BOO! Did I scare you? No? Well if I didn’t keep reading.
For my entire life October 31st has been my favorite day of the year. Costumes, candy, Jack-O-Lanterns, scary stories, horror movies, haunted houses, and most importantly staying out late on a school night: every childs dream!
However, some of my Indian friends and co-workers here in Bangalore don’t know what Halloween is about. They know that people dress up in extravagant costumes and ask for candy, but they dont know all of the other nuances of what makes Halloween so special.
Not anymore. Today I am going to explain some of the history, traditions, and symbolism of my favorite holiday, HALLOWEEN!
This is Halloween
Halloween, or All Hallows Eve falls on the eve of the Christian feast All Hallows (All Saints). Its also the first day of Hallowmas, which is the time of year dedicated to remembering the dead. The specific origins of Halloween are debated amongst scholars, but one thing that isnt open to debate is that Halloween is the scariest holiday of the year.
There are some traditions that are done every year on Halloween. The most popular of these, Trick-or-Treating, is when young children dress up in their favorite costumes and go from house to house saying Trick or Treat!! in hopes of getting a bag full of candy. If the owner of the house doesnt give any candy, then the kids often play a small trick on the owner of the house hence the phrase Trick OR Treat.
When I was a child, this is what we would say when coming to a new house “Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat, if you dont, I dont care, Ill pull down your underwear!
Another common activity on Halloween is making something called a Jack-O-Lantern. To make a Jack-O-Lantern, you take a pumpkin, hollow it out, and then carve a scary face into the front of it. When finished, you put a candle inside so that it lights up and has an eerie glow to it. If you make a spooky enough Jack-O-Lantern, it will scare off the evil spirits that are around throughout the holiday [editor’s note: how spooky does it have to be to keep Troy’s socks and underwear on?]
Some other popular traditions include going through a Haunted House – a house designed to scare your pants off, telling ghost stories around a fire, or watching horror movies. Many schools also celebrate this holiday and allow their students to come into school dressed in a costume of their choice. As a child this was my personal favorite.
When I went to university, this part got even better!
Zoom wants to make sure you have as much fun on Halloween as I always do! So we are having a Halloween Facebook Photo Competition Wear an awesome costume for Halloween, and take a photo next to a Zoom car. The photo with the most votes for each type of car will win a free weekday reservation (Mon-Thur) with that car – Reva, Figo, Scorpio, Vento, or even the BMW! Bonus points if you also put the car in a costume. Please, no permanent costumes though – for you or for the car! Share the photo and get your friends to vote for you! Photos and votes accepted until 11:59pm on Nov 5. Enter or view the results at https://woobox.com/tneram
Most importantly, remember to be safe and have fun this Halloween. Don’t drink and drive! If you decide to rent a car and self drive with Zoom in Bangalore this Halloween, be prepared for a frighteningly good time and maybe a few surprises in the cars as well … muahahahahah [evil laugh].
Troy Erstling
IDEX Fellow in Social Enterprise
