Saturday, 31st October 2009 - 21:52CET
Trick or treat? It's Halloween!
Video: Paul Spiteri Lucas
Halloween in Malta has been gaining popularity in recent years and young children in Swieqi knock on people’s doors calling on the owners to choose from “trick or treat”.
A few have also taken on to organising private parties to which the guests turn up in “horror” costumes.
Another area which got scary for Halloween this year was the Valletta Waterfront with the promenade turning black and orange with lit pumpkins.
Traditional characters like Zombie, Grim Reaper, Dracula and the Witch, added to the eerie spirit.
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There's no problem with 'paganism' (yes originally it was Samhaim - generically pagan).
This is a very superficial reading of the situation. English is widely spoken in Malta as a result of our heritage - 200 years of British rule - which cannot be wiped out overnight, just as many countries in North Africa speak French apart from Arabic.
Halloween is an import which is mainly due to US influence (cultural imperialism) which is reaching our shores through cable TV, cinema and the net. It's very recent and didn't even exist in Malta in the eighties or early nineties, when we were mainly influenced by Italian TV.
Thank you Mr. Zammit I was about to write the same thing!
@ Emmanuel Spiteri
Mr. Spiteri it is up to us to educate our children to our traditions! Do not blame the kids. The kids do what they see us doing! We are their role models - so if you want them to be model citizens & follow our traditions, it begins with our behaviour! It is up to us to teach our children OUR traditions. In my family we all celebrate San Martin & we all have our embroidered bags!
We "christians" - swear at the top of our lungs, we complain from sunrise to sunset. Then when you ask someone politely to refrain from swearing especially in front of kids, you get more abuse! Then when it comes to something like this "Le ta, ghax mhux kattolika!" We're all saints then! Let's not be hypocrites, shall we? We're supposed to be civilised & open-minded, if there is such a thing in Malta!!!!
@ Paul Barrett
Please!! Satanism??? Aren't we going far?!!
If the children are accompanied by an adult, it would be all good fun in a civilised way.
The celebration is always a huge success with hundreds of children managing to get loads of sweets and goodies.
Speaking english in itself is not wrong however the question should be why certain people speak english when we have our own language? The answer is very simple it gives a sense of superiority on the rest who speak Maltese.
Just like Halloween, its alien to these islands, however we are trying artificially introduce it when we have its counterpart, carnival, however since this belongs to the Maltese tradition, we refrain from it since anything thats Maltese should be destroyed. The people of this country are becoming so void so empty....
I agree totally with you. I remember me waking up to a Borza ta' San Martin and mum telling me that san Martin came and left me this bag of goodies (it's like a Maltese Santa Clause). I think that Halloween is nice too...as long as children are having fun by not bothering others and behaving well. After all every excuse is good to dress up :)
obvioulsy there is nothing wrong about English-speaking persons. What is wrong is that these little kids have a terrible English accent (entirely due to the fact that linguistically they ARE Maltese) and the vast majority of them will grow up with a sub-standard level of Maltese knowledge (especially written). The result is a future generation unable to speak well at least one language. Being unable to speak and write correctly in your own mother tounge is a shame.
To you it may be only kids having fun but to us it was not fun. Not when when you have gangs of kids roaming the streets incessantly ringing on the door bell throughout the evening and even one of the groups who when not getting an answer, tried to open the front door in frustration, to get in.
http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/784/Truth_about_Halloween.html
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
Please refrain from such comments. What's wrong if a person speaks in English?
I think that as long that the kids behave, this is a very beautiful tradition from all over the world.
No wonder that our kids don't even know how to have some real fun nowadays, with "us adults" complaining about everything they do.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6897422.ece
I am really surprised that there has been so little reaction here against the growing popularity.