BOO!

BOO!

Halloween used to be the holiday specifically designed for children. Times have changed. Over the years, adults have taken over this traditional candy fest and made it their day. Each year, scores of adults channel their inner child when they should be thinking grown-up things like, “How do I get out of going to this stupid Halloween party dressed as Gumby?” Instead, many of them willingly turn themselves into brain-eating zombies or some other oddity.

I’ll admit, I was raised by parents who didn’t have much zeal for any holiday; especially pagan ones like Halloween.  My mom only had one holiday that she would openly celebrate. It was Talk like a Pirate Day. “ARRRRRR! Did you want some green beans with your fried spam tonight, mates, eh?” Otherwise, she and my father put a damper on any celebration that cost more than a nickel to pull off. The enforcer was my mom who was raised by direct descendants of Ebenezer Scrooge. At Halloween, my swarthy and hairy father would often answer the door with his shirt off. The kids never got past “Trick or…” before they ran off crying.

Clearly, costumes in days past, were cheaper and simpler. No angsting for weeks over what to be for Halloween. Nope. The day of Halloween, we would rummage through our parents’ closet, throw on some of their oversized clothes and become a hobo, or find an old bed sheet, cut eye holes in it, and become a scary ghost. That was it. A pillow case for the candy, and you were set. No flashlights, glow sticks, or armed guards following us around protecting us. Oh sure, there were always the rumors about razor blades in apples, chocolate laxatives disguised as candy, or the occasional headless horseman loose in the neighborhood, but that’s all. This never deterred us from going out and tempting fate.

Today for school kids, Halloween is much more sanitized and well planned. In most schools, it’s been rebranded into a fall festival in order to satisfy the politically correct police. Plus, it keeps children safe from accidentally shooting straight to the underworld for dressing up as the devil. For this same reason, one doesn’t see many God costumes, either. “Hi, I’m God, trick or treat”; probably not a good idea, given the whole burning bush episode. Typically, kids in the lower grades are allowed to wear costumes to school, but are limited to fantasy or fairytale only characters.

No Butcher Murderer from Manhattan Beach outfits. One boy, who was expelled from his school for dressing like the former basketball player Dennis Rodman, served as a lesson to others that one can’t push the fantasy envelope too far without serious consequences.

Not so for adults, where it’s game on. Political correctness does not apply. Seriously, try going into a bank or restaurant on Halloween day without running into a zombie or some other blood-soaked monster. Being served by someone costumed as a Chain Saw Massacre victim is off-putting, “What kind of dressing would you like with your salad today, sir?”

“Um…nothing red, thank you."

Geez, I am glad this only happens once a year. I know. Maybe I am too much of a curmudgeon, but I came by it honestly. Thanks, Mom. ARRRRRRR!

The Origins of Halloween

Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.