By S. Elie
All last week I heard ads on the radio and saw several on the television pushing Halloween parties and movies. Since when do we celebrate Halloween? Where did we get it from?
Yes the media is to inform and entertain us, but can they change our traditions? What happened to All Souls or All Saints when we pray for those who have departed? We have thrown this away for Halloween. Do we know the origins of the festival? Why do they wear masks? What is the purpose of the “trick or treat”? But we have people counting down the week … Wednesday, Thursday, Friday… Halloween Party!
What is going on with our media houses? Our television stations advertise and air Halloween shows during the final October weekend, our radio stations play and endorse Halloween party ads. It’s one thing to look at running the ads as a business venture but how come our media houses do not endorse All Souls or All Saints (which is originally celebrated November 1st) so that we light candles and pray for the souls of those who have passed - the persons who were killed on our roads, on the job, the victims of crime. Instead we have Halloween stories and Halloween sales. 
Let’s look at the facts – according to the Colombian Encyclopedia, Halloween, Oct. 31, the eve of All Saints' Day , observed with traditional games and customs. The word comes from medieval England's All Hallows' eve (Old Eng. hallow = "saint”). However, many of these customs predate Christianity, going back to Celtic practices associated with Nov. 1, which was Samhain, the beginning of winter and the Celtic New Year. Witches and other evil spirits were believed to roam the earth on this evening, playing tricks on human beings to mark the season of diminishing sunlight. Bonfires were lit, offerings were made of dainty foods and sweets, and people would disguise themselves as one of the roaming spirits, to avoid demonic persecution. Survivals of these early practices can be found in countries of Celtic influence today, such as the United States where children go from door to door in costumes demanding "trick or treat." To read more… http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Halloween.aspx 
The media does not tell us what to think but what to think about. But, they should not promote things because everyone else (country) is doing it. Is the profit from advertising more important than the messages being fed to citizens?
On behalf of T&T Bloggerzine, to all the families and friends of those who have passed away, accept our condolences.
Eternal rest grant unto them oh Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them
May they rest in peace. Amen. X3
May the souls of all the faithful who have departed rest in peace. Amen.
2 comments:
We tend to blame the media for everything when essentially we have a responsibilty to ourselves. Is it really the job of the media to inform us about EVERYTHING?? We have brains and we need to get up off of our laurels and start seeking info.
As for the media telling us what to think about..ha! Some people can't function without that!
@anoymous tell a 9yr old and 15 0r 17yr old to get off their laurels and start seeking info....cus they are the ones who are affected on a larger scale by the nonesense that the media promotes....on a different note t&tblog. u mentioned that we should put more attention on our traditional stuff such as "all saints" and "all souls" isnt that a catholic tradition? what about the other religious faith's traditions?
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