Pumpkin Lattes and Halloween Costumes

Fall has arrived here at Greendale. We can tell by the changing colors of the leaves, the return of seasonal pumpkin lattes, and the Halloween costumes being sold at the student store. They don't sell notebooks but they sell costumes. Go figure. But most importantly, with fall comes tolerance. Yes, they are in fact related. We embrace diversity at Greendale and we are proud to have students from around the world, and Canada, learning at our fine institution. It is now that we should make an effort to understand their backgrounds in order to make them feel comfortable in celebrating the upcoming holiday.

As many of you know, Halloween, or All Hallows Eve as some call it, is just around the corner. Many will participate in American traditions such as costume buying, excessive candy consumption, and party going. (Note: The staff party is in the gymnasium this year. Stop by to see the hot Stats professor. You will thank me later.) But this is not how all countries celebrate the day.

Halloween is said to have started in Ireland. There, they practice many of the same traditions for the holiday that we do here in the United States, such as trick-or-treating and party going. The Irish have a traditional food called barnbrack that is made or bought for the day. It is a kind of fruitcake and it has treats baked inside. Building large bonfires in rural areas is also a custom, although I don't think that tradition would go over very well here with our raging wildfires. The Irish may have fathered the holiday but other cultures have made their own traditions.

Senor Chang has been gracious enough to introduce us to the Mexican version of our Halloween. The day is known as Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. It is celebrated the first two days of November and is an ancient festivity with Aztec roots. This day is used to honor deceased family members, children, and loved ones. It also encourages families to spend time together. Gravesites are decorated with brightly colored flowers, such as marigolds, and food and drinks are left for the deceased. It is believed that their souls return to their homes on Halloween. Skulls are often used during the celebrations and they have become a symbol for the day as well.

On the other side of the world, in Hong Kong, the holiday is known as "Yue Lan" or Festival of the Hungry Ghosts. They believe that spirits roam the world for 24 hours. It is also a custom to burn pictures of fruit or money in hopes that the images will reach the spirit world and comfort the ghosts.

And we can't forget our Canadians! In Canada they carve pumpkins and trick-or-treat just as we do here in the U.S. They also decorate their houses with pumpkins and corn stalks. Because our traditions are so similar we hope that they will feel right at home here at Greendale for the holiday.

So next time you see an Irish classmate around Halloween maybe start a small bonfire to show them that you understand and appreciate their culture. Or hand a Hispanic person a skull. It can make their day that much better. Maybe burn some money for your Chinese friend while you're at it. And as for the Canadians, they should do just fine. Remember, you can never be too tolerant.