It’s autumn. The weather turns from unbearably hot to brisk and pleasant, leaves fall from the trees as students rejoice about the end of the school year coming up, and countless people across the nation prepare to reunite with their family during the holidays.  In the wise words of singer Andy Williams, it’s truly the most wonderful time of the year. This wonderful time is marked by a myriad of cultural holidays. Hanukkah, Navaratri, Dia de Los Muertos,  Christmas, and Kwanzaa are just some of the traditions families across the nation celebrate joyously. These holidays have rich histories, and are deeply important to those who celebrate them.  However, it has also become increasingly common for these holidays to be appropriated and exploited by others. Oftentimes, major cultural events are commodified and reduced to trends, diminishing their cultural significance.  In light of this, it’s important that we all remain conscious of how we choose to celebrate cultural events this fall.

Every year, the Hindu festival of Garba brings people together to celebrate Navaratri, a nine-night festival devoted to the goddess of strength, Durga. The festival symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. During this time, communities gather to dance, pray, and honor the divine feminine energy through rhythmic dancing and songs. For many, it’s a moment to connect with culture, family, and faith. 

But lately, that sacred energy has started to fade. A growing number of people have begun treating Garba not as a celebration of devotion, but as just another party. Each year, the South Asian Student Association (SASA) Garba has become one of Westwood’s most anticipated cultural events, drawing students from across the district to celebrate. But as Garba grows in popularity, it’s also started to attract behavior that drifts away from its roots. Many attendees treat Garba as a place to rave, use substances, and engage in unsavory behavior. These practices are not only disrespectful but also completely distort the spirit of the event. 

The point of Garba is to honor the divine feminine energy, to celebrate good over evil, and to express gratitude through dance. When people become intoxicated from substance use, it turns something sacred into something shallow. The focus shifts from devotion and community to showing off and partying. It creates an uncomfortable atmosphere for families, elders, and anyone who comes with the intent to genuinely celebrate. 

One of the prime examples of how people have begun to diminish Garba’s cultural significance can be seen in how it has become a trend to ‘pregame,’ or heavily indulge in substances like alcohol before Garba.

“I’ve seen [pregaming at Garba] like online, and I think it’s become a big trend, but in my honest opinion, I feel like religious events that are very personal to our culture that we keep very close to our hearts, and I think that should be kept separate from [things like] normal pregaming trends.”  SASA president Pranjali Kulkarni ‘27 said. 

There’s also a cultural impact to consider. Garba has survived generations as a symbol of unity and pride within Indian culture. When reduced to a night out, its rich history is tainted. The festival becomes less about spirituality and togetherness and more about convenience. Garba isn’t a dance; it’s an offering. Every spin, clap, and step carries the rhythm of devotion. When people show up after pre-gaming, they’re not only disrespecting the deeply spiritual by making it performative. Instead of connecting with the divine, people are focused on taking selfies or showing off their outfits, completely losing touch with the reason this celebration exists.

“To me, Navaratri [is] a time [when] you can be close with your family and friends. This is the one time where brown kids can come together and celebrate something shared, something that connects us to our families, even across the world.” Kulkarni said. 

Garba is supposed to be inclusive. It is meant for everyone, including kids, elders, families, and friends. But when people treat it like any other night out, it changes the tone for everyone else. It makes spaces that should feel welcoming and sacred seem chaotic or unsafe. Garba thrives on shared energy from God and loved ones, not on alcohol or substances. Enjoying yourself at Garba doesn’t mean you can’t have fun; it just means remembering why we’re dancing in the first place. The music, the dancing, and the vibrant colors all represent the cycle of life and our connection to the divine. 

Westwood is one of the most diverse schools in Austin. With a massive, thriving South-Asian American community, nearly everyone has an Indian friend or has experienced South Asian traditions in some way. That’s what makes this issue so personal. When students devalue Garba, it doesn’t just affect Indian students; it affects everyone. When students show up under the influence or treat Garba as just another night out, their partaking crosses the line from participation into appropriation, a disconnection from a rich culture and values passed down for generations. 

Garba is someone’s culture, not a party. Garba is supposed to feel like home, like a temple. It’s supposed to be a space where kids can dance with their parents, elders can sign along and everyone can celebrate together. Enjoying yourself at Garba doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. It means remembering why you’re dancing in the first place. 

The fragrant aroma of pan de muerto (in English, the bread of the dead), a traditional buttery bread, mixed with the scent of citrusy florals hangs heavy in the air. An explosion of bright yellow-orange marigolds blossoms on family’s doorsteps and ofrendas (alters) alike – hundreds of smiles glisten from every corner as families dance, a poetic tribute to their ancestors as they celebrate the cycle of life. However, these types of celebrations are often lost to ignorance – irrespective of the holiday’s beauty and cultural richness, it is commonly mischaracterized outside of its purpose and roots. Multitudes of uneducated people perceive Dia de los Muertos as a macabre ritual or an unimportant holiday which they hold no personal value in.

The recently celebrated holiday includes a menagerie of memorable icons, such as the smiling-skeleton calaveras and the Mexican marigold flowers. These are the most easily recognizable aspects of the cultural holiday, alongside the ofrendas which hold immense value in terms of culture and tradition, remaining integral to the celebration. Marigolds, or “la flor de la Vida” (the flower of life), symbolize the cycle of life. These icons represent a person’s most ‘vibrant’ years, reminiscent of the flower’s rich yellow hues. Calaveras, similarly, represent how the departure of our loved ones should be met with celebration, or even humor, rather than anguish, working to symbolize transformation and remembrance. However, these such symbols are just as easily misunderstood and misrepresented.

Despite the holiday’s rich history, Dia de los Muertos has been commodified, and turned into a tool for global corporations to exploit decades of deep cultural history to get their bottom line. There has been a long standing history of cultural appropriation involved in marketing techniques, in which companies will utilize cultural symbols, such as the aforementioned marigolds and calaveras, oversimplifying and romanticizing them in order to make a quick sale. By underselling their cultural significance, these companies then undermine the holiday’s value in and of itself. To these companies, culture appropriation goes hand in hand with making a profit. 

A continuous misunderstanding of cultural holidays reflects itself onto global corporations, which sell traditional cultures’ by products without any regard for the valuable backstory of the cultures in which they steal from. This behavior isn’t unique to Dia de Los Muertos, and can be  seen in numerous celebrations, such as Hanukkah.  Hanukkah is often exploited through the selling of symbols rooted in stereotypes, or even through political use to promote Zionism. Often, Hannukah is considered a replacement for Christmas, with Hannukah’s symbols slapped over Christmas-themed shirts, or lost in the mix of Chirtsmas aisles. This mix of commercialization and conflation with Christmas dilutes the religious holiday into a product of world corporations that hold no value in the religion.

With the internet playing such a large part in marketing techniques and consumer communication, it becomes increasingly important to understand the influence of religion and culture as they bring their interactions to a global audience.Far too many companies are taking the culture out of the celebrations, giving a broad interpretation to the tradition that is not tied to its background, making consumers less inclined to learn about the meaning behind the symbols. For example, Christian crosses are often worn without meaning or with a lack of education, even being worn upside down, which in modern times, has been adopted into anti-Christian symbolism. Originally, these crosses symbolized the way in which Saint Peter was crucified upside down, as he did not deem himself worthy to die the same way his savior, Jesus Christ, did. The meaning over the years has been misconstrued and manipulated into something far more glamorized, which in turn, becomes a symbol that is easily able to be churned out as a fashion trend. 

The blatant exploitation of these symbols is becoming increasingly relevant as people become increasingly ignorant. Celebrations, traditions, and symbols remain as a reminder of our identity and our heritage through culture, religion, and family. In a world of globalization, we should bear an understanding towards other cultures as well as keep in touch with our own, appreciating rather than diminishing the myriad of other cultures that we encounter in our day to day life. By educating ourselves on these multitudes of cultures, we are able to shed our old ways of ignorance, and expand our understanding of the world alongside its cultures.