Talia Cutler ’27
Executive Opinion Editor
On college campuses, Halloween has found its niche as one of the most prolific party weekends of the year. Higher education administrators across the country warn their students about engaging in risky and dangerous behavior. “While Halloween is all about having fun, please be sure that you take necessary precautions to have a safe and wonderful weekend,” The Office of Student and Community Life concluded in an email about holiday safety on Friday. Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. As it is today, it has no religious implications or obligations to other people — inclusive to the nondenominational as well as the selfish and gluttonous! What more could a girl ask for? Yet beyond the hedonistic nature of Halloween at college, there are implications that reflect a cultural evolution.
As much as I would like to believe that it did, Halloween did not spring into being for the sole purpose of parties and wearing glitter unironically. Halloween originates from the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced SAH-win for you poor sound-it-out readers.) Samhain, celebrated on Oct. 31, was the night that the boundary between the living and dead became blurred, with antics ensuing. The pagan festival included wearing costumes to protect oneself against evil spirits. In the 8th century, the Christianization of Europe introduced All Saints Day on Nov. 1, which incorporated some of the Samhain traditions. The evening before All Saints Day morphed into All Hallows Eve, and later, Halloween. This is starting to make me feel like a history major, so I’ll move on.
Between the neolithic period with Samhain and today with Halloween, we do not adhere to the same ideas of what Oct. 31 should look like. And maybe that’s a good thing. The roots of Samhain and All Hallows Eve remain present in the Halloween we know today. However, we have repurposed the day for an American mentality (which is to say, a few more trips to the package store near you). We are not meant to be strict constructionists.
Non-constructionism challenges the idea of fixed meanings and absolute truths, and recognizes that traditions are not static entities but dynamic and evolving processes. This is something that certain people refuse to accept. Nothing that is going to endure the test of time can stay on an ancient (and rotting) foundation. There must be constant reinterpretation, constant changes to make tradition last.
This idea of continued adaptation is something that can and should be applied to nearly every aspect of life and in every institution. Our world is fast-paced and ever-changing. Our attitude towards adaptation should reflect this.
As a tried and true Halloween fanatic, I urge you to take a fresh look at the substantive weight behind change. Maybe you’ll find that the Halloween Spirit is not one of hedonism (well, maybe it is), but one of re-imagining tradition. The holiday serves as living proof that you can honor the past while embracing the present. As for the future, you’ll see the significance of the New-Age American College Halloween this weekend, littering Vernon and Allen with discarded sequins and crushed aluminum cans. To all you Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders and Carmy Berzatto’s, happy Halloweening!
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