As a lover of all things horror, and a chronic costume enjoyer, it’s no surprise that I adore Halloween. I love the weird and the scary, and honestly, I’m glad that there’s a day where the awful gets its time to shine.
But every year, Halloween feels less about scare and more about scandal, and Halloweekend is more of an excuse to party and less about its historic roots.
In the Christian faith, Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, is the night before All Hallows day. Traditionally, All Hallows day celebrates the Christian saints who do not have their own day of celebration. By extension, All Hallows Eve was reserved for prayer and church – a far cry from a uni Halloweekend.
But Halloween in its first rendition was a Celtic festival called Samhain. It marked the end of summer and harvest, and the beginning of winter. It was believed that this was the night where the road between the afterlife and our own world was the thinnest – leaving people to remember family members who have passed on.
Not all spirits are friendly though – and that’s where the horror element of Halloween has its roots. Costumes and bonfires were used to ward off unwelcome spirits in a traditional Samhain. This element of tradition seems to be the most present in a uni Halloween. Costume planning – among my friends at least – is a two month long conversation, followed by a three day scrabble right before the fateful night. Granted, they’re not always scary, but they are, at the very least, ever present in the autumn semester at Uni.
A significant part of Samhain though, was the element of community. Samhain was about feasting on the spoils of harvest while they’re fresh, and marking the turn from lush summer to difficult winter. It was about surrounding yourself with friends and family.
And more than costumes, more than horror, a university Halloween seems to hold this value of community close. Whether it’s a scary movie night with flatmates, or a club night (most often), being surrounded by friends while it begins to get cold is the core of a Uni Halloween.
So while Halloween’s traditional roots have faded over time, some of those most important elements have stayed strong. While an excuse may seem like a divergence from a traditional Halloween, in many ways, dressing up and dancing with friends is the communal activity that Halloween was built on.
