As I write this I'm preparing for today's "Freak Show" Halloween Party at YGU iCLA. That is why I've decided for this week's topic to pertain to holidays and how they vary per culture. For example, Halloween is not a holiday that is officially recognized in Japan, many of the Japanese students here don't really seem to understand all the excitement we foreigners have been buzzing with the past couple weeks. However, Japan is a country that tends to adopt and borrow traditions, celebrations, etc. from outside influences. Although things like Halloween and Christmas aren't official, many Japanese people still choose to partake in the fun aspects of these holidays. I say the fun aspects because many of the meanings behind our American holidays (Christmas for example) do not apply in a Japanese context. Christianity is not a common religion in Japan, so for the Japanese people, the holiday is not about any religious content. Instead, Christmas in Japan is about colorful decorations, lights, and giving presents to the people you care about. The same goes for Halloween, though one could argue that Halloween's historic meanings are also not very important in a Western sense nowadays either. Halloween here (by here, I mean iCLA, where the Japanese students are influenced by the internationals) is about decorating the dorm units, costumes, and candy.
A drawing I did on our unit's whiteboard and a sign hanging in my room.
My unit particularly went all out as far as celebrating, one of my roommates, Seri, bought various little decorations at the 100 yen shop and together we hung them around the unit. We also have a ghost bucket on our common area table that we've been putting snacks in, to take a snack from the bucket, you have to follow our little rule of shouting "Trick-or-Treat" and anyone is welcome to do so. It's little things like these that make being abroad feel a little more like home, especially because Halloween is my favorite holiday and a big event for celebrating among my DubJay friends.
Halloween decorations outside the cafeteria and a special dessert to celebrate Halloween.
For the real deal Halloween on Sturday, a fellow W&J abroad student and I will be making our way around Tokyo and ending the day at a rumored celebration in Shibuya with some people from YGU's main campus and even more people from all over Japan.
Celebrating Halloween dressed up in Shinjuku. Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!
However, as for tonight's events, iCLA (for any new reader's, the international department at YGU) is holding a celebration called "Freak Show" which is mostly comprised of various forms of music, scary stories and a magic show. There will also be a costume contest for students to participate in. Beginning on Halloween and continuing until the end of the weekend is the school's annual festival, I'm not sure what exactly will be going on there, but the Intercultural Center (ICC) from the main campus (a place I've come to make several friends at) will be hosting an event called "Obake Yashiki" which is Japanese for a sort of haunted house event. Next week's post will be more detail on my trip to Tokyo and YGU's festival.
But until then, I'd like to advise anyone planning to go abroad to try showing some holiday spirit and include your roommates/friends in your host country. Also, don't be afraid to branch out from your immediate friend groups, it can be intimidating to go beyond a group of international students or students from your department, but by going to the main campus I was able to make close friends from other parts of the world. Finally, don't stress too much if you and your roommate(s) don't become the best of friends. I'm sharing a unit with 5 girls who've known each other for a long time and don't seem to have any desire of branching out of their little clique no matter how hard I try, that can be (from experience) very frustrating, but you can't force things like that, you just have to look elsewhere and find some friends you fit in with. Don't worry, it's easier than it sounds!
Happy Halloween~!
Julia.
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