Halloween — The Eve When All Is Ghostly

Halloween originates from Celtic traditions — the festival of Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced like Sah-win). Celts celebrated Samhain on Oct. 31, which was believed to be the end of the harvest season. Celts believed that the wall between the spirit world and our world was thinnest at this time. They would light up bonfires and disguise themselves in animal-like costumes to scare the evil spirits and ghosts away. Sacrifices would be made in the forms of animals and crops to the Celtic gods to keep them safe during the cold winter.

Of course, today, we won’t sacrifice anything to the gods in a bonfire, but we still keep that tradition of dressing up in costumes. If the visuals of ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies — anything scary in general discomfort you, then dressing up as one of those fears might actually be therapeutic. According to an article by Jean Kim in PsychologyToday, wearing costumes that portray these phobias may be fear extinction therapy. “Plenty of neurobiological evidence and research note that specific phobias can improve after extinction of the fear sensitization pathway that triggers our evolutionary fight-or-flight response systems,” wrote Kim.

However, if for some it may be a fun way to destress, others may feel oppressed. Such costumes and the whole concept of Halloween — sometimes portraying ‘crazy people’ — stigmatize those with mental illnesses. An article from VeryWellMind by Kendra Cherry addressed the concerns with people affected by mental illnesses. During the festivity of Halloween, people who struggle with mental illnesses are usually portrayed as evil, mad, and dangerous. As a result, they may “internalize this stigma, making it less likely that they will seek help.”

Because of the ghostly concept of Halloween, it is not widely celebrated in countries with certain religions and traditions. For example, the majority of the population in Bulgaria is Orthodox Christian, which is why Halloween is not as popular as it is in Ireland, America, or Western Europe. Halloween is not a part of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Bulgarian customs. In fact, in 2017, one of the Bulgarian municipalities banned the celebration of Halloween in schools and kindergartens. The reason behind this ban was that on Nov. 1, Bulgaria celebrates The Day of Enlighteners, which falls right after the Eve of All Saints and, as the mayor of the municipality said, overshadows the national commemoration day of spiritual leaders and scholars.

Nevertheless, Bulgaria does celebrate a similar festival — Surva carnival. Surva is a part of Bulgarian folklore. It is primarily held in Pernik, where it was first held in 1966, but other cities celebrate Surva as well. This festival is carried out at the end of January or early February and is meant to chase the evil spirits away. People dress up in costumes with fur, wear masks with horns and teeth, and participate in demonstrations, games, and other festivities.

As for Halloween, Bulgarian children and youth still dress up in costumes and participate in events. Decorations with thematic props and carved pumpkins are put up in cities. You might have seen many pumpkins in the vegetable section at Kaufland, and that is no coincidence. BalkanInsight, a Balkan news website, reported that Bulgaria had produced over 132 thousand tonnes of pumpkins and gourds in 2016!

Halloween celebrations can be fun, and who doesn’t like a little scare once in a while? Clubs and cafes will host thematic parties. Enjoy this festivity — maybe you will even find it therapeutic!