EDITORIAL: Jamaicans goes Halloween celebrating for 2011

Anthea


Jamaicans go all out for Halloween in Ja? Yikes! Celebrate anything you want, but start with what we have as Jamaicans first – perhaps a pirates week is in order and a jonkoonu day in long overdue demand?


Over the past weekend- October 28-30- there were several Halloween parties, not necessarily planned or relating to the Us embassy or American citizens living in Jamaica.
Jamaicans went all out for Halloween celebrations this year – more than any other year. We wonder as Halloween is in fact any body’ elses culture but ours as Jamaicans.
Funny we didnt celebrate our heroes, dead or alive for National Heroes Day and to come.
We don’t have a jonkoonu party, we don’t even celebrate Brer Anansi, River Mumma, but yet this Halloween craze is fast becoming the norm in Jamaica.
Whether it’s for dressing up, or sinking your head or teeth in the biggest pumpkins, Jamaicans before, during should get some balance.

Kevin and Kaysian Bourke at Fiction

I asked a number of Jamaicans about Halloween – those who and those who DONT celebrate Halloween. More persons from the batch who avoid Halloween knew about it than those who celebrated it. Whether it’s all about the dressing up, and eating and opportunity presented to party away the night.
A scan through facebook photos alone gives a view of how Jamaicans celebrated Halloween. Mind you during a time when most complain about financial embarassment, they have taken on celebrating what belongs to another man’s culture and history.
Personally I would go for an annual pirates week, weekend or day. It can be just as scary with evil pirates and all, but at least any Jamaican or Caribbean national for that matter can relate.
Dont get me wrong I am not against Jamaians celebrating Halloween, but it should be after an appreciation and featuring what we have. We could do with funds generated over our own history and culture.

Several persons including myself attempted to do pirates week in Port Royal, but for government officials, representatives etc. To date a clear ten years later, still nothing and interstingly Port Royal is being refurbished away from it’s oringal state, look let alone appeal.
So are we more American than we think? Fancy that, as they are closing their borders and access points to more aaicans. In fact they now have begun projects to encourage Jamaicans to asit in job creation towards building Jamaica.
Time for a think-out-of-the box.
More promoters, club owners et al need to zoom in on our culture. Don’t you think?

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Anthea
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