Halloween which was derived from “All Hallows Eve” is believed to be of Celtic or Christian origin which is celebrated every October 31st.
Christian belief argues that this holiday was established in commemoration of the Christian holiday, All Saint’s Day, in which the people honor the Saints or the “Hallows”.
On the other hand, Halloween customs are believed to be derived from Celtic festival, Samhain which is celebrated to mark the end of harvest and the beginning of winter. It is regarded to be the day when the boundary between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, enabling those who have passed to reconnect with the living.
Some Celtic Halloween customs includes mumming and guising where people wear costumes and masks to drive away the bad spirits and go door to door to ask for soul food. This, to-date is our modern Halloween celebration of trick or treating.
This Halloween tradition became widely popular and celebrated in Canada during the mid-1800s during the massive influx of Irish and Scottish immigrants. Modern celebration of Halloween is branded by costumes, house decorations with Jack o’ lanterns, visits to haunted places and of course, trick or treating. This holiday has also brought Canada a remarkable increase of candy sale, across all months.
While Canada had adapted to the westernized celebration of Halloween, Filipinos are still observed to be celebrating the Christian holiday, All Saint’s Day. As a custom, Pinoys start at least a week early by going to their respective cemeteries and cleaning the tombs of their loved one in preparation of the family’s visitation, either on November 1st (All Saint’s Day) or 2nd (All Souls’ Day). The family gathers to pay respect and light candles to commemorate their loved ones who have passed.
Though still following traditional Filipino customs, a noticeable increase of events has been organized to celebrate westernized Halloween in the PH, which is mostly piloted by the BPO companies as years pass. Children can now sign up on events for trick or treating wearing costumes in malls and some companies.
A margin of difference can be seen as to how the two countries celebrate Halloween but as Filipino-Canadians, we have the ability to incorporate both customs to make the celebration better and more meaningful – with family, honoring and remembering our loved ones who have passed, and of course, trick or treating!
Though Covid-19 had hugely impacted our Halloween celebration, we can still make this as fun as before! Here are a few tips from goodhousekeeping.com on how to have fun in Halloween during quarantine.
1. Go ‘ghosting’ – create a treat bag of goodies for a friend or neighbor and leave it in their doorstep with a note inside to pass it on
2. Play a Halloween game
3. Make a spooky snack
4. And some spooky sweets (yum!)
5. Do a tarot card reading
6. Put on a Halloween playlist (Jam to the beats of thriller in a zombie costume!)
7. Watch a Halloween movie or special
8. Attend a trick-or-treat parade – make sure to check your local announcements to see if there will be an outdoor socially distanced celebration
9. Make a fall craft
10. Decorate
11. Host a virtual party (Time to put on those costumes!)
12. Paint your kids’ face
13. Mix a spooky cocktail
14. Go on a family bike ride or walk
15. Deliver festive treats to loved ones.
And don’t forget to light a candle for those who are no longer with us!
Stay safe and enjoy the Halloween!
From your resident Volunteer Blogger: Anjel Reyes
