This year’s Halloween fell on a Friday, allowing for a truly incredible and unhindered night. The costume parties, parades, candy and trick-or-treating were out in full force across the country. These traditions give Halloween its identity and the United States a source of great pride.
Ask around, and it’s common to hear that Halloween is one of our favorite holidays. From our childhood years of trick-or-treating to our college years’ costume parties, Halloween means a lot despite our lack of knowledge about its origin.
Unlike Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas and the Fourth of July, Halloween’s meaning and history is relatively unknown, but we don’t care. The opportunity to dress up into costumes, paint our faces and eat candy doesn’t need a reason. It’s the opportunity to be someone or something else that we would otherwise never get the chance to be for the night. We get to bring back a childhood superhero, impersonate a movie character or try and scare the crap out of our friends.
Our devotion to Halloween is uniquely American. My first Halloween abroad confirmed that. There were no decorations on any apartments or houses, no haunted houses or corn mazes, and very small amounts of costumes or candy. It was sad to see, but made me realize that Halloween’s traditions are only as strong as the people make it.
For example, Americans generally have little knowledge of its origin, but are devoted to the holiday’s tradition simply because it’s marked on the calendar. Since then, I’ve realized the United States’ stereotype regarding shallow holidays.
Halloween is obviously the most recent example. However, after talking with people from other countries, I learned that it doesn’t stop there. They asked what Halloween is like in the U.S., and I was happy to fulfill the image they had in their head. From movies, TV shows and general media we are publicized as going all out on Oct. 31. Apparently this was an American cliché, and prior to confirmation, some of them didn’t know if it was true, but I was happy to endorse the job our media has done. And Halloween was only the beginning.
Christmas was a whole other story. I gladly reported all the Christmas lights, music and snow from my memories growing up in Montana. All of my friends abroad just found it so entertaining. Cutting down a tree, driving around looking at the Christmas lights on Dec. 24 and all the food sound like something out of a movie to foreigners, but it’s real. Raleigh might usually be exempt from the snow, but Christmas traditions are still widespread about the Triangle. Dec. 25 might have more historical origin as a holiday, but the people make it possible.
There are few American stereotypes I like to see confirmed, but this was one I was glad to encourage. I am proud of our holiday traditions and enjoy our over-enthusiasm toward each and every one. We need something to celebrate once in a while. Luckily, it seems, everyone in the U.S. agrees.
