Where does Halloween come from?
Halloween was originally called All Hallows'Eve, meaning the night before Christmas Day. Today's Halloween festival originated from the Celts, a nation that lived more than 2,000 years ago in the lands now known as the UK, Ireland and northern France.
Halloween is the result of many changes over the centuries. Now, the holidays in Halloween no longer have religious meaning but everyone considers them a fun festival with the apples of Pomona, the black cat of Sanhaim festival and the ghosts, the skeletons of the festival of Saints and souls...
This is also an opportunity to educate people to stay away from bad things and not play with "devils". "Ma quy" is understood as the meaning of bad things, deceit, and evilness.
Is Halloween really suitable for Vietnamese culture?
In Vietnam, Halloween has become popular in recent years. Many festival locations are held, especially universities and kindergartens. Besides the characters in the legend, many creepy costume images are used by young people. This makes many people wonder whether this Festival is really suitable for Vietnamese culture?
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Trung, Halloween festivals have traveled to Vietnam for about ten years and have some similarities with Vietnamese culture. "In the process of integrating into international exchanges, young people like to find new things. In fact, Vietnamese people also have the concept of 3 layers of the world, the world above the sky of gods, the earth of humans, and the hell of demons. In the subconscious of Vietnamese people, there are also notions of evil spirits, but demons follow Vietnamese people according to other notions.
Halloween abroad is a cultural activity that also educates people that besides the good aspects, there are also bad aspects. In each person, everyone has good qualities and evil qualities. If we do not practice, understand, and do not have the right philosophies, evil qualities and bad qualities will emerge, harming ourselves, our families and society."
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Trung, if we deeply accept the Halloween festival, it will contribute to the fight against unethical and negative things. However, due to the acquisition of foreign culture, there are sometimes deviations and excesses.
Many people use Halloween ghosts to deceive each other, causing worries. Or some subjects take advantage of this to create exotic products to supply the market, which is not in line with Vietnamese culture.
"In the process of international integration, it cannot be immediately standardized, so when accepting, there will be a certain deviation. Because people absorb emotions, it is necessary for culturalists and educators to put them in a certain path and orient the right things.
Halloween festivals in Vietnam will help create cultural interweaving but it is necessary to choose what is suitable for Vietnamese culture in the direction of actively avoiding conflicts," said Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Trung.
