western practice. In contrast, the Filipino version of the holiday is not scary at all and is closer to its Christian roots. Instead of running away from cemeteries in fear, who would have imagined that Filipinos would actually celebrate All Souls Day by jam-packing graveyards and party or picnic over the resting places of the dead? Actually, we don’t even have the day exactly right. In the Christian calendar, November 1 is All Saints Day. The following day, November 2, is the real All Souls Day or Day of the Dead. In any event, we’ve sort of combined both days and somehow made it a two-day event. Some well-meaning priests have tried to “correct” this practice to no avail. One pastor, however, says that it’s actually quite apt as that the two are closely interlinked. Consciously or unconsciously, he says, we all look forward to being saints ourselves. It is this very same hope that makes us pray that God, with the intercession of His martyrs and glorified souls, will open the pearly gates for our dearly departed loved ones so that they may become saints as well. And besides, as Manila Water has sort of taught my kids, you can’t really go to Heaven without passing through the cemetery first!
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