Joss paper, aka Ghost Money aka Hell Banknotes are burned to honour ancestors during China's Ching Ming Festival.

Co-written with April Barrett, with contributions from the Barrett and Welsh team

As seasoned Canadians, we often take holidays like Halloween for granted. But imagine landing in a new country, and then on October 31st, seeing a bunch of tiny people dressed up in animal onesies, begging for candy at your door.

Super weird.

Interestingly, the core concepts behind Halloween are not entirely unfamiliar to many new Canadians.

In China and among the Chinese diaspora, on Ching Ming Festival or Tomb-Sweeping Day (usually April 4th or 5th), graves are swept and Ghost Money (joss paper) is burned in homage to ancestors. Among Catholics in places like India, Hong Kong and China, Poland and the Philippines, it’s not All Hallow’s Eve that is observed but the two days that follow – All Saints Day and All Soul’s Day – the latter especially is reserved for visits to family graves, to clean them, leave flowers, pray for the souls of the departed and to light candles of remembrance. Among Mexicans, pre-Columbian ancestor worship rituals have syncretised with the Catholic traditions of the conquistadors and have re-emerged as the Dia de Muertos or as gringos have back-translated it, Dia de los Muertos – celebrated over several days.

But the particular candy-flavoured variety enjoyed with such commercial gusto in North America is a little disconcerting at first to Canadian newcomers.

It clashes with health-related customs. “Candy is bad for you!”

It runs afoul of immigrant concerns about frivolous expense. “That black halo is how much?”

Sonia’s most terrifying avatar

And it crashes in confusion as it runs into what is appropriate and what is not, as the kids stare wide-eyed at some waspy stereotype or insensitive pastiche of one’s own culture that is indubitably going to win this year’s gold medal for Most. Offensive. Halloween. Costume. Ever.

To those who are just getting the hang of this holiday, we feel you. Here are some stories straight from our staff, about their first Halloween in Canada.

Sonia My first Halloween? I was in college — it was fun to see all the makeup artist students creating Halloween characters — I got an artificial scar on my arm. The family I was living with went out trick-or-treating. Assignments were scarier to me, so I stayed home alone to work.

Ben tells Agnes about the new deadline

I was warned to not answer the door as the apartment building didn’t allow door-to-door trick-or-treating on Halloween and there were some nasty elements in the building. Around midnight, I heard a knock on the door. I ignored it but the knocking continued and didn't stop for about 10 minutes. Foolishly, with only a shoe to defend myself, I opened the door to find a bunch of drunk teenagers. I was so relieved it wasn’t a masked killer! I didn't have any candy, so I gave them a few muffins and sent them on their way!

Agnes My first Halloween in Canada was... cold. It actually snowed that day. The country that I moved here from, in October, we still wore shorts.

Ben Two months after we landed in Canada, I opened my door to an army of little ghosts, witches and blood-splattered creatures. My kids shrieked with joy as they recognized their schoolmates and blended right into this beloved Halloween tradition that we also celebrated back home. I ate most of the candy.

Savio threatens to edit Gavin's copy

Savio I had heard a lot about Halloween before moving to Canada. Boy, was I in for a treat. Weeks before the day itself, I saw houses adorned and decorated to look terrifying. I was scared just thinking about how the property value would diminish if their houses really became that way. On Halloween, my 3-year old was inexhaustible. He could barely say 'trick or treat' but every house he went to he left with his hands full. He wanted to visit every house in the city. At the end of the night, we had enough sweet treats to open a small store. Kids would not stop visiting our house screaming trick or treat. But when adults started showing up, pretending to be kids, the situation became frightening.

Gavin Not my first Halloween - but the first in our first Canadian home. I went mad — I made jack-o’-lanterns. Inspired by not-yet-a-jailbird Martha Stewart, I carved 13 or 14 pumpkins and squashes. And realized, with a horror that any well-raised Indian will understand, that a tremendous amount of gourd was going waste. I soothed my conscience by cooking every cup of carved-out calabash cavity into a curried soup rich with coconut milk. I served it to the parents who accompanied their kids on their rounds.
_______

Notice anything in these true stories? We’re being let into a secret.

New Canadians want to adopt the rituals of the new home they’ve chosen, mysterious though they may be at first. Canada has embraced them.

Their instinct is simple.

Return the hug.

Happy Halloween folks.

Gavin Barrett is Chief Creative Officer and Ideawallah at Barrett and Welsh, Toronto's most award-winning multicultural agency. Barrett and Welsh is also the official Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Insight in the Kingdom of the Blind.

Jama Masjid, Old Delhi. Photo by Gavin Barrett

Eid Mubarak to any of our friends, clients or vendors celebrating Eid ul Adha this weekend. And to those on their Hajj journeys, inward, outward, onward, we say khuda hafiz.

Much of the western world tends to think of Eid as the festival that immediately follows Ramadan - or Ramzan - as we call it where I grew up. They are not wrong.

The austerities of Ramadan culminate in the celebration of Eid ul Fitr - literally, the feast of the breaking of the fast. Eid al Fitr celebrations are marked by a spirit of generosity and hospitality is lavished on friends and family.

But it is Eid ul Adha, also known as Greater Eid, or the Eid of the Great Sacrifice, that is the most important feast in the Muslim calendar. Back in India, it was known to all by its colloquial name, Bakri Eid (Eid of the Goat). The name springs from the Eid tradition in which a goat is ritually slaughtered and shared among family, friends and the poor.

For three or four days our Muslim friends around the world set out in brand new clothes, to visit and celebrate with each other and to pray on one of their faith's great solemnities. Unsurprisingly, food and spending on food is a big part of the celebrations and in places with large Muslim populations, messages from major advertisers reflect this focus, as we can see in this ad for McDonald's in India.

In Canada, Muslims now account for nearly 3.2% of the population. At just over a million people, they are the second largest faith group in the country according to the much maligned 2011 census. The linguistic diversity updates from the 2016 census tell us that the fastest growing non-official languages in Toronto after Tagalog are Arabic, Farsi and Bengali - all of them are largely languages of Muslim immigrants. Calgary's Baitun Nur Mosque is believed to be the largest in North America and serves a large, growing congregation.

So, it's somewhat surprising that very few Canadian marketers have taken note of the opportunity, with some notable exceptions like Metro's Adonis grocery store banner and brands like Maple Leaf's Mina Halal and Maple Lodge's Zabiha Halal. Delivering halal products at moments of need and significance to this market of one million-plus hungry consumers is going to be phenomenal for business - especially for those who move first and move fast. It's time to wake up and smell the za'atar. It smells delicious — as most billion dollar opportunities do.

Gavin Barrett is Ideawallah at Barrett and Welsh, an award-winning multicultural advertising Toronto agency that specializes in the new Canada, a magical place where all cultures are understood, shared and enjoyed and the ideas are delicious, meaty and aromatic with spices.

Image from http://thisisnthappiness.stfi.re/?sf=zzprgrl#aa

1. Cure blindness. To see more start here: a quarter of a million photographs from the Eastman Museum. Yes, you can find all sorts of things, but it’s the joy of searching that is most rewarded. From accused murderer Eadward Muybridge’s photographic studies of movement to Warhol’s obsessive iterative experiments your eyes will be opened and your mind blown.
2. Fight racism. Ask when you don’t know. At yoisthisracist.com Andrew Ti answers your questions about if something is racist or not — and on his podcast of the same name. Hilarious, smart, insightful.
3. Say what you are feeling. Invent new words if necessary. I felt a strange wistful satisfaction when I happened upon The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a web series which invents new words for the emotions that afflict us and propel us. A labour of love (another powerful emotion), written, edited, and narrated by John Koenig, new episodes are published weekly.
4. Do not accept accepted wisdom. Revisionist History is a startling, insightful Malcolm Gladwell podcast that looks at the past and discusses forgotten, misunderstood and missed opportunities.
5. See with your ears. The city of my birth is a tower of sound. Explored through your ears it is equal measures cacophony and music, magical and mundane. Sounds of Mumbai is a beautifully crafted immersive web experience that allows you to plant yourself in my beloved Bombay and experience its clashes, chaos, choral harmonies and rhythms. If you have never been to Mumbai, plug in your earphones and open your mind.
6. Meet a Nobel Laureate. Read a poet along with his poetry. “You are one of the strangest children I have ever had anything to do with.” That quote comes directly from a note T S Eliot sent Marianne Moore. TSEliot.com is a treasure trove of a site lets you discover Eliot’s poetry and correspondence like never before.
7. Discover a new subcontinent. Learn to listen to a billion voices. On the Tip of a Billion Tongues is a remarkable radio journey by Indo-Australian novelist Roanna Gonsalves (full disclosure, she is a friend) for the Australia Broadcasting Corporation. Roanna dives into 21st century India through the voices, thoughts and ideas of its writers in Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta and Goa.
8. Hate hate. Kill the hate with laughter. If you struggle to cope with all the online hating, David Thorne’s blog will leave you ROFL. Laughter is the best revenge. Hate less. Laugh more. Or vice versa.

 

 

The worst of times?

On one level 2016 was a shocker. Rarely has so much prejudice, ignorance, misogyny, homophobia, bigotry and straight up xenophobia been displayed so proudly or delivered in such toxic concentrations. Rarely have so many good people despaired of so many other good people.

As an agency for whom diversity and inclusion is in its very DNA, this could be cause for great self-doubt.

Is what we do futile?

Questioning ourselves seems only natural in these circumstances. I feel the only way to answer is with another question: how can we ensure that diversity will always be celebrated?

In fact, when I look at 2016, I think to myself that there has never been a greater need for a shop like ours, one so entirely committed to finding ways to include all and celebrate all. Inclusive communication and the awareness it brings is a potent antidote to ignorance and a subtle, sharp weapon against even the most despotic agenda. We must carry on with the work we do because it is vital to reach underserved minorities who are easily neglected and forgotten. We have tremendous work to do ahead.

The best of times.

Despite its bleak moments, 2016 has been one of the best years in our history. We have never won as many awards as we did this year. Our work for Chalo swept the podium at the Summits (a show for small agencies), winning Gold, Silver and Bronze. We dominated our category with a best in class performance at the Marketing Awards, with seven awards. We won an MEA silver for Marketing Effectiveness. We even won a gold for the best campaign never produced, work for a TTC pitch presentation on priority seating awareness.

And, in a marvellous affirmation of the work we do and the passion we bring to it, we were officially certified as a #BCorp for our work with minorities and for our positive impact on the planet.

We capped that with an extraordinary showing in New York, winning seven EMMAs from NAMIC, the premier organisation advocating for multi-ethnic diversity in communications in North America. We tied, believe it or not, with BET, for the second highest number of awards handed out. Yup. Little old us.

We closed off the year with a peak moment in our many years of celebrating diversity when we were invited to design and contribute typographic art and poetry to This|ability, a remarkable new book that now resides in the National Library of Canada. This|ability, is Canada's first ever book on Art Brut and Outsider Art. Conceived by Ayako Ellen Anderson, a social activist, artist, advocate for Universal Access and founder of the Creative Spirit Art Centre, the book features the remarkable vibrant, raw work of the Centre's artists, shining a light on their talent rather than their disabilities.

Looking back, there is reason for austerity and sober reflection, yes. It's why we have scaled back our usual celebrations this year and are instead making a corporate donation to Médecins Sans Frontières. But it's been a good year too, and so we are keeping with our annual tradition of sending out a cheeky seasonal greeting to clients, vendors and friends at this time of year. Which is what I would like to close with.

A merry Barrett and Welsh Christmas Powerpoint

As we head towards the Christmas break, we want to ensure you are fully leveraging all holiday assets for maximum efficiencies. So we put together this handy Christmas video* that provides a handy recap of the season's key metrics. Turn up the volume or don ye now your headphones and simply click here to view the video on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas and to all a happy new year.

*No data was mangled in the making of this video. Any numbers that appear were safely released into the wild once production was complete.