Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love it. I couldn't resist making this a blog about ten great things about it. Of course, these are in no particular order, but they are all great.
01. Candy: Anyone who has known me for long knows that I love candy, but Halloween candy is special. Not only, properly dressed, can even an adult wander door to door and be given free candy for as long as they want to beg; the candy is different. You get Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins, Peep's Chocolate Mousse Cats, skull lollipops, eyeball gumballs ... you get the pictures. Not only is the candy great, you can get really great containers. You can get little skull purses or cat containers filled with cheap candy. You can get decorations attached to tubes of candy. It's fantastic. It's like being ... a kid in a candy store.
02. Costumes: Ever wanted to be something besides yourself? Halloween is a chance to do just that. Dress up as something scary, silly, fun, or even stupid. It doesn't matter. It's just a night to be something besides yourself. Of course, in the ancient rituals, this was the point -- to keep evil spirits from recognizing you and doing you harm. Even if you don't have that to worry about it, it's still fun to dress up and not be you for a time. Dressing up is fun. If I could, I'd do it all the time. Halloween let's you do it without the harassment you'd get on any other day of the year. Heck, a grown man can dress up in a baby costume and tote around a bottle full of candy, and the only humiliation will be the embarrassing pictures your friends post of you online in the morning. Go Halloween!
03. Getting to know more about the people around you: Halloween is one of those great holidays that really show you a lot about people, in the way that they celebrate (or not celebrate). From the decorations that they choose and their reactions to the ones around them to the costumes they choose and the events they attend. Who knew that Barry from accounting was such a fan of Star Trek until he wore that fantastic Borg costume to the company party? It's a great time of year for people watching.
04. Decorations: This is what I wish the world looked like year round. Black lights, skeletons, carved pumpkins, spider webs, ghosts, black cats ... bring it on! I love it! I love walking through the neighborhood and seeing a mix of store bought and homemade decorations that are both new and old. I most like those decorations from the 50s that are reminiscent of the artwork from the Victorian era Halloween pieces. I only have one piece left from that, but I adore it. (A piece of advice, if you find one, no matter how filthy it is, do not use any kind of house cleaner on it. It will also take off the paint. Use only water and dish detergent if absolutely necessary.)
05. Shopping: Even at the dollar stores (a.k.a. Where I buy almost everything), there is an abundance of awesome things from decorations (candy dishes, candle holders, ornaments, etc.) to more candy, costume material, decorations, books, coloring books, toys, etc. It's like going to a Halloween store, except it is everywhere! It gets even better on November 1st when you can get it all on discount (except at the dollar store).
06. Watching the children have fun: Children still possess a magical enjoyment of Halloween. Not only are they dressing a costume, they are becoming what they wear. They aren't going house to house to beg candy, they're on a treasure hunt to claim it. On this night, they are allowed to dress the way they want, run around after dark, talk to strangers, and be given strange candy; and their parents are going along with it. I love to watch all of their unadulterated joy and the adorable costumes that they wear. Due to my abject poverty, I have been unable to buy candy to give our, but when I was working I used to buy the stuff bulk from Candy Warehouse, just so I could sit outside and hand out all the candy. My favorite year was when I bought candy and little Halloween toys and put them in separate cauldrons. They got to choose one of each, and it was so great watching them get so excited about getting to do so.
07. Parties! This is where it all comes together. Costumes, candy, decorations, getting to know the people around you and meeting strangers. Halloween parties are one of the few types of parties that I actually enjoy. It has been a long time since I've been to a true Halloween party, but I look forward to the next one. Perhaps if I ever manage to escape the great black hole that is Hagerstown, I will be able to throw one myself.
08. National Interest: Once a year, there is a time when the whole country seems interested in many of the same things as I do. People are putting up their spooky decorations and picking their costumes and candy. They're reading scary books and putting up spooky wallpapers on their desktops. It's like spring fever, except it's so much better. It's so great that it's almost a let down when it is all over.
09. HAUNTED HOUSES! These spooky constructs are one of my favorite things in the entire world. I love them. I love the high budget ones that are almost like theatrical performances, I love the ones set up in people's garages, I love the ones at the boardwalk or cheap carnival that are all black walls and glow in the dark paint; I love them! There is one area within driving distance that I've attended once (love to go again, but it requires having someone else that wants to go as much as me, since I don't drive.), and it was spectacular. They had three huge haunted houses, a corn maze, a haunted village, and a haunted hay ride (which ended up being a bunch of people packed together in an old horse trailer, but it was still cool). By the second house, I was so jittery and excited that I was screaming at everything, and it was so much fun. I even jumped so hard in the corn field that I landed on my butt like some kind of cartoon character. I love to visit these year round, whenever possible, but without Halloween, they are few and far between. Given enough space and money, I'd love to make one spectacular haunted house that would be open year round.
10. Television: Should I watch the "Haunted History" marathon, the horror movie marathon on Chiller, watch my favorite shows doing their Halloween episodes, or ... The television choices, for once, are great. Even the commercials and station identifications are cool. It seems like there are so many options to watch that you have to figure out what to watch, what not to watch, and what to tape for that dead period of television that's all about making turkeys. One of my favorites is watching the channels for home design and crafting, which teach you how to make great decorations for little money. Heck, they're all good!
Did I mention that I love Halloween?
Halloween is my favorite holiday too. Maybe is's because it's a few days after my birthday. Who knows, ever since I was a little kid I loved that holiday.
ReplyDeleteI like to do all of the stuff you listed in your blog! Too bad we don't know each other in real live. We would have a blast celebrating Halloween together.:D
I think, we would have a great time if we could hang out. We could ride the bus in costume to crash the best Halloween parties in town! ^_^
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