Happy Halloween, Goddess Eiseria

Leave it to a newspaper in Lahore - of all places! - to write a good article about Halloween, including important background: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 Lahoris ready to go trick-or-treating on Halloween From The Pakistan Daily Times History: The Festival of Halloween is a celebration of the end of the fertile period of the Celtic Goddess Eiseria. It is said that when Eiseria reaches the end of her fertile cycle the worlds of the dead and the living interlap. This happens on October 31. Masks are worn to show respect for the Goddess Eiseria who, like most Celtic deities, does not wish to be seen with human eyes. The day also preceeds All Saints’ Day, which was at first the celebration of the start of a new cycle of fertility for the Celtic Goddess Eiseria. Couples incapable of producing children thus tried their luck on All Saints Day. By Hina Farooq and Saif-ur-Rehman LAHORE: Many schools, houses and farmhouses have been turned into houses of horror and have been decorated with pumpkins, candles, Jack-o-Lanterns and goblin and monster figures. Lahoris are ready for Halloween, which is celebrated on the night of October 31. They have taken a liking to the festival and are enthusiastic to dress up in all kind of costumes – scary and funny. The tradition of going trick-or-treating is not very strong in the city, as homeowners do not fancy strangers trespassing private property. Therefore, Halloween enthusiasts have taken the party indoors and have arranged all kinds of functions in their homes. Faisal Zia, an event organiser, told Daily Times that he was hosting a Halloween party at his house and had invited several friends over. “I have turned the living room into a house of horror. I have put up bat figures on the walls and fake cobwebs around the room. I have also lined the room’s edges with candles and Jack-o-Lanterns. The dress code is strictly black, orange, purple, green and red and guests have to wear masks,” he added.Saim Kureshi, a Beaconhouse National University student, said he had arranged for several fun games at his house on the occasion. “Bobbing for apples will be the main feature. This game involved putting apples in a large tub of water and using the mouth to extract them. Several people play this game and are times. The person who extracts the most number of apples in the least number of minutes wins the game,” he added. Umair Khan, a doctor, said he had arranged for a scary movie and games at his place. “All games are fun, but my friends and I like beer pong the most. There are two two-member teams that stand at the opposite ends of a large table. They place nine paper cups in front of them, half filled with beer. The teams take turns in throwing a ping-pong ball into each other’s cups. The team that gets the ball in its cup has to drink from it. The game is a lot of fun. The first prize is lingerie and the second a case of beer,” he added. Arshad Farooq, a businessman, said his girlfriend and him had decided to spend the night in front of the television watching Carrie. He said the film was one of the scariest he had ever seen. “I love the work of Brian de Palma and Stephen King. They are geniuses. The film is about a quiet telekinetic girl who is pushed too far. I know for sure that my girlfriend will enjoy it. We have been invited to a party, but we’d rather spend time with each other,” he said. Alisha Abid, an economics student, said she had planned to wear a scary costume and scare her fiancé. “I plan to sneak into his house at night and jump him. I bet he’ll jump out of his skin,” she said. Mr and Mrs Kareem, the parents of four children, told Daily Times that this was the first time that their children were enthusiastic about celebrating Halloween. “When we were their age, we knew about Halloween, but never did anything about it. This is a good outlet for our children. At least our children won’t be in front of the TV and gaming console. We are glad this trend is picking up,” they added. Schools have also picked up on the trend. They have arranged for festivals and bonfires on campus.The Pakistan School of Fashion Design (PSFD) has arranged for a Halloween night for their students. Zara Niazi, one of the students, said there would be a big competition amongst students over their costumes. “We are studying to be designers. Designing costumes is our forte. We will have a lot of fun,” she added. The American School of International Academics (ASIA) has arranged for a get together for its students on Halloween. The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has already held a Halloween concert for its students. So did the Lahore American School. ********************************************************************************* Beer pong. Yeah!