October is the month of horror, and we shall explain why, soon.
But for now, I want us to tackle the rather complicated relationship between Halloween and this strange country we call Uganda. I don’t doubt that every adult with children has already received a communication from their school warning about the upcoming holiday.
And even if they haven’t, most parent-focused WhatsApp groups and social media platforms are already buzzing about the dangers of October 31st.
They want you to police your children in the coming weeks, keeping an eye on what they read and watch in an effort to protect them from this ‘Western taint’.
Some of you have already identified those troublesome kids your young ones must avoid at all costs: children from families whose open-minded approach to life has exposed their home to all manner of filth.
Here is the funny thing. The Western world’s relationship with Halloween is just as tricky. Americans associate Halloween with debauchery. Teenagers and young adults wear revealing costumes and attend parties with the express aim of getting drunk and participating in activities I can’t mention in a family paper.
That aspect of Halloween is slowly gaining a foothold in Uganda. You have probably seen social media posts advertising Halloween parties and highlighting the X-rated activities expected.
However, most Ugandan parents are not worried about their children getting drunk and sleeping with strangers. They fear Halloween is a dark seed from the pit of hell designed to steal their children’s souls.
Think back to a few months ago; children attending prom at a Ugandan school whose name I can’t remember had displayed their devotion to witchcraft and paganism, in dress code. The comments were so alarming that I immediately sought out the images.
I expected to see students in traditional outfits slaughtering goats in a field and sprinkling blood on their classmates. But… no. It was just children dressed as fictional characters from movies and TV shows.
I could not help rolling my eyes. Someone saw an alien from James Cameron’s Avatar films, and instead of praising that child’s artistic capabilities, they condemned the school for permitting the display. This is why I struggle to take criticisms of Halloween seriously.
Most of them stem from ignorance. I mean, the people who attacked those children had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.
They saw a frightening image (and the cosplay was truly frightening, which speaks volumes about the child’s creativity and artistry because the characters they wanted to recreate are equally frightening) and jumped to conclusions.
Here is the hypocrisy. Most of the parents who don’t understand why a child would dress up as The Nun, a demonic entity from The Conjuring, are equally critical of anyone who watches those horror films. Why is that hypocritical?
Because most of those parents watch Nigerian films, which feature all manner of ghouls, ghosts, and demons. The Nigerians don’t have the money to make their monsters as convincing as The Nun.
But the principle is the same. Also, those same parents allow their children to participate in funeral rites which, from what I have heard, are rooted in paganism. Hypocrisy of the highest order.
Should you allow your children to celebrate Halloween? I don’t know. You probably thought I was arguing in favour of Halloween, but that could not be further from the truth. I’m arguing against making rash decisions born from supreme ignorance.
If your child wants to participate in a Halloween-related activity, sit them down and make every effort possible to understand what that entails. If they want to dress up as some hideous creature from their favourite anime, sit down and watch that favourite anime.
Try to understand what they appreciate in that piece of content that keeps escaping you. And if, at the end, you feel like Neytiri (Avatar: Fire and Ash) is some demonic force trying to seduce your daughter, fine.
Don’t permit that cosplay. Don’t allow your children to watch any more Avatar films. Keep them away from cosplay-heavy Halloween parties. At the end of the day, you would have made an informed decision, and that is all I ask.
katmic200@gmail.com