Each and every year, and without fail, Halloween fanatics put on their ghoulish makeup on, as well as their pointy hats and black attire, grabbing hold of all the maggot filled Reese’s candy they can find. On the other hand, Christmas fanatics sharpen the end of their candy canes and instruct their nutcrackers to attack because yes, this has turned into a war. A war between the holly jolly spirit and the spooky scary skeletons.
With Halloween just passing and Christmas a little more than a month away, the discussion, or rather the argument, once again resurfaces: Halloween or Christmas? Which is Best?
Halloween has been a tradition dating back to the 19th century, originating from the Pagan religion, where they should dress up as scary figures to scare off evil spirits. However it was also a way for Pagans to celebrate the harvest they were able to complete and bless the next one. It began to grow as a holiday where children would dress up and go door to door pleading for candy and sweets with the sporadic spookiness. It eventually became the Halloween we know today, with pumpkin carving and house decorating.
Christmas is a much less straightforward holiday, since it is celebrated in many ways. Some families see it as a religious celebration, where they honor the birth of Jesus Christ and focus entirely on the religious aspect of (full with gifts and such of course) Others believe in Los Reyes Magos, or the Three Wise Men, where they deliver gifts in place of Santa and do so during the first few days of January. And others simply put up a tree, decorate and put out cookies for Santa.
Halloween is much more affordable: any kid can dress up no matter what sort of economic position they may be in. If a kid has little to no money, they always have the option to throw on a sheet and poke holes in it to be a ghost, or make ears out of cardboard and be some sort of animal. This way they can still celebrate in the tradition and go out to ask for as much candy as they’d like. This has also proved to be beneficial towards children’s health, since they are able to exercise and get their body going, and as long as they have limited and supervised candy intake, there is hardly any con to this.
However, it is much more difficult for small-income families to celebrate Christmas. There are a few staples to make Christmas holly and jolly: such as the lit up Christmas tree, a christmas dinner, and of course, the opening of the presents on Christmas morning. While a merry christmas can still occur even without these staples, it is still a much harder Christmas to enjoy, love, and accept. Especially for children, who go to school after winter break just to see all the gifts their friends got and how little they got in comparison, children who have very little understanding towards the concept of money and funds.
On a much lighter note though, Christmas has the power to unite the family together at the end of each year, something that Halloween certainly can’t do. It is an opportunity for everyone to spend some much needed time together, especially if they live significantly away from each other and a time to catch up on things that may be happening in one another’s life. It’s a bittersweet tradition, especially when they hand out carefully thought out presents to each other.
Giselle Fernandez-Bejar, a sophomore at Granada High, thinks the contrary, favoring Halloween over Christmas. “I really like how everyone is just so dressed up- how everyone gets so creative during Halloween.” She says. “I do love giving people presents, but sometimes you just run out of gifts to give them, it’s the same thing over and over. It is a lot harder to get creative with hard to get creative and think of doing something new.”
Regardless, Viridiana Hernandez Gonzalez, a junior at Granada High School, begs to differ. “Christmas is obviously better. For one, I get many gifts which I love. And two, I get to spend time with family members I don’t see as often as I’d like. Two of my favorite things all happening in two days? Uhm, yes.”
While this debate will continue to come up again and again until the end of time, there is no doubt that both holidays are enjoyable and fun to celebrate, both on top of the list of the best holidays ever. They both just go in different directions with spirit, and that’s alright. Let’s just agree that no other holiday can compare.
