Halloween is celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting sweets. Halloween originated among the Celts in Ireland, Britain and France as the Pagan Celtic harvest festival, Samhain and now it has become a part of American pop culture.
The festival has recently become popular with children and young people in Pakistan and is especially celebrated in Lahore with delicious food and music. The Daily Times carries a report on Haloween preparations in Lahore:
Yaseen Salman, an event organizer, said that Pakistanis had localized Halloween. Children in the West went trick-or-treating door-to-door in fancy costumes, he said, but Pakistanis arranged get-togethers, dance parties, concerts and sometimes horror shows. Restaurants and cafes also arrange special events to celebrate the festival. Saleem Aslam from Cafe Nouvelle on MM Alam Road said the cafe had arranged a number of games to celebrate Halloween. Only couples would be allowed in the restaurant on the night, he said, “to prevent trouble”….
The dress code had been decided, Saleem said, and caramel mouse cakes, apples in sweet syrup and cocoa butter with icing sugar were the new arrivals at Halloween. Mehreen Syed, a model, said she had been invited by a number of friends which showed that the western festival was now becoming popular in Pakistan. “Black, orange, purple, green and red are the common colors on Halloween accompanied by scary masks,” she said. Popular model Neha said she celebrated the event in a casual way. “I hang out with friends, go out for dinner or arrange a Halloween party at my house.”
Like so many other western cultural the trend, Halloween is becoming popular in Pakistan. What is your take on this?
S A J Shirazi is a Lahore (Pakistan) based writer. His blog is called Light Within, where a version of this post first appeared.
@ A concerned PAKISTANI October 30th, 2009 5:44 pm
You are acting in the stereotyped paranoid way that the world and even many in our own beloved country have come to associate with the Holy Men of Islam. All you care about is that people have no fun so that you can turn them towards the life after death……but hear ye………you are in for a big surprise……you are turning in to worm food just like every human being ever born.
Do not misunderstand me; I have no problem in agreeing to disagree. My sole point is create or invigorate something that is practical and fun to take part in for the youth and let Allah decide if He wants to turn peoples’s hearts to it. Are you so proud that you think Allah’s best religion needs people like you poking their nose into everything good and wholesome? If you believe Halloween is the Devil’s birthday or something to the same tune let Allah turn hearts….do not force anyone.