Halloween is one of the most common holidays in the world. The ancient Celtic people started commemorating Halloween to ward off ghosts and spirits by disguising themselves in costumes. This tradition was passed from one generation to the next with teenagers nowadays still imitating the ritual. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, many people are finding it difficult to get together and celebrate.

At my school, the principal held an event to celebrate Halloween in small gatherings. When I got to school on October 31, I saw students dressed as various characters walking around the corridor. Some of them were dressed up as Caroline, cats, ghosts, Hogwarts students, Donald Trump, witches, vampires, and zombies. I even saw some Halloween decorations of spiders, ghosts, cats, and other common Halloween images. 

All of our class times were reduced to 60 minutes so we had more time for homeroom, an after-class sports tournament, trivia competition, and pumpkin-carving competition. By winning these tournaments and competitions, students could earn points that would be added to their final grades. This was a great opportunity for students to have fun while improving their grades.

During class, we took part in typical Halloween activities. We watched horror movies such as Hereditary, and some teachers gave us treats to celebrate and enjoy the occasion together. During homeroom, we had an online competition through a website called Kahoot, in which each team had to answer some questions related to Halloween. In the end, our homeroom won the competition, with each student receiving 10 points.

Our homeroom also participated in the pumpkin-carving tournament, in which the judge looked for the best-looking pumpkin among the homeroom teams. Using homeroom and our free time, we first carved out the upper part of the pumpkin’s head, near the stem, and then removed everything from inside. By scraping out the inner surface of the pumpkin, I made the pumpkin wall thinner so it would be easier for our team to carve out the facial designs. Lastly, we drew a face on the pumpkin with a marker and carved it out with a serrated knife. The pumpkin looked amazing!

The Halloween event was neither impactful nor big. However, I had a great time participating in various activities and learned a valuable lesson working as a team. I felt a small but certain happiness welling up the inside of me with warmth and energy for the rest of the day. I am looking forward to celebrating Halloween in the following years as well.

Minjung Kwon
9th grade
Seoul Scholars International