Screams from the Ferris wheel

As I was on my way home aboard a trusty jeepney, I heard a group of children scream for their lives from a far good distance.

No, there weren’t any ghosts in town yet. In fact, the festivities were waving at the municipality of Consolacion in celebration of the fiesta. Banderitas, balloons, and lights were on parade. Talk about fiesta but the screams were disturbing.

Turns out, the screams were from the ferris wheel, the highlight of every fiesta’s amusement park or perya. I couldn’t really tell if they were screams of fright or screams of excitement. But from the look of the ferris wheel, I’d take the former.

The act of screaming is an exaggerated expression from both extremes. You may be too scared or too mad. You may also either be too depressed or too happy. Whatever serves the situation.

But when we teach the children to be afraid, and they scream well that’s a different story.

In a few days time, we are given days off from work to reunite with our families and reminisce the good old days of those who have departed from us in a holiday we call All Souls’ Day. For some it is still painful to accept but on the other side of the coin, there is joy because of the enjoining back with our creator.

All Souls’ Day is the time we remember the dead, and also the time we are bombarded with the image of fear. We associate this day with ghosts, the dead and wandering spirits in a theme we would most likely name as Halloween.

Unlike the western setting, we do not foster the trick or treat tradition to our children. We often get this idea’s picture from the movies where children dress up in their scariest attire with a basket or bag in hand as they wander around the neighborhood for goodies from the folks. It’s either you get tricked and scared or given a treat.

I cannot say if this is a positive connotation on Philippine society but one thing is common – the concept of fear during this season in our children.

We scare them of ghost stories and make them scream at the top of their lungs. Costumes on the racks portray the most hideous creatures on earth as they run to mama for refuge. There are even theme booths where you pay, go through the labyrinth and scare yourself. It may be fun for the older ones but it is scary for an innocent child. Why scare him/her?

When children are scared, they lose the confidence in their selves and cling on to a person for strength when they could have been standing on their own feet already.

A screaming scared child is an example of wrong upbringing because the trust in the self is lost. There is no confidence that the ‘I’ could stand alone because of the concept of fear.

I couldn’t quite get the point of making a festivity out of scary characters. It may be fun for adults to witness the little ones cry cutely. But in their small hearts of hearts, there is no sleeping when bedtime comes. So why scare them and hear their screams when they can be told of stories about their dear departed?

**First published in the Freeman newspaper on October 30, 2012