Till about 30 years ago, very few Indians in India knew about Halloween. Then it became a 'thing' in metro cities, especially among children studying in so-called 'international' schools. Now, Halloween has even found its way to smaller Indian towns thanks to social media and the net. This year, though, it presented a dilemma as Diwali fell on the same day as Halloween, which is always on 31st October. Solution: Diwalloween.
Someone made a short movie in 2017 in the US called Diwal'oween about two NRIs who want their parents to meet during this festival of lights but a child in one of the families wants a 'fright night' celebration instead. The film also marked the previous time the two fell on the same day, 2016. Since then, Halloween has made huge strides in India too, so the 'mashup' celebrations this time were spread across continents, judging by social media posts.
If the US can have Christmukkah-or even Chrismahanukwanzakah, to include the African-American Kwanzaa-then why not Diwalloween? After all, the day before Diwali is Bhoot Chaturdashi, when lamps are lit to remember ancestors according to one custom and to fend off evil spirits as per other beliefs. That dovetails into the 'original' purpose of the pre- and Christianised Halloween, a night to remember ancestors and saints (hallows).
When humans were closely connected with the land and the season, solstices, and the intermediate periods between winter and summer, interspersed with sowing and harvest times were devoted to ancestor and spirit worship in many cultures including Bharat. Before Navratri there is the autumnal Sraadh or Pitripaksh when Hindus remember ancestors, culminating with 'tarpan' or propitiating them on the day of Ashwin Amavasya or Mahalaya new moon. Thus, adopting Halloween is not really acculturation but merely extending our age-old beliefs to encompass those of another culture. Halloween's roots lie in the pre-Christian Celtic harvest festival of Samhain marked by the lighting of bonfires and warding off evil spirits. North Indians would find echoes of Lohri, when bonfires mark the end of the winter rabi crop harvest, and the beginning of the sun's journey northwards.
Hospitality and retail industries encourage cross-fertilisation of festivals, as they are seen as more reason to celebrate and therefore spend. But even before our Age of Retail, migration led to the adoption of customs and festivals by new groups in new regions. Halloween as a commemoration of saints was taken to North America by Scottish and Irish immigrants in the 19th century, where it morphed into the current festival of horror and candy.
The American 'trick or treat' outings on Halloween also link back to three migrant-related customs. Ancient Celts left food at night for passing spirits during Samhain; then people began to dress up as ghosts to collect them. Out of that evolved the Christian 'guising' when children and adults would get food and money from neighbours in return for prayers on All Souls' Day. Later they sang songs and told jokes in return for cakes and sweetmeats.
And there's "belsnickeling", a German tradition in parts of the US that became an evening when masked adults-and much later just children wearing costumes-went round neighbourhoods knocking on doors asking people to guess their real identities. Incorrect answers meant belsnickelers would be invited into those houses for cakes and sweets. By the 1950s, Halloween had become the reason for billions of dollars of candy sales in the US!
Diwali has become the most well-known of all Indian festivals abroad and Holi is fast reaching a similar status. And Valentine's Day and Halloween are now well established in India. For far too long the cultural exchange has been a West-to-East transmission. Now clearly it is both ways, and confluences such as Diwalloween (or Hallowali!) will hopefully lead to a deeper understanding and tolerance all round and, of course, more good times too.
Someone made a short movie in 2017 in the US called Diwal'oween about two NRIs who want their parents to meet during this festival of lights but a child in one of the families wants a 'fright night' celebration instead. The film also marked the previous time the two fell on the same day, 2016. Since then, Halloween has made huge strides in India too, so the 'mashup' celebrations this time were spread across continents, judging by social media posts.
If the US can have Christmukkah-or even Chrismahanukwanzakah, to include the African-American Kwanzaa-then why not Diwalloween? After all, the day before Diwali is Bhoot Chaturdashi, when lamps are lit to remember ancestors according to one custom and to fend off evil spirits as per other beliefs. That dovetails into the 'original' purpose of the pre- and Christianised Halloween, a night to remember ancestors and saints (hallows).
When humans were closely connected with the land and the season, solstices, and the intermediate periods between winter and summer, interspersed with sowing and harvest times were devoted to ancestor and spirit worship in many cultures including Bharat. Before Navratri there is the autumnal Sraadh or Pitripaksh when Hindus remember ancestors, culminating with 'tarpan' or propitiating them on the day of Ashwin Amavasya or Mahalaya new moon. Thus, adopting Halloween is not really acculturation but merely extending our age-old beliefs to encompass those of another culture. Halloween's roots lie in the pre-Christian Celtic harvest festival of Samhain marked by the lighting of bonfires and warding off evil spirits. North Indians would find echoes of Lohri, when bonfires mark the end of the winter rabi crop harvest, and the beginning of the sun's journey northwards.
Hospitality and retail industries encourage cross-fertilisation of festivals, as they are seen as more reason to celebrate and therefore spend. But even before our Age of Retail, migration led to the adoption of customs and festivals by new groups in new regions. Halloween as a commemoration of saints was taken to North America by Scottish and Irish immigrants in the 19th century, where it morphed into the current festival of horror and candy.
The American 'trick or treat' outings on Halloween also link back to three migrant-related customs. Ancient Celts left food at night for passing spirits during Samhain; then people began to dress up as ghosts to collect them. Out of that evolved the Christian 'guising' when children and adults would get food and money from neighbours in return for prayers on All Souls' Day. Later they sang songs and told jokes in return for cakes and sweetmeats.
And there's "belsnickeling", a German tradition in parts of the US that became an evening when masked adults-and much later just children wearing costumes-went round neighbourhoods knocking on doors asking people to guess their real identities. Incorrect answers meant belsnickelers would be invited into those houses for cakes and sweets. By the 1950s, Halloween had become the reason for billions of dollars of candy sales in the US!
Diwali has become the most well-known of all Indian festivals abroad and Holi is fast reaching a similar status. And Valentine's Day and Halloween are now well established in India. For far too long the cultural exchange has been a West-to-East transmission. Now clearly it is both ways, and confluences such as Diwalloween (or Hallowali!) will hopefully lead to a deeper understanding and tolerance all round and, of course, more good times too.
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