Source:http://blog.beliefnet.com/omsweetom/2009/10/halloween.html
USA, October 30, 2009 (By Vineet Chander): Growing up, I always experienced Halloween as a clashing of cultures. More than any other American holiday, Halloween seemed to draw a line in the sand between the world that my Hindu immigrant parents resided in and the American suburban world around me. Since Halloween usually tends to coincide with a number of Hindu holidays (Hindus use a lunar calendar, so exact dates switch around), when Diwali happened to fall on October 31, the two holidays went head-to-head. Either I could go trick-or-treating and watch the Nightmare on Elm Street marathon (my desire), or visit temple and exchange sweets with relatives (my parents’ orders), but I couldn’t really do both.
And then there was the issue of costumes.
Recently I was asked what I thought about having kids dress up as Hindu Deities. I have to admit, his question caught me off guard. A bindi-wearing Indian Princess is one thing, but dressing up like a Goddess…?
The more I thought about it, though, the less sure I became of how I felt about the whole thing. Would it be a celebration of Hinduism’s rich imagery, or a mockery of faith? On the hand, there is precedent for dressing up as deities in Hinduism. Many parents dress their children up as Lord Krishna on Krishna Janmashtami. Ramleela — dramatic re-enactments of Lord Rama’s epic pastimes — also involve children and adults donning costumes to depict figures such as Lord Rama, the brave Hanuman, or the dastardly demon king Ravana.
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