Tag: holiday

Categories
Opinions

Reflections on Halloween

By Johanna Lamont

As Halloween approaches, I think back to my childhood and reflect on how my family interacted with the holiday. We were never the type of people who would dress up and go trick or treating, or as the churches around home called it, “Trunk or Treating.” We never really did anything for Halloween except the occasional Addams Family marathon. The candy, costumes, and history of the event were never of much importance to us, and holidays were never a priority in general. The one thing that stands out about it was my mother’s exasperation at the amount of candy people would give to her children. We often had candy cleanses after the month of October, where we would purge the house of excess candy unless it was M&M’s. 

Now, as I am older and am embracing holidays with my own twist on tradition, I have to rethink how I see Halloween. I finally get the chance to break out from my family’s tradition and make the holiday my own. The holiday itself has roots in the pagan celebration of Samhain, but the modern celebration of Halloween in America has little to do with pagan rites and celebrations. The holiday has been turned into a consumerist event, with companies marketing their costumes and candy like their lives depend on it. Halloween is generally a night spent with friends and is full of fun and mischief. We’ve adapted this pagan holiday into a holiday that suits our modern mentality, and in doing so, we’ve sacrificed the original meaning of it. This new reincarnation of the holiday holds no real moral meaning to it. There should be no guilt in someone’s conscience for dressing up and having fun with friends. I think that Halloween is a fine holiday with a lot of potential for fun. However, like any situation, it can be taken and used for wrong things. 

I plan on dressing up for Halloween this year, enjoying the day with friends, and embracing the time to play and have fun. I don’t get the opportunity to dress up and embrace my love of fictional worlds every day, so this is an exciting holiday for me. I think that when dealing with holidays like Halloween that have complicated pasts or assumptions tied to them, it’s best to consider your own opinion and moral convictions. I don’t find anything wrong with celebrating Halloween, but for someone else, there might be an experience or conviction tied to the holiday that could cause an issue or distress for them. For me, it’s all about how I approach the holiday, what I carry in my heart, and intentions toward it. If I approached Christmas with a heart of selfishness or greed, I could turn the holiday surrounding the celebration of Christ’s birth into a day of sin. The intentions and desires of our hearts determine how we interact with and respond to holidays and celebrations. Halloween can be used for ill, as you can use the mystery and chaos of the holiday to harm others or cause distraction and fear. 

Overall, I like the freedom of dressing up and appreciating the candy sales. I love the cheap chocolate, looking through Halloween aisles, coordinating costumes with friends, and watching cheesy movies. The holiday is corny and full of fun traditions that are waiting to be embraced. It’s a non-demanding holiday. There is no pressure to participate, and it has enough variations in how it’s celebrated that anyone can find a way to enjoy it. I think that this is a time of year that I will continue to look forward to in the future and create my own spooky traditions for. I think that my inner Addams will always enjoy the spooky, mischievous gloom of Halloween – with or without the candy. ★

Categories
Opinions

Remember, Remember, the 11th of November

Today is Veterans Day 2016. This is the holiday on which we honor all those who served, or are serving, in the United States Armed Forces. Earlier this week we had a Presidential Election. Many of us exercised our right to vote for our leaders and representatives in the government. For most citizens, however, their contribution to the maintenance of society goes no further than casting a vote every few years. Not so for a veteran. President Reagan said, “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But the Marines don’t have that problem.” This sentiment gets at the heart of the civilian/soldier divide. Because the Marines (and all veterans) pledged themselves to a cause greater than the individual, they will never worry whether their contribution to society mattered. Every veteran, in the Oath of Enlistment, said these words: “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies…and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me…” Veterans are those who were willing to give their lives in the service of our nation as a whole, to sacrifice their personal dreams for the sake of a bigger one, to value the good of the community over that of the individual. They are the most selfless among us, and while they do not seek or ask for honor, they deserve it.

Photo by: Nate Moore
Photo by: Nate Moore

But November 11 was not always celebrated as Veterans Day. Previously it was known as Remembrance/Armistice Day (as it still is in most countries outside the U.S.). This was the day on which the Great War came to an end. It was supposed to be the end of “the war to end all wars.” Unfortunately, the Great War was not the end of all wars; on the contrary, a second world war shortly followed the first, bringing with it to earth a part of hell never seen before or after. We have seen genocides on almost every corner of the globe, conflict in the Middle East, and the rise of global terrorism. War has by no means gone away.

But, as President Obama said earlier this year, “We’re fortunate to be living in the most peaceful era in human history,” a fact attested to by historians and sociologist. Even though the world has been, and in some regards still is, a brutal and nasty place, things generally are getting better. Globally, we are living longer than ever, extreme poverty is declining, deaths from major diseases are at an all-time low, and back to this piece’s topic, deaths from war are now at a historic low point. Of course war has not been eradicated, but it seems as if the sacrifices of previous generations have payed off, at least for now.

mattquote-2Armistice/Veterans Day provides the opportunity to reflect on the past and, hopefully, to apply what we can learn from reflection towards building a brighter tomorrow. Veterans deserve our recognition and respect because they were willing to sacrifice a part of their lives and autonomy in service to the greater good. But as General Schwarzkopf said, “Any soldier worth his salt should be anti-war.” Veterans, above all people, are the ones who must face the demon called “war” on a daily basis. They know what it will cost them and their loved ones. They have seen what war is, and found it wanting. It is not something to be sought after, desired, or romanticized; it is hell, and nothing more.

Hopefully we will find ourselves in a future where there are few to be honored as veterans because there is little need for soldiers. To quote Einstein, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” We live in a world in which one nuclear (or other technological) mishap could seal the fate of our species. The first two world wars were devastating, and altered the course of history in incalculable ways; but I tremble at the thought of a third. For if there is one, it will surely be the last. So let us not forget the sacrifices made by our veterans; use this day to honor those deserving of honor. But if we wish to see a brighter tomorrow, we must labor together to beat our swords into plowshares, our spears into pruning hooks, and to learn war no more.

Matt is a U.S. Army veteran and a junior philosophy major.

Categories
Opinions

The Irrelevancy of Cheerful Intentions

With the close of another Thanksgiving season, I am excited to begin celebrating all things Christmas. I want to sing cheesy Christmas songs, eat lots of Christmas cookies, and wear wonderfully ugly Christmas sweaters, every-single-day. While this may actually be rather child-like, I have also come to appreciate the Christmas season’s emphasis upon giving unto others with the intent of selfless appreciation. Unfortunately, living in a consumer-oriented context, the bargain-hunting aggression of ‘Black Friday’ has come to more readily define ‘Christmas-like’ giving. The influx of consumerism during this season has simultaneously translated into innumerable opportunities for material charity amongst citizens of the Global North. It is initially daunting to challenge consumer-based charity, specifically with its popularity among respectable citizens. However, there persists a need to re-conceptualize consumer-based charities popular during this

occ

holiday season. A needed shift in perspective specifically highlights the lack of depth, cultural relevance, and disregard for recipient perspectives. At the core of its shortcomings, however, consumer-based charity needs greater understanding for the complexity of human-related issues.

At the forefront of consumer-focused charity during the Christmas season is an initiative facilitated by the Samaritan’s Purse named Operation Christmas Child (OCC). Since 1993, OCC has collected shoeboxes from its participants in North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Each participant is to fill a shoebox with hygienic items and toys that Western children typically see as essential or enjoyable to play with (i.e. toothpaste, socks, crayons, coloring books, kazoos, etc.). Through OCC, participants are encouraged to label their toy-stuffed shoebox with a sticker indicating a preferred age and sex of the child who will receive the box. According to the Samaritans Purse website, these boxes are intended for children of the Global South who are ‘living in difficult situations’. Through participant’s shoebox donation, OCC mobilizes ‘privileged’ families of the Global North to ‘share the good news of Jesus Christ’ with ‘underprivileged’ children of the Global South. Unfortunately, introducing Jesus Christ through toys and knick-knacks promotes a simplistic view of Christianity in association with Western consumer culture. As a result, the nature of Jesus Christ adopts attributes of our capitalist society rather than the magnitude of his humanity, divinity, and relevance.

In addition to its non-contextualized approach to evangelism, OCC promotes a one-way relationship between the ‘giver’ and the ‘receiver’, lacking parameters for reciprocity or consistency from year-to-year. In narrowing its concept of charity to a linear flow of western materials, OCC has missed potential for deeper impact through long-term relationship building. Further opportunities involve the development of healthy relationships among consistently participating communities, while better engaging the voice of OCC recipients to define such relationships. Never accessing the capabilities of mutual relationships undermines the diverse expression of opinion amongst both donors and recipients, further hindering the determination of relevant outcomes. Just as one would wish to give a gift relevant to a family member’s indicated ‘wish list’, the voiced desires of OCC recipients need be better involved in determining the outcomes of donor strategies.

Operation Christmas Child currently represents a Westernized view of Christmas, evangelism, and the Global South. As members of the Houghton student body, it is critical that we better critique the premise of OCC and its campus-wide participation. From this perspective, we each are challenged to re-conceptualize the intents, means, and effects of how we choose to give. Moving forward into this holiday season, let us contemplate the wonderful attributes of Christmas, while also reflecting upon its increasing focus on consumerism. In doing so, may we continually contemplate our well-meaning intentions with the valuable humanity of our neighbor, both local and abroad.