For the first time in over 50 years, two of the most valued autumnal festivals will occur on the same day; this year, Halloween and Diwali will be celebrated on the 31st of October.

In the UK, over 1 million people are Hindus.

These families follow a mixture of their ancient Hindu traditions and their modern British culture, consequently they will be faced with the challenge of deciding between celebrating Halloween or Diwali by the end of October.

The two festivals are quite contradictory, making the decision considerably more difficult; while Western culture has glorified the ethereal, orthodox Hindus, exalt the importance of cleansing oneself of evil during Diwali.

The Essence of Halloween

Halloween is a Western celebration that stems from the Celtic festival of Samhain, which celebrates the beginning of the harvest. During this celebration people would leave offerings of money and food to appease ghosts (to protect their harvest); however, others would dress in monstrous costumes to ward off ghosts. 

This festival, developing alongside our economy, has become subject to the movie industry and to commercialism, gradually becoming the Halloween we have become accustomed to: ones including sweets, fake blood, zombie movies and ghoulish decorations.

Halloween is an event that children of all ages look forward to, Saanvi Gupta, 15, describes how Halloween is an “event she looks forward to all year”, since she is able “to make memories with friends and family, when dressing up and trick or treating”.

The Principle of Diwali

Diwali (otherwise known as Deepavali) focuses upon the story of Ramayana, which encompases the victory of good over evil. 

During the festival, Hindus all over the world: clean their homes; decorate them with lights and rangolis; dress in beautiful new clothes and celebrate light and virtue. 

They do this to guide and welcome the Hindu goddess Laxmi to bless their household.

A blessing or a curse?

These two incongruous festivals rarely occur on the same day, because Diwali is based upon the lunar calendar, whilst Halloween is based upon the Gregorian calendar. These celebrations have not coincided for over 50 years, making this event even more remarkable.

Therefore, some people suggest we should welcome this serendipitous occasion. 

Mr Patkunanathan, 82, a Hindu living in London, suggests the following:

“We should embrace this opportunity and have one big celebration. I  will be celebrating Diwali in the morning and clean up. But in the evening I will celebrate Halloween by putting out some jack-o’ lanterns and handing out sweets to the children"

 

While some may stay rooted in their traditions, others may decide to take on the best of both worlds, nonetheless, this holiday season, from Diwali themed pumpkins to terrifyingly beautiful outfits, anything is possible.

No matter your cultural background, there is something for everyone, either way, in Mr. Patkunanathan’s words, get ready for “one big celebration”.