Student has a different take on Halloween
Student Spotlight
Elisa Mendes
Issue date: 10/26/09 Section: Around Campus
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Major: Petroleum Engineering.
Why he's unique: He cares to share his knowledge with others.
Halloween is one of the world's oldest holidays, dating back to pagan times. But it is celebrated today by more people in more countries than ever before. There is a simple reason; it is fun, good, clean, and harmless for both the young and the old alike.
Even though Halloween is being celebrated around the world as a fun event, some countries -- especially most of the countries in Africa, -- still believe that the celebration is a kind of demon worship.
Emmanuel Bamgboye, who is a native of Nigeria and currently is enrolled in the Associates Degree program in Applied Science here at San Jacinto College, had a different take on Halloween. When asked what the essence of essence of celebrating Halloween is like in Nigeria, he had a surprising response.
"Growing up in an impoverished location of Nigeria, I had more to worry about everyday living and as such, I was not familiar with any celebration where individuals gather in great anticipation to celebrate a scary night," Bamgboye said, "Halloween is just an event. But due to my ethnic background, the celebration is perceived as being an evil/demoniac inspired event. This ideology of mine possibly came as a result of an unexposed innocent mindset or the religious beliefs in which I was raised."
It's been a long time since Emmanuel visited or stayed within his ethnic group in Nigeria. The time that he has spent here, helped him with understanding the real meaning of Halloween, which is simply a fun loving event. Having the opportunity to experience two different cultural background (Nigerian and American), Emmanuel has come to understand that culture define the way of life of a certain demography. Thus, he now believes that the Halloween is a harmless celebration with no evil practice and should not be associated with any religious beliefs.
Some countries may have adopted Halloween as their favorite 'holiday", the day itself did not grow out of evil practices, it grew out of the ritual of Celtics celebrating a new year, and out of medieval prayer rituals of Europeans. After all, the day itself is only evil as one cares to make it.
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