Talking to a friend who is pursuing PhD in North Carolina, wishing him ‘Subho Bijoya’, I could not stop myself from asking him jokingly, “Planning on dressing up as a creepy clown for the Halloween party or decking up your front porch with diyas and lights? “Definitely the diyas, lights and the barfis, and being a Bengali, my mother had strictly warned me on a phone call from India to light up 14 candles the day before,” he replied sincerely. The reason behind this probing? In the rarest of rare events this year, two distinctive and contrasting cultural celebrations will be diverging together on one day. The contrasting themes between these two festivals lie in its very foundation. This cultural overlap between the light and the dark mirrors how different communities and people celebrate their customs and rituals.

31 October this year will be marked with goodness triumphing over darkness but with a note of spookiness in the air. And, while the rest of India celebrates Diwali, the eastern part of India, especially Bengal, will be busy worshipping Maa Kali, the ferocious form of Shakti, who is regarded as the goddess of time, protector of the innocent beings and destroyer of the evil on the new moon day called Dipannita Amavasya. The legend of Maa Kali goes that the demons Shumbh and Nishumbh had created chaos and defeated the gods. As a result, Parvati took the form of Kali and defeated the demons; however, unable to control her anger, she started killing humans and destroying the mortal world as well. To stop the destruction, Mahadev laid in front of her, and as she stepped on his chest, her tongue came out, denoting the realisation that she had stepped on her husband while others believe that it is also a show of feminine creative power. This is the form that we worship today.

However, a night before, Bengalis have their own OG version of Halloween, ‘Bhoot Chaturdashi’. It is celebrated every year on the eve of Diwali and Kali puja and depends on the Tithi, which surprisingly this year combines two days, including both 30 and 31 October. ‘Bhoot Chaturdashi’ is observed on the 14th day of the Krishna Paksha (‘the dark fortnight’), which is the night that falls before Diwali and Kali puja. According to legends, it is believed that during this day, the portal between the living and the dead is at its weakest, and the screen is so thin that both the evil spirits and the spirits of our 14 generations find it easily accessible to roam the living world. So, how do you ward off evil spirits? According to practices prevalent, 14 diyas or lamps are lit to guide the spirits of one’s ancestor’s home and to ward off evil spirits. According to folklore and beliefs, the 14 lamps also represent Chamunda, a fearsome form of goddess Chandi, believed to be one of the Saptamatrikas and the destroyer of evil and her 14 ghostly helpers. Not just lighting diyas, Bengalis on this day consume 14-saak as well or 14 leafy greens believed to keep the illness away and boost one’s immunity, while kids and adults alike enjoy the day by sharing ghost lores and stories (Rings a bell with what the West religiously celebrate as Halloween, doesn’t it?).

Halloween, very similar to ‘Bhoot Chaturdashi’, deals with the supernatural, the eerie, and the spookiness. The increasing popularity of Halloween globally through the rise in pop culture has resulted in the Indian youths of today partaking in this cultural festivity of the West with much gusto. The Halloween celebrations, also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve have its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which is a pagan religious celebration that marks the end of the harvesting summer period and the onset of the wintertime. Later Pope Gregory III was the one who designated 1 November as the day of honouring saints, which soon came to be known as All Saints Day. When it comes to Halloween, according to several tales and narratives, the Celtic people believed that on this day, the veil between the dead and the living blurred, which resulted in supernatural forces walking among the living on Earth. Halloween celebrations usually include people wearing spooky masks and costumes, kids going trick-or-treating, sharing scary tales and binge-watching horror movies.

While Diwali and Halloween are two antithetical festivities, when it comes to drawing parallels, both celebrations are associated with the balance between good and evil. While your workplace might give you just a one-day Diwali holiday, the celebrations of Diwali often start with the onset of Dhanteras, followed by Chhoti Diwali and then Diwali and Bhai Dooj. The most common legend behind Diwali celebrations would be the homecoming of Lord Rama, his wife Sita, and brother Lakshmana after 14 years away from Ayodhya. Diwali is not just celebrating the triumph of good over evil, it is also marking the dawn of righteousness. In several parts of the country, Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped, which is marked with lighting diyas and illuminating homes, visiting friends and family, and enjoying a delectable gastronomical spread.

As the two contrasting festivals align on one day, it marks how the cultural confluence of spirituality and spookiness allows us to traverse through and balance traditional and contemporary aspects, resulting in a fluid, cross-cultural discourse.