SOMETIME in the past I received an e-mail from a colleague during my teaching days in the Philippines. The brief message had the unintended effect of bringing back reminiscences of when times were young and innocent and uncomplicated. Simple needs for simple lives lived then.

For most folks in our barrio in my younger days, life revolved within a defined circle of friends and elders and traditions. On the younger set, mostly days of leisure with not much expected beyond the basics in school, church services on Sundays and an occasional hand in the farm and seas where most of sustenance were derived.

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

Entertainment was occasional forage into town, inside a rickety structure that passed for a movie house showing scratchy double features. There was the yearly fiesta when mostly unmarried adults of opposite sexes were afforded the opportunity to circumvent social stricture by dancing slow drag – melting into each other check-to-check; otherwise, they should not even be seen holding each other’s hand. And of course there was Christmas Day and some other traditional rituals such as, and especially, the day of the dead.

That brings back to mind the above-mentioned message from across oceans through the Internet. Dr. Linda Alburo, head of Cebuano Studies at the University of San Carlos, advised that they would have a work respite on the occasion of All Saints’ Day observance and, perhaps as an afterthought, asked: Would you be lighting candles, too?

It prompted the afterthought, a realization of how such a common denominator as death is perceived so differently among varied cultures? To my recall, in our part of the country the observance is mostly a sacred event, an occasion of remembrance for the dearly departed. For sure there were festivities, too, but had to be subdued, deferential and even with religious connotations, hence, the All Saints’ Day appellation. Additionally, among our people, there is a general trepidation regarding the dead and things connected with them such as, for example, the burial place. For one, you cannot make me walk past a cemetery or go near a mortuary alone on a dark night.

In glaring contrast, Halloween in this country, which approximates our day of the dead, highlights the traits of the morbid, the spooky, witchcraft, goblins and just about any scary stuff the market can think of. Coffins and skeletons, cobwebs and bats and other grim habitués suggestive of the dark side are adopted as some kind of momentary decor to titillate the appetite of the curious and the wallet. Kids at an early age are coached into wearing weird costumes, play pranks, and knock on doors collecting candies. Now this last act, knocking on strangers’ doors soliciting bites, is scary indeed considering how devious some people can be.

Actually it has not been always like that. A website about ancestries mentions a ceremony Druids - priests in old Great Britain, Ireland and parts of France - conducted in appreciation for their ancestors. This Celtic celebration was based on the belief that on a particular night contact could be made with departed spirits, and guidance or inspiration received. Therefore, the dead were not feared but celebrated as loving guardians and guides. Ultimately, the days of Samhuinn – as it was called then - were renamed by early Christians to be Hallowe'en (31 October), All Hallows or All Saints’ Day (1 November), and All Souls’ Day (2 November).

Another version of the story is that on this particular night ghosts roam the earth and that people have to make them happy otherwise these nonliving creatures would create havoc. Thus explain the costumes and masks and the trick-or-treating as a sort of parade to lead the ghosts out of town.

In the US the celebration supposedly connected with this holiday was the Pilgrims’ way of expressing gratitude for surviving a harsh winter in 1621. In the interregnum, corporate America took over and thus the masks and the celebrities/heroes’ attires, the party wares, the black cat and toad figures. The movie people have to share in the bounty with their scary films, too; the pumpkin farmers have to get rid of the 17 trillion or so produced each year otherwise these will rot, and so on ad nauseam.

A day that has long been associated with the dispensing of usual inhibitions has to be tempered by the reality of present day America. The events of September 11 and the continuing threats of terrorist acts need to be kept in mind even in the observance of traditions. The element of security has to be a continuing factor to be considered especially when it concerns a popular event that generally throws caution to the wind.

Fil-Ams in heroic get-ups during a past Halloween event at Toby-Junice Calderon residence. (Photo by Dino)

More than in the way it is celebrated, Halloween Night also needs to change perceptions about what it stands for. As with everything else, there is a need for a celebration of caring, of understanding, and the strengthening of hearts and minds. There is a need to mend continuing recriminations caused by a divisive political exercise and help assuage the people’s negative image about their leaders who are largely blamed for the economic debacle. Finally, while there is reason to be wary, it is also important to maintain calm and be engaged with the requirements of a healthy nation.

A pleasant, non-scary Halloween to you all! (Lilia Rabe Grava)