Breathe
By Sofía Guadarrama
In 1978, the first of 13 American horror films in the Halloween saga was released, directed by John Carpenter, in which the psychopath Michael Myers escapes from a psychiatric hospital and kills children over the age of 11.
It was with the arrival of that movie in Mexico that -at the beginning of the 80's- Halloween began to gain popularity in the country. However, with the passage of time this forged new monsters in the minds of the most nationalistic and conservative, who argued that Halloween did not belong to our roots, like the Day of the Dead, which is also an erroneous belief. But let's go by parts:
Halloween, like the Day of the Dead, comes from the eve of the Christian holidays: All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, in Spanish, and All Hallow's Eve, in English, which means "All Hallows' Eve", which was celebrated on the night of October 31.
There is another version that says that Halloween comes from Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival originating more than 2000 years ago, which celebrated the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, in what we know today as the United Kingdom, Ireland and northern France.
According to Celtic belief, during that night, the dead could return to the world of the living. Just as it is believed in Mexico today. The Celts opened the tombs, which they considered portals to the world of the dead. However, according to their dogma, not all the dead who returned to the world of the living during Samhain were good. To protect themselves from these evil beings, the living disguised themselves in masks and animal skins.
They would light bonfires to burn straw and to repel witchcraft and disease. They also went from house to house, asking for soul cakes, "soul bread", and in exchange they promised to pray for their deceased. It is said that this practice transmuted into the modern trick-or-treat.
With the rise of Christianity and religious conquest around the world, many holidays were mixed and this was no exception. Saints' Day was instituted every May 13. In the 8th century Pope Gregory III changed the original date to November 1.
In Ireland and Scotland began the custom of using beets or pumpkins as lanterns, today called Jack-o'-lanterns, "Jack's lantern".
Legend has it that a man named Jack could not go to heaven or hell and had to wander for eternity on earth with a lump of coal from hell with which he lit his lantern.
With the migration to the Americas, Catholic and Anglican customs also arrived. In the 19th century, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought All Hallow 's Eve to colonial New England America.
It is believed that it was Haitian and African immigrants who brought the beliefs about black cats, fire, witchcraft and voodoo.
Little by little, this celebration gained momentum in the United States until the 20th century, when marketing popularized it worldwide.
However, in Mexico there are still those who flatly reject this celebration with the argument that it does not belong to our roots like the Day of the Dead. Are you sure?
Next Friday I will tell you about the origin of the Christian and Mesoamerican Day of the Dead.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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