I know, Halloween is a month away, but we're at the end of September, so, meh. Close enough. Gives us a month to discuss things I guess.
Alright. So, I saw another post on the idea of Native American costumes being inappropriate for Halloween. Cultural appropriation, trivilization, etc. I'm not here to discuss that by itself, but what I've felt for awhile on the Halloween costume controversy is that it's systemic of a wider issue with Halloween itself. But to do that, I'll prompt a thought experiment.
Take any person in the Western world, and ask them "what is Easter about?" Chances are that even if they're not religious, they'll acknowledge that it commemorates the supposed death and resurrection of Jesus. Ask anyone what Christmas is about, and likely even more of them will know that it commemorates the supposed birth of Jesus. Now, to Little Jimmy who grows up among godless heathens, chances are that Easter translates to bunnies and chocolate, and Christmas translates to Santa and presents, but since we don't live in a cultural vacuum, I don't see him being unaware of the roots of these events for any period of time. However, ask anyone what the roots of Halloween are, and I'll hazard a guess that things get a lot more hazy. I mean, here's me complaining about Halloween, and even I had to check what I knew. So, to quote Wikipedia:
Is Little Jimmy going to know all that? No. Of course not.
So you may ask "Hawki, you're a godless atheist, why do you care that people don't care about the origins of a Pagan event that's been commercialized in the same way that Easter and Christmas have?" Well, Little Jimmy, I'll point out why despite my disillusionment with Christmas and Easter over the years (as in, I'm in a place where I actually kind of envy Christians these holidays, because they have a spiritual attachment that I don't and will never have), Halloween bugs me for a distinction apart from the lack of knowledge of its origins. Easter and Christmas are all about giving. Halloween, in its current form, is all about taking.
What do I mean by this? Consider Easter, where eggs are given between family and friends. Yes, it's chocolate, and chocolate's bad, but it's still being given. Consider Christmas, where family and friends exchange gifts and generally come to spend time with one another. Even if one takes away the spiritual side of these holidays, there's still arguably something to be said about this in a positive sense. Halloween though? It's little kids going from street to street, saying "give us candy or we'll egg you." Maybe not in those words, but that's the end result. I give kids candy, the kids eat candy, and...okay, what else? I dunno, maybe I'm missing something - I never did trick or treating, but it's become huge in Oz in recent years - but what actual 'goodness' is coming from this? It's at the point where over the last half decade or so I've effectively boycotted Halloween. I get some chocolates, leave them at home with family members, and head out to see a movie because I'll save the house from being egged, but I don't want to take any part in it. Humbug, maybe? Okay, sure, but what lesson does Halloween have to teach me as distinct from Christmas and Scrooge?
So, yeah. When people get into a fuss about costumes and "cultural appropriation" at Halloween, sometimes I can sympathize (e.g. Native American costumes), sometimes not (the whole "white kids shouldn't dress up as Black Panther" thing), but either way, I'm left to ask, well, this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0H3s1138xE
Because the whole costume thing is so far removed from Halloween in any shape or form, I feel it's kind of an inditement on the holiday itself. It's meaningless. It is so meaningless that we have to wear costumes and even then that's meaningless of itself because costumes don't have any theme. Maybe ghosts, but nup, even that isn't consistent. About the only thing worse than Halloween is Boxing Day Sales where we get to partake in consumerism after a day where the entire point is that it's more blessed to give than to receive, but nup, gotta get those sweet deals in somehow.
But, that's just me.
Alright. So, I saw another post on the idea of Native American costumes being inappropriate for Halloween. Cultural appropriation, trivilization, etc. I'm not here to discuss that by itself, but what I've felt for awhile on the Halloween costume controversy is that it's systemic of a wider issue with Halloween itself. But to do that, I'll prompt a thought experiment.
Take any person in the Western world, and ask them "what is Easter about?" Chances are that even if they're not religious, they'll acknowledge that it commemorates the supposed death and resurrection of Jesus. Ask anyone what Christmas is about, and likely even more of them will know that it commemorates the supposed birth of Jesus. Now, to Little Jimmy who grows up among godless heathens, chances are that Easter translates to bunnies and chocolate, and Christmas translates to Santa and presents, but since we don't live in a cultural vacuum, I don't see him being unaware of the roots of these events for any period of time. However, ask anyone what the roots of Halloween are, and I'll hazard a guess that things get a lot more hazy. I mean, here's me complaining about Halloween, and even I had to check what I knew. So, to quote Wikipedia:
Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of Hallows' Even or Hallows' Evening),[5] also known as Allhalloween,[6] All Hallows' Eve,[7] or All Saints' Eve,[8] is a celebration observed in several countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide,[9] the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.[10][11]
It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain; that such festivals may have had pagan roots; and that Samhain itself was Christianized as Halloween by the early Church.[12][13][14][15][16] Some believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, separate from ancient festivals like Samhain
It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain; that such festivals may have had pagan roots; and that Samhain itself was Christianized as Halloween by the early Church.[12][13][14][15][16] Some believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, separate from ancient festivals like Samhain
Is Little Jimmy going to know all that? No. Of course not.
So you may ask "Hawki, you're a godless atheist, why do you care that people don't care about the origins of a Pagan event that's been commercialized in the same way that Easter and Christmas have?" Well, Little Jimmy, I'll point out why despite my disillusionment with Christmas and Easter over the years (as in, I'm in a place where I actually kind of envy Christians these holidays, because they have a spiritual attachment that I don't and will never have), Halloween bugs me for a distinction apart from the lack of knowledge of its origins. Easter and Christmas are all about giving. Halloween, in its current form, is all about taking.
What do I mean by this? Consider Easter, where eggs are given between family and friends. Yes, it's chocolate, and chocolate's bad, but it's still being given. Consider Christmas, where family and friends exchange gifts and generally come to spend time with one another. Even if one takes away the spiritual side of these holidays, there's still arguably something to be said about this in a positive sense. Halloween though? It's little kids going from street to street, saying "give us candy or we'll egg you." Maybe not in those words, but that's the end result. I give kids candy, the kids eat candy, and...okay, what else? I dunno, maybe I'm missing something - I never did trick or treating, but it's become huge in Oz in recent years - but what actual 'goodness' is coming from this? It's at the point where over the last half decade or so I've effectively boycotted Halloween. I get some chocolates, leave them at home with family members, and head out to see a movie because I'll save the house from being egged, but I don't want to take any part in it. Humbug, maybe? Okay, sure, but what lesson does Halloween have to teach me as distinct from Christmas and Scrooge?
So, yeah. When people get into a fuss about costumes and "cultural appropriation" at Halloween, sometimes I can sympathize (e.g. Native American costumes), sometimes not (the whole "white kids shouldn't dress up as Black Panther" thing), but either way, I'm left to ask, well, this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0H3s1138xE
Because the whole costume thing is so far removed from Halloween in any shape or form, I feel it's kind of an inditement on the holiday itself. It's meaningless. It is so meaningless that we have to wear costumes and even then that's meaningless of itself because costumes don't have any theme. Maybe ghosts, but nup, even that isn't consistent. About the only thing worse than Halloween is Boxing Day Sales where we get to partake in consumerism after a day where the entire point is that it's more blessed to give than to receive, but nup, gotta get those sweet deals in somehow.
But, that's just me.
