Student SPHere 2008-09

This Halloween was the first one I celebrated since I came to live in Minnesota. I did it because I have a 10 years old niece, who is living with me now, and she was very curious about this holiday when people wear strange costumes. She came from Mali recently and was very curious about Halloween. She asked so many questions about the Holliday that I had to check the Internet about Halloween to answer her questions. Before now, I was never so curious as to find out the origin of Halloween and I didn’t know anything about it beside the costumes and the parties. I found out that Halloween is one of the oldest holidays celebrated today. It is also one of the most popular holidays, second only to Christmas. Halloween is surrounded by myths and beliefs. Most of the time it is viewed as a time for fun, putting on costumes, trick-or treating and having parties. The amazing discoveries were the myths and beliefs of the ancients. Many of these beliefs are same in my country Mali. We were invited to a friend’s house for a party. It was one of the funniest parties I have ever been to in my 10 years in the US. I also found out that Halloween was a pagan holiday honoring the dead, a culture that can be traced back to the Druids, a Celtic culture in Ireland, Britain and Northem Europe. Halloween culture is very similar to some practices in Mali in West Africa. I am from the Bamanan ethnic group in Mali. In Bamanan culture, we also honor the dead. Things have changed little bit since Arabs and European missionaries came in the country. Mali is now 90% Muslim and 5% Catholic and the rest is still pagan. The Bamanan people have a lot of superstitions and beliefs. We also believe that the dead watch after us and protect us from bad things. We also believe that black cats are bad witches and have supernatural powers. In my village, you don’t mention the word “salt� when the sun is down as it may bring bad witches into the house. Seeing an owl in daytime is bad omen. That means death. Mali is a very conservative country and traditions are still very strong. My niece really enjoyed the Halloween and was happy to listen to the story of Halloween that I read to her. The side effect of Halloween was that she slept in my bed that night because she was scared to be alone in her room!