What lies behind Halloween? Its beginnings are intriguingly obscure, thought to have evolved from an early Celtic observance of the end of summer, which falls halfway between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. As with many other spirit festivals (Mexico’s Day of the Dead, the Roman Catholic All Soul’s Day, the Chinese Water Lantern Festival) the transitional period is significant, a time of instability when spirits were deemed more likely to appear. Layers of cultural practices, political interventions and inventions of commerce have elaborated on this early apprehension to make Halloween what it is today.
A not-so-recent development in the history of Halloween is its projection across the globe. In Shanghai, as in most places culturally removed from Halloween’s Celtic roots, the number of observers is relatively small. The festival exists through a mix of curious accommodation and avid exertion by adherents of local and foreign customs. Like the liminal periods of time between seasons, the cultural borderlands are rich with opportunities for the strange and unforeseen (the tradition of ‘trick-or-treating’ itself derives from an unlikely over-layering of druidic and family culture). What new things lie in store for Halloween as it encounters Chinese culture? What new things lie in store for Shanghai?
A small art experiment at a local kindergarten gives a minor indication. These masks were created in the aftermath of a visit to the zoo, in preparation for Halloween, but also using Chinese opera masks as loose model. They were exhibited during the week of Halloween at a local restaurant. Whether they seem frightening or hilarious, they are certainly strange. The teachers that planned the mask-making and the children themselves had only a rough idea of Halloween ‘masking’ custom, and used their imaginations with whatever materials were at hand (including heaps of play-dough) to improvise their response to a call for artworks.
Is cultural transmission detectable in this little case? The strong colors are perhaps suggestive of the character-types of Chinese opera. The introduction of animal spirits into the weird and evolving world of Halloween is also obliquely conveyed. It is fair to say that each of these kids has some new impression of Halloween, and that the transmission of these artworks makes some (albeit minute) impression on Halloween.