Halloween vs All Saints’ Day

Halloween is right around the corner. This is a holiday that blows up social media in Hungary.

Halloween has never been a thing in Hungary. In recent years, though, costumes, candy and decorations have appeared in the shops, upsetting a lot of Hungarians.

Hungary has been invaded many times throughout its history, so Hungarians aren’t keen on foreigners. Valentine’s Day was already too much when it found its way to the country. People all it American BS, it was criticized for being nothing but a cheesy day forced onto couples. It has become quite a business opportunity for retailers here, as well.

Halloween is different. Hungarians are known to be pessimistic, we cry even when we are having fun, with one exception all of our red letters days are the commemorations of something sad (March 15th – in 1848, a group of people revolted against the Austrian rule in Hungary, it turned into a freedom fight which was defeated; October 6th – thirteen of the leaders of the 1848 war for freedom were executed on this day; October 23rd – people revolted against the Soviet rule but they were killed), even our national anthem is depressing.

Halloween interferes with All Saints’ Day – or at least this is how people see it. On November 1st, we go to the cemeteries and light candles on the graves of our deceased loved ones. It’s a sad day. We have to be said. Having one the night before is out of the question.

People post hateful comments on social media, claiming that Halloween teaches kids to disrespect the dead, have fun when they are supposed to cry and it’s just another American BS and another money-making opportunity for retailers.

I have never understood the hate and I’ll tell you why.

• I think cultural diversity is wonderful.
• Halloween isn’t an American tradition. It originates from the British Isles and the Irish immigrant brought it to America.
• As I think about our celebration, there is not a single one that I would call “pure Hungarian”. I’ll write a blog post about Hungarian Christmas traditions, so stay tuned if you want to learn some interesting stuff.
• Halloween is a huge business for retailers, that’s a fact. But so is Christmas. I tried to look it up in the Bible but couldn’t find the part where Jesus told people to rush into stores and shop like there’s no tomorrow to celebrate Christmas.
• Those who are in an uproar about some new Western BS coming to Hungary I bet won’t have a Christmas tree because that was brought here by the Protestant German immigrant. Another “Western BS”, yet almost everyone has it for the holidays.

What do you think? Is it okay for the traditions of different nations to mix? Does it threaten a country’s cultural identity? Can we be patriots while incorporating new holidays and traditions into our lives?