By Shazia Majale,
NAIROBI, Kenya: Every time Halloween comes around, I’m reminded of my Dad and his dislike for anything related to Halloween. He has a whole theory on how and why Halloween is a ‘demonic’ celebration, and to the best of his knowledge, members of his household aren’t to celebrate it. His household, however, is as opinionated as it gets.
While my dad’s dislike for Halloween is a fun topic to discuss and make fun of with my siblings, in retrospect, it’s a representation of the rigidity that most African parents exhibit when it comes to different cultures. They acknowledge different beliefs and celebrations in the diversity of cultures but they’ll almost never embrace it. It’s almost equal to an act of terrorism to embrace something that’s not from your community.
It’s wild to imagine that, whereas Africans practice and believe in different religions that are totally foreign, in a typical African home, you can’t be found celebrating Halloween, which is also foreign.
All those throwing Halloween parties and attending the parties know so well most of their folks do not appreciate it, and it’s a best-kept secret between you and your friends.
There’s a superstition about Halloween. It’s a day that celebrates the dead, which is supposedly wrong, and invokes the spirit of the dead to wander about. I may not know so much about this superstition or how true it is, but it’s a little funny to think an African is being spooked about a dead spirit hovering around.
Being a Luhya, I know of a celebration that takes place to remember the dead after the burial day, and it’s surely accompanied by a whole load of rituals.
I’m also lost for words because most families celebrate the death anniversaries of their departed loved ones. Day’s almost immortalized in our hearts. Also, every so often, someone visits a gravesite of the dead for whatever reason, not to mention that some of you pray to the dead souls for protection and blessings and good health, but somehow Halloween is supposed to be this outrageous, out-of-hand practice.
Now, Halloween this year falls on a day that Diwali is celebrated by the Hindus, and there’s Samhain and Dia De Los Muertos, depending on which community you choose to celebrate.
Halloween could be any day, really, and on Halloween, you could choose to celebrate anything else. For some people, Halloween is a festival to mark the end of harvest and, to astrologers, a season for the New Moon.
Pranksters can get away with hilarious pranks that scare people out of their lives, or you could choose to eat an unhealthy amount of sweets.I just want to put on a costume and have an excuse to party.
For a majority of Kenyans, though, Halloween is just another day for new political shenanigans with no end in sight, and it’s a public holiday, too.
