Halloween!

Before writing a post about Halloween I decided to look for some information because the only thing I knew was that Anglo-Saxon people like to dress up and carve pumpkins on this occasion (a bit stereotyped belief) but I didn't know anything about the religious and cultural background of this holiday. I looked for it in Wikipedia and I found out a lot of interesting things: it originated in Ireland and it was a sort of autumn festival called "Samhain Night". Later, it was brought to America by Irish people following the Irish Potato Famine.

Then I asked myself: and what about Jack-o'-lantern?. It can be traced back to an Irish legend, too! It was a man who tricked the devil into climbing a tree and trapped him by carving a cross into the trunk of the tree. In revenge, the devil made him eternally wander the earth at night.

After knowing all these things I started to wonder about its meaning in our country. Does it make sense to celebrate Halloween in Italy? I don't think so. Despite the fact that I really like most of the things that come from the States I believe that this is only a pretext used to make people spend their money in decorations, disguises, and other things. This commercialization exists also in the United States but I think that, at least, they take this celebration seriously, because it is part of their culture. They prepare this holiday with care and dedication and they organise many events, such as the "Universal's Halloween Horror Nights" in Orlando and Hollywood or the "Village Halloween Parade" in New York.

Does any of these things exist in Italy? The answer is obvious and all things considerd I think that we should be aware of our traditions rather than badly copy those of other countries.