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Consumerism Turns Festive

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If you’ve stopped by Goodwill or CVS lately, you’ll see the plastic pumpkins and fake spiders and paper tombstones. Close by, there’s a rainbow of temporary hair dye, featuring extra black and orange. I’ve even seen a joint costume of Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke.

Halloween is coming!

And so are the products.

But I don’t mind the commercialisation of holidays like Halloween or Thanksgiving. I don’t think it makes the holidays superficial or wasteful. Buying decorations and treats for special days is fun and harmless. It’s a way to celebrate and enjoy yourself. Both kids and adults enjoy a day of eating and watching made-for-TV movies. I recommend Hocus Pocus or Halloweentown as classics.

Monique Medina ‘15 agrees with me; “It’s okay as long it makes them happy.” She widens her eyes and laughs; “It’s okay as long as it makes them happy and it’s legal!”

I think Halloween has evolved so much from its original Pagan and western European roots that it’s hard to call it a “spiritual” holiday. Nobody’s beliefs are being trivialized with the excessive candy eating and the bad ghost/zombie impressions. It’s a good-natured tradition that brings a lot of people closer together. I have some of the best memories of my mom’s cookies with black cats on them. She buys those ready-to-bake, but they’re great, so what’s the difference to me?

My opinion would be different if the holidays I’m talking about had cultural or religious content, or if the meaning of the day was being blatantly ignored. But I don’t think that’s the case. Halloween originated as a series of festivals of the dead celebrated throughout Western Europe, and even then it was adapted from Paganism. That’s not really applicable or even relevant to American suburbia; it’s evolved from that into something entirely new and unrelated. It doesn’t mock anything. It’s simply a day to celebrate.

It’s similar with Thanksgiving. It originated as a day where Pilgrims and Native Americans shared a feast to celebrate the cooperation and gratitude they shared. But nowadays, that doesn’t seem very relevant. Especially since colonialists would eventually slaughter millions of Natives. One feast does not change a genocide, so I actually think it’s good we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in that way. If we did, it would be blatantly ignoring a horrible aspect of American history.  Instead, Thanksgiving is now a day to eat and give thanks for what we have been given in life; things like family, health, friendships and happiness. I certainly don’t think eating turkey and mashed potatoes changes it all that much. Though, there’s definitely profits made by Black Friday and other capitalist effects, I don’t think it matters if you bought a TV on sale or broke out the turkey decorations, as long as you enjoyed yourself and surrounded yourself with good people.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s not black and white. You can have your cake, eat it too, and still remember to cherish what matters.

And if it makes you happy, by all means, wear the Miley Cyrus costume.

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About the Contributor
Jackie Cope, Features Editor
Senior Jackie Cope is determined to “Make H15tory” this year,  as it is written on the windows of her car in hot pink writing. Cope is currently working on the Inklings staff as one of the features editors and is ready to bring fun, engaging, and colorful features to this year’s papers. “I am beyond excited to be in charge of features,” Cope said.  “Last year I was Opinions Editor -- still fun but I needed a change.” Some of her previous work includes a piece where she focused on the current fashion trends around Staples.  It is a prime example of everything she publishes: lively, well-researched, and thought provoking. When Cope is not reporting on pressing topics at Staples, she devotes a good amount of her time to volunteer work. This past summer, she volunteered as a teacher’s aid at Daughters Of Charity pre-school in Bridgeport, Connecticut. “To put it into simple words, my job was making sure these three to five year olds didn’t kill each other,”Cope said.  “It’s total chaos -- one minute they’re laughing at something that is minorly funny and the next they trip and end up crying as if the world is coming to an end.” Aside from having to provide constant attention, Cope very much enjoys the presence of children and viewed her time working at the school as more of a fun activity rather than a job. She explained that many people would find her job as a challenging one, since she would be, “with these kids for hours on end, every day.”  However, Cope survived, “simply by treating them as funny little humans,” she said. “I loved it so much that I still find myself sharing stories about them to my friends.” Unsure of her profession for the future, whether it includes being with children or with writing, Cope is ready to leave her mark at Staples High School. “Hopefully I will know where I will be attending school for the next four years before April,” she said. “Until then, I’m going to have fun, work hard and make my own history.”  

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