Niks meer missen?
Schrijf je in voor onze nieuwsbrief!
Foto: Ksenia Novikova
international

All Holland hallows

Nina Schuyffel,
31 oktober 2015 - 07:11

The Dutch cannot claim a Halloween tradition, nor the Celtic, pagan heritage that All Hallows Eve originated with. But that doesn’t stop them: in recent years, trick-or-treating, scary celebrations and even parades have gained enormously in popularity.

Look around you. Have you spotted the scary-faced pumpkins at the Dutch supermarkets yet? No? Well they’ve been there since the beginning of the month. And what about the classic horror movies on show daily at several cinemas in Amsterdam? Or the special Halloween menus appearing in restaurants, or all the shops on the Kalverstraat decorated in spider webs? You couldn’t have missed it all.

 

If you’re from the United States, England or Canada, where Halloween is practically a national holiday, you might think what you see going on here is peanuts. But even so, it’s fair to say that Holland is increasingly embracing the foreign tradition of ‘All Hallow’s Eve’. At schools and sport clubs, in cafes and even in retirement homes, the theme ‘Halloween’ is one that is increasingly being used for parties taking place from the end of October all the way until mid-November. But where does this interest come from?

 

The Dutch ethnology scholar John Helsloot, who has researched the topic intensively, first noticed the rise of all things Halloween in Holland during the nineties, when films like Halloween H2O (1998) and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 – 2003) first started spreading shivers. ‘It was then that through the various channels, the Dutch first became affiliated with Halloween. But most importantly probably, were the countless websites that started to provide information about this holiday and the ways it should be celebrated.’

Celtic rituals
Legend has it that on the night of 31 October, the Celtic people called for the divine help of the dead. To keep the evil spirits at bay, they would wear masks, light fires and offer up pumpkins – symbols that we still see today. The Celts specifically chose 31 October because that day didn’t belong to summer or winter, which meant that the worlds of the living and the dead were at their closest. When the Romans invaded the British islands, they blended the Celtic rituals with their own traditions, including the celebration of the harvest.

 

Because Holland doesn’t have a Celtic heritage, Halloween parties here seem mainly to be driven by commercial efforts. Just like Valentine’s Day, Halloween appears to be another holiday that the retail and entertainment industries have snapped up. Several scholars stress that the Dutch merely see Halloween as just another opportunity to dress up and throw a (themed) party. It’s not likely that they are truly interested in the history behind it.

'People are able to mix and match their personal festivity culture according to their own tastes'

According to Irene Stengs, a researcher at the Meertens Institute who specialises in contemporary culture, the rise of Halloween fits in a trend that can be traced back to the 1950s. After World War II, the Dutch started to celebrate festivities more extensively, simply because they had more money to do so. For instance, a child’s birthday gradually became an important celebration with presents and a birthday cake. ‘Halloween is just a next step in that development,’ Stengs says.

 

She also emphasises that Halloween takes place in the same period as Sint Maarten, a Dutch festivity the night of which children pass through neighbourhoods to collect candy for their singing, similar to the ‘trick or treat’ tradition of Halloween.

 

Moreover, the Dutch already celebrate Allerheiligen (remembrance of the saints) on the 1st of November, and Allerzielen (remembrance of the dead) on the 2nd. ‘Because these holidays show similarities, it makes it easy to combine them,’ Stengs says. This could also be said of Halloween. Helsloot: ‘In our current, postmodern age, people are able to mix and match their personal festivity culture according to their own tastes.’

Foto: Ksenia Novikova

Gruesome outfits

Although the ‘hell-houses’, which are an important part of Halloween in the USA, have not yet arrived in Holland, traditional parades have increasingly started to pop up in several cities.

 

According to Rutger, one of the employees of Partyhouse on the Rozengracht, the popularity of Halloween has been given a real boost thanks to the annual ‘scary parade’ that first took place in Amsterdam five years ago, attracting up to fifteen thousand participants in 2014. The selection of what is said to be one of the biggest costume shops in Amsterdam has to be expanded annually to meet the demands of people looking for Halloween outfits. ‘Costumers go all out,' Rutger says.

'One man wanted to be Michael Jackson as he is now: dead'

Of the gadgets sold, most are fake blood and, of course, vampire’s teeth. Although Cat Woman and Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hatter remain favourites, Rutger has already spotted some new creative ideas too. ‘The other day I sold a Snow White outfit to a girl who wanted to go as a zombie-styled version of the Disney princess. One man wanted to be Michael Jackson as he is now: dead. Which is quite gruesome if you think about it.’

 

On how Halloween will develop in Holland, we can only speculate. It might be a hype that slowly disappears, or it might end up becoming the biggest holiday of the year. Stengs: ‘Celebrations constantly change and are influenced by many factors. We never know beforehand how it’s going to work out. What we do see, however, in America and other countries around the world including Holland, is a growing culture of a fear of associated danger. For Halloween, a point could arrive where parents will fear their children being poisoned by candy they receive from strangers. Something that simple could suddenly turn all the joy around.’

Foto: CC

Halloween events in Amsterdam

Tonight, the Amsterdam Halloween Parade & Party takes place. Starting on the Rokin at 8.30 PM, a procession of vampires, witches, scary clowns, zombies and monsters will glide their way through the centre of Amsterdam. There will be a party at Westergasterrein starring, amongst others, Kris Kross and Erick E & Roog. Dress code: immortal fame. 

 

The rest of the weekend, there will be a festival by Amsterdam SPOOK, offering a nightly skating route, a Halloween dinner at Pata Negra, a horror movie marathon at Pathé Cinema and, one of the highlights, a Monster Bash party on in Panama.

Lees meer over