Halloween and Festivals of the Dead
Halloween
For children in the United States, Halloween is a time of excitement. Children are allowed, and encouraged, to go door to door in costume and get candy from strangers they have never met. Then they can stay up late and eat more candy than most parents usually allow. But for many children this can be a scary time. They are being thrown into situations with things that are normally taboo like skeletons, death, and strangers and then told to face their fears and be strong. By having children walk up to doors alone and ask for candy from strangers not only are they going into a situation that is normally very taboo, but their parents are also helping the children gain courage. (Clark, 2005) When children are exposed to things that they fear while they are young, they can learn coping mechanisms to help them throughout their lives. Halloween is the time when parents can let their children learn what fears are real and which are fake, and how to deal with both of them properly. With death so prevalent in the celebration, children are incidentally taught how to handle that fear, which prepares them for future scenarios, such as funerals. Not only with death itself, but it helps them learn how to deal the fake fears that can seem scary to them, such as ghosts, skeletons, monsters, and any other Halloween ‘bad guys’. While this wasn’t the holiday’s original intention, it is now evident that Halloween is good for more than just scaring people. It helps children learn how to gain courage and stand up for themselves in the face of their fears.
-Katie Osborn
Other Festivals of the Dead
The Hungry Ghost Festival is a Chinese tradition of worshiping ancestors. The festival includes special ceremonies that each family must perform in order to avoid the wrath of ghosts. These ceremonies include placing the family ancestral tablet on display, burning incense and preparing food for the ghosts three times a day. At dusk, on the day of the festival, each family sets out their ancestral tablet along with paintings or photographs of their deceased relatives. That night, a feast is held with an empty place at the table for the deceased relative. It is believed that two weeks before the festival, the dead wander the land, and after two weeks of wandering, they become very hungry (Waters & Ko 2004).
The idea of welcoming the dead on Halloween is not exclusive to Asian cultures alone. In Austria, it is also believed that the dead come back to roam the earth. Austrian families set out food for the dead, including bread and water, and they also leave out lighted lamps to show the way for the dead. In Austria, it is believed that this night holds strong cosmic energies that allow the dead to come back and that they must honor them by setting out food. The belief and continuation of these practices are done in order that both cultures may cope with their fear of the ghosts (Waters & Ko).
In China, the fear of the Hungry Ghost and its appetite drive individuals to honor them and feed them. In Austria, much like in China, the fear of what the dead can do to the living drive individuals not only to feed the dead, but to light the way for them.
- Rebecca Stoddard
