Desi- Desi is derived from ancient word desa which means the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent.(Source: Wikipedia)
Halloween –The Celts celebrated the arrival of winter with a holiday called All Hallows Eve. They lit fires and danced around them. They wore frightening masks to scare away the ghosts. Placed candles inside the carved pumpkins. The candlelight was thought to keep away spirits of the night.(Source: Google. One of the many theories)
Now, this day is called Halloween. Celebrated on October 31. Those young by age and heart, dress up in costumes and go from house to house asking “Trick or Treat!” And they are rewarded with different kind of treats.
🎃 🎃🎃🎃 🎃 🎃🎃🎃 🎃 🎃🎃🎃🎃 🎃🎃🎃🎃 🎃🎃🎃
As a child, I have never celebrated Halloween, nor did I know much about it.But my son got introduced to the concept of Halloween in his pre-school. He reads about it in books, and saw it in movies and cartoons.It is quite different with these Gen Z kids. They have global exposure, hear about different ways of life and cultures and are connected, unlike us – the 80 ‘s born.
Last year my son asked me if I could host a Halloween party for him.
A Halloween Party!? Oh YES!! Why not! How could I miss a chance to enhance the boundaries of my creativity 😉?
So, I reached out to other parents in our apartment complex. Few of them were as enthusiastic as us, few were new to the concept but game for it. And few replied – “Don’t we have enough Indian festivals to celebrate? Why must we make so much fuss over a Western festival? What does one stand to gain from celebrating it anyways?”
Yes, I agree we do have plenty of desi festivals to celebrate, especially around this time of the year. But none of them involves dressing up as spooky creatures!
And as I mentioned I need an excuse to trigger all the creativity neurons in my brain.
Most importantly, it is impossible for us to deny those starry- eyed requests of my boy for having a Halloween Party. Then does anything else matter?
And so, we end up celebrating – desi Halloween party of 20nineteen!
So much fun! So, I decided to celebrate Halloween every year, till my boy would say “Mom, grow up!” But little I knew 2020 would be so unique. Practically, wearing masks for the entire year and spiritedly fighting the pandemic spirits.
Keeping our morale high, this 31st we are going to again celebrate the desi Halloween of 2020; to appease the spirit COVID-19.
Planning in progress! We ‘ll post the pictures soon!
