When most people think of innocent happiness, they refer to a child on Christmas day. I prefer to think of those children with lopsided costumes and floppy witch hats who knock on doors with cheeky grins, claiming candy with shouts of “TRICK OR TREAT!” Not gonna lie, I really love Hallowe’en.
I can still remember my first Hallowe’en. I was seven and had never celebrated this very North American holiday before. At first it seemed ridiculous to see the neighbours decorating their house with witches and pumpkins and covering their window in absurd amounts of fake cobweb. Being sort of suspicious, I refused to leave the house without my dad. He had to knock on the first door for me and I probably didn’t even say thank-you to the kind person who gave me my first Hallowe’en candy. After a while, I got the hang of it though. This was easy enough, all I had to do was navigate through the scarily decorated yards of all these nice people, ring the doorbell and yell something that to me sounded like “TICK O TEET” and I would be rewarded with candy. And I got ridiculous amounts of candy that night. More than enough, so the next year I was ready a month in advance with a costume and an elaborate plan to get the most candy possible.
I feel old when I say that years have passed since then but the years have passed and yet Hallowe’en never fails to cheer me. What other night of the year do people spontaneously all agree to hand out stuff to complete strangers? I think it’s awesome. As I got older, I got to experience the magic of handing out the candy. They say giving is better than receiving. It is. And, as an added bonus, if you’re handing out the candy then you definitely get to have some of it for yourself. Other events such as Hallowe’en for Hunger also add a charitable twist, allowing everyone to benefit from the holiday. Running around in crazy costumes collecting money or food for other people even gave me a good excuse to wear a costume as I entered my stubbornly mature teen years.
Then come the partying years when wearing a costume on Hallowe’en is cool again. Sure, when you’re at university, some costumes are slutty but some are also a ridiculous amount of fun. Personally I got to talk to Superman, Katy Perry and Amelia Earhart all in one night. I love how university students are so … cultured (for lack of a better word) and you can still be recognised when you dress up as that unheard-of character from the book that no one back home has ever read. It’s not just an excuse for costumes and partying either; I know plenty of people who will be once again collecting food for charities or preparing their house for visiting trick-or-treaters. Hallowe’en decorations are so much fun. What other nights can you purposefully scare people out of their wits and then have them admire you for your genius?
I love how Hallowe’en is the one occasion when you can go back to those childish dreams and actually be a superhero. You can let out your passions and dress up like that unheard-of character from that book you love. I love the funny costumes; the play on words (ever met “shooting star”?); the groups that decide to get together to create a themed group (Snap, Crackle, Pop! Anyone?). Most of all, it’s just fun seeing everyone getting excited and happy for nothing more than an holiday, whether it’s the little kid with the soon-to-be candy-filled pillowcase or the university student preparing a paper maché prop (you know who you are 😛 ).
Hallowe’en is a holiday where everyone can enjoy the magic without the mandatory awkwardness of being a ‘family holiday’. As a last resort, even if you don’t appreciate all the silliness, you can still enjoy all the post-Hallowe’en candy sales. Some say Christmas is better because you get to sing carols and decorate everything with lights, but I can’t carry a tune and pumpkins are so much cooler, so my favourite holiday will always be Hallowe’en. Besides… it’s also my birthday so you just can’t beat that 🙂
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