Emic Perspectives on Halloween
Halloween, being viewed from an insider’s perspective, showcases a precise mixture of social, cultural, and personal understanding. This holiday represents a tradition held dearly by many, whose central theme is celebrating the supernatural. Inspiration for these celebrations, and holidays in general, are drawn from ancient folk tales and literature. There is proof of the existence of this festival as early as the 9th century (Yousaf, 2021). For many, it allows them to break the norms set by society and acquire, though temporarily, different identities that will connect them to the mysteries of life, the supernatural. Other people view it as a moment to pay respect to the dead and acknowledge that life has a cyclic nature. This holiday’s significance differs for all individuals; it varies from a simple, lighthearted, fun celebration to a significant occasion meant for spiritual exploration.
Halloween is a festival marked by different types of activities that altogether signify what the day means to the people. These activities include dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, decoration, parties, observation of the Day of the Dead, and parades. In dressing up, everyone can acquire a new temporary image and personality through costumes and face painting. Trick-or-treating involves the sharing of candy with children and other community members. Decorations and parties thrown on these days bring people together. Most parades and Dayday of the Dead observations commemorate loved ones who passed away recently or a while ago. These activities are significant because they bring out the dynamic nature of the holiday. Some are to portray the Dayday as a lighthearted, fun celebration, e.g., costume dressing and trick-or-treating. Other activities, however, bring out the deeper aspects of spirituality related to the Dayday, e.g., Dayday of the Dead celebrations and parades.
Halloween celebrations have different meanings, as described above. They mark a fun occasion or an occasion meant for deeper spiritual commemoration. These meanings vary because of age, gender, and race. Age brings about the fun aspect of the celebrations through costume dressing and trick-or-treating. Different races have different meanings for this day, but of most note are the Mexicans. Most of them, on this day, celebrate the Dayday of the Dead, hence pinning a spiritual value on it (Aldama, 2019). They celebrate it both in Mexico and the USA.
Etic Perspective of Halloween
From an outsider’s perspective, Halloween is a celebration that greatly influences culture, society, and commercial aspects. It is an event dependent on the participants and those who believe in it since they keep it alive. These participants celebrate it in many ways, e.g., costume-wearing, horror-themed decorations, and candy sharing. Through the celebration, various social norms can be witnessed among the communities, e.g., sharing and peaceful living. It has significantly evolved in terms of creativity and entertainment, bringing in the aspect of commercialization. The step towards monetizing the celebration has diluted the previously present spiritual and supernatural ties to it. This dilution is not entirely a bad thing since it allows those who do not share in the spiritual aspect of the holiday to celebrate it as well.
The activities carried out during Halloween discussed above show the evolving nature of this day. Most of what is done has moved from a spiritual aspect to activities that are inclusive and can be carried out by everyone. This helps in the commercialization of the holiday and the formation of stronger bonds among people of different cultures living in a society. It does so while still upholding the specific cultural practices carried out during Halloween by those to whom the holiday has a deeper meaning.
Having said this, not all Americans take part in the celebration of Halloween. Several reasons prevent these groups from participating in the day’s activities, such as religious beliefs, personal ideation, safety questions, financial implications, and health issues. Some religions, e.g., Islam, do not celebrate Halloween, prompting people who subscribe to the religion to shun the celebrations (Ramirez, 2023). Some people also find the horror-themed occasion too scary for their liking and hence choose to stay away. The parties and parades carried out during celebrations pose security threats, which some consider too significant to ignore. To these individuals, this day would be just another ordinary day of regular activities, maybe punctuated by frustrations due to knocks on their doors, noise from parades, and slow traffic. Those firmly against it rebuke it and spend the day waiting for it to pass.
Some other festivities are set aside to provide an alternative for celebrating Halloween. These festivals include harvest festivals, All Souls Day, All Saints Day, trunk or treat celebrations, and fall festivals. These alternates serve a purpose for specific individual preferences, interests, and cultures. They allow the community to gather and celebrate together.
Conclusion
From an emic perspective, Halloween can be viewed from different lenses, these being socially, culturally, and personally. A group of people view it to have a supernatural significance, while others are there for the fun of it. These differences are brought about precisely by age and race. From an etic perspective, Halloween has a commercial, cultural, and societal influence. It has evolved, hence allowing other cultures and societies to participate in it.
References
Ramirez, P. C. (2023). Chapter 7. In Re-imagining citizenship education: Empowering students to become critical leaders and community role models (pp. 115–128). essay, IAP | Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Yousaf, S. (2021). 3rd International Academic Conference on Research in Social Sciences (pp. 87–106). Berlin; IACRSS.
Aldama, F. L. (2019). Chapter 19. In Latinx ciné in the twenty-first century (p. 355). essay, The University of Arizona Press.
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