Choosing Remembrance Over Celebration

Written by Lama Sidawi

Today is October 31, and Halloween is the theme everywhere I look. Whether you surf the net, you stumble upon tutorials that teach you how to create fake blood and how to apply it all over your face and body to depict you as a dead person. You find shops selling Halloween merchandise and cake shops creating Halloween-themed cakes, pops, cookies, cupcakes, and candy. Don't get me wrong; I used to spend hours online looking at DIY after DIY after DIY... you get my drift, looking for a costume that I relate to, for many years, I would dress up as a witch - they are after all strong independent women with a clear path set out for them.

But this year, just like the last, I don't want to participate in anything Halloweenish. Why? It is simple: every day, we are exposed to images of women, children, elderly, men, boys, and even animals covered in blood, burnt to death, decapitated and destroyed homes, schools, hospitals, highways, churches and mosques. All this from the comfort of our homes. For all those martyrs in PALESTINE and LEBANON, for people in Sud

an, for every place where people fall victim to dictators who find it so easy to sell out their people for an eternal subscription to the "President's chair." For this country, it's been an endless Halloween period.

So, as the world dresses up in costumes and celebrates, I stand in quiet remembrance. Let us pray and hope for a future where true peace becomes the norm, not the exception. May we honor those who’ve suffered by striving toward a world where humanity rises above the horrors inflicted upon the innocent. May our voices amplify compassion, justice, and resilience until the world no longer resembles an endless Halloween.

Viva Palestina.

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Definition of Halloween: The evening of October 31; the eve of All Saints' Day; Allhallows Eve: observed esp. by children in costumes who solicit treats, often by threatening minor pranks. Also: Hallowe'en. [1]

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Facts you should know: November 1 is All Saints Day, a feast day observing the lives of the many saints for whom there is no specific feast day during the year. The following day, November 2, marks a day of prayer for and remembrance of the “faithfully departed”: relatives, friends and strangers who are no longer living.[2][3]

[1] Halloween A Celebration of The Day Of The Dead {Foodies} - CostumeMailer. https://www.costumemailer.com/blog/halloween-a-celebration-of-the-day-of-the-dead-foodies/

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[2] All Saints Day & All Souls Day | National WWI Museum and Memorial. https://theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/all-saints-day-all-souls-day

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[3] All Saints Day & All Souls Day | National WWI Museum and Memorial. https://theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/all-saints-day-all-souls-day

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