This Halloween, the Church became vocal against the promotion of evil characters being worn in costumes. They say it should be the time to promote the heavenly characters like the saints and angels instead of promoting evil characters which could attract negative vibes in the air.
Agree. There are just some practices that don't fit the Filipinos. Practices that are like 'trying hard to be foreign'???
Just like the Mardi Gras that was celebrated somewhere in Central Luzon where I was at last October. It was the highlight of their October festivities. Its a three-day celebration, streets flooded with young people at night, like ants crowding the main street, where a needle cannot find a place to fall into.
But what does Mardi Gras mean?
The difference between October fest and Mardi Gras is: October fest was created for simply drinking spree whereas with Mardi Gras, in its history, is like a mockery to the followers of Jesus who are about to observe Lent, the 40 days fasting of the Lord in the desert. It is a deliberate commission of sin, gluttony and lust. Mardi Gras is held just before Ash Wednesday, with celebration through gluttony and what have you, the extreme opposite of what the 40 days fasting stand for. Its connotation is simply against the Christian teaching. It is an intentional practice of gluttony, which is a deadly sin in the Christian world.
Of course, the event organizers probably don't actually encourage the attendees to sin. Maybe its just a marketing thing. Maybe its geared towards the cool-wannabees. But whatever the reason is, the title is just a bit off. Not fitting for the locals.
Those Filipinos celebrating it most probably didn't know what Mardi Gras really stands for. Otherwise, there would be resistance to it, being a Catholic in orientation. At least, their parents would be.
There is a big responsibility for the event organizers to be sensititive on the culture orientation of the people they are targeting. RESPECT THE CULTURE, RESPECT THE RELIGION. Just because the target market is young people doesn't mean their innocence should be taken advantage of. There is a big responsibility in teaching and guiding the young ones to the correct culture orientation, among other things.
Some things are simply not for us.