Now that all the midterms essays are done it is time to dress up as something funny, or just as something. As today is Halloween, I want to go into the difference between Halloween in Ireland and Germany.
After getting invited to a Halloween party I was curious about costumes and if I had to dress up. Where I come from we have two events a year where we dress up: Carnival and Halloween. Halloween is for all these spooky costumes, like vampires and witches, but it’s not really a big thing when you don’t dress up, and on carnival everything must be as colourful and as fun as possible. Those two events seem to be mashed together with Irish Halloween, and I’m confused. I thought I could get away with putting on some cat ears and drawing a little cat face on, but apparently my costume must be actually as good as my carnival costumes (I dressed up as a different Pokémon every year).
Another thing is that every society and every pub has their special Halloween event. Like a Halloween party, Halloween pumpkin carving or a Halloween lecture (yes, a lecture). Even the university has in that Halloween fever, and it is screening Frankenstein the day before Halloween as part of a whole Frankenstein themed week.
I mean, as Halloween is coming from Samhain, an Irish festival that used to mark the end of the harvest season, Ireland better be proud of their traditions. (Even though I doubt that medieval and pre – medieval Celts dressed up as “sexy vampire” or “spooky pizza” – that is a thing, google it – for Samhain). It is the time of the year when the door between the underworld and our world is open, and we are closer to everything that is on “the other side.” As a Celtic Civilisation student, I’d love to see Cú Chulainn coming back from the dead or listen to Colum Cille preach about Christianity.
After all, Halloween here is kind of fun. I love pumpkins and the smell of fancy dress makeup (the distinct smell of chemical particles in cheap lipstick) because brings me back to my childhood. I can’t wait to go out and see all these creatives costumes on Halloween night, even though I’m pretty sure that mine will be rather cheesy or uncreative. I am kind of stuck between deciding if a cereal killer would be a better option than a bread winner (get it – get it?).