Soy venezolana y por lo menos en país eso es lo más notorio que se puede ver del Halloween, es una festividad netamente comercial, no es común para nosotros decorar nuestras casas así como lo hacemos para la navidad. Sin embargo, en otros países latinos si tiene un poco más de relevancia esta fiesta o la noche de brujas como comúnmente se le conoce. Por ejemplo, hablando desde mi experiencia, acá en Perú si se le da importancia sobre todo como festividad divertida para los niños.
When the month of October arrives we can see how the shopping centers, stores and supermarkets begin with their allusive decoration to Halloween, pumpkins, ghosts, mummies, spider webs and stop counting. I am Venezuelan and at least in my country that is the most noticeable thing that we can see of Halloween, it is a purely commercial holiday, it is not common for us to decorate our houses as we do for Christmas. However, in other Latin countries this party or Halloween as it is commonly known is a little more relevant. For example, speaking from my experience, here in Peru it is given importance above all as a fun holiday for children.
Estos niños, los más pequeños acompañados de sus padres y los más grandecitos solos, iban por las avenidas principales donde se encuentran la mayoría de las tiendas, panaderías, supermercados y centros comerciales con sus pequeñas calabazas a pedir sus tan anhelados dulces, no lo hacían de casa en casa como solemos ver en las películas, solo iban a las tiendas y establecimientos comerciales, en los cuales se encontraba un adulto, también disfrazado para la ocasión, dispuesto a entregarles a los pequeños los caramelos y dulces.
In my first year here, on October 31st, I had my first encounter with these two festivities: Halloween and holywins. That day I went with my daughter to church for an activity on the eve of Saints' Day which is celebrated on November 1. On the way to the church we were able to observe with amazement a large number of costumed children, not only were they horror costumes and stuff, it was all kinds of costumes.
These children, the youngest ones accompanied by their parents and the older ones alone, went through the main avenues where most of the stores, bakeries, supermarkets and shopping centers are located with their little pumpkins to ask for their long-awaited sweets, they did not From house to house, as we usually see in the movies, they only went to the shops and commercial establishments, where an adult was, also dressed up for the occasion, ready to give the little ones the candies and sweets.
A mi hija le emocionó mucho ver esto y quiso participar, sin embargo, siempre le he explicado que por razones religiosas no practicamos de ese tipo de cosas, pero a ella siempre le ha llamado la atención usar trajes y disfraces y crear personajes, (creo que tiene alma de teatrera). Por otro lado, ya teníamos un compromiso en la iglesia al que no podíamos faltar pues ella era parte del coro infantil.
When I say that we saw it with amazement, I mean that in my country (or at least where I am from) we were not used to seeing this activity in this way, the most we could see were costume contests in one or another shopping center , but not everyone had the ability to spend on a costume just to be worn in one night. My daughter was very excited and wanted to participate, however, I have always explained to her that for religious reasons we do not practice that kind of thing, but she has always been struck by wearing suits and disguises and creating characters, (I think she has theatrical soul). And on the other hand, we already had a commitment in the church that we could not miss because she was part of the children's choir.
Anyway, when we got to the Church for the activity, we saw with surprise that many children were also disguised but this time they were dressed in habits and outfits similar to those used by the Saints in their time, the truth was that they looked very cute and not Only that, in the development of the activity, each child explained to the present community who he was disguised as, who was that character, what were his qualities, his way of living the faith and why he had chosen him. I could see that the children who participated were actually aware of what they were celebrating, the eve of the Feast of All Saints, Saints recognized by the church and anonymous Saints like all those people who in their passage through the earth left a mark, They contributed a grain of sand to make this world a better place, people worthy of imitating and following their example and why not dressing like them and commemorating their memory and legacy.
In that activity, there were songs, praises, games, dances and of course also many sweets and prizes for the children, in fact it was a very enjoyable night, nothing like a night of terror, because my daughter really liked the activity and By the following year he had to read about the lives of some Saints and decide which one she would like to represent. That day we met Holywins, the night in which the Holiness wins.
Algunas definiciones /Some definitions
“El concepto de Halloween surge como contracción de la expresión inglesa “All Hallows’ Eve”, que en nuestra lengua se traduce como “Víspera de Todos los Santos”. Se trata de una celebración que también se conoce como Noche de Brujas, Noche de Víspera de Difuntos o Noche de Muertos.” Costumbres y tradiciones
The concept of Halloween arises as a contraction of the English expression “All Hallows’ Eve ”, which in our language translates as“ All Hallows' Eve ”. It is a celebration that is also known as Halloween, Night of the Eve of the Dead or Night of the Dead
Holywins
El término Holywins se compone de las palabras “Holy” (santo, santidad) y “wins” (ganar) con lo que su traducción literal sería “los santos ganan)"
Esta iniciativa surge en Paris en el año 2002 pero se ha ido extendiendo por España y otras partes del mundo con gran aceptación sobre todo entre los católicos. Se presenta como una alternativa diferente para los niños y es la contraparte del Halloween es por ello la similitud fonética de ambas palabras. Más información
The term Holywins is composed of the words "Holy" (holy, holiness) and "wins" (win) with what its literal translation would be "the saints win)" This initiative arose in Paris in 2002 but has spread to Spain and other parts of the world with great acceptance especially among Catholics. It is presented as a different alternative for children and is the counterpart of Halloween, which is why the phonetic similarity of both words
Other alternatives or ideas that have also arisen in regard to this day is to disguise children as their favorite superheroes and something more ecological is to wear flower, plant or animal costumes, holding contests and fun activities where they can get what they really want. It motivates them and they finally end up being the protagonists of the night: The sweets and candies.
Finalmente, la decisión la tomas tú, lo importante es que los niños se diviertan y se sientan a gusto con lo que hagan, ensenándoles siempre a respetar la diversidad, las preferencias, costumbres, tradiciones y religiones de los demás.
Espero pasen una felices vísperas de todos los Santos sea cual fuere la manera como lo decidan celebrar.
Finally, the decision is made by you, the important thing is that children have fun and feel comfortable with what they do, always teaching them to respect the diversity, preferences, customs, traditions and religions of others. I hope you have a happy All Saints' Eve no matter how you celebrate it.
