Halloween is a special time of year. I love Halloween. Some of you are nodding your heads in agreement. And some of you are making a grimace-y sort of face. It is to the grimacers that I now direct my remarks.
Halloween is for lovers. Lovers of candy. Lovers of dressing up. Lovers of more sugar than a person should eat in a year, all hastily consumed in one glorious night of outdoor frolicking after dark. Halloween is being creative, being silly, being a kid--especially if you grew out of kidhood a few decades back.
Sometimes I hear people say they hate Halloween. Hate is such a strong word, best left for cockroaches, chapped lips, paper cuts and Tyce Diorio. People shouldn't hate Halloween. If you hate Halloween, let me respectfully suggest that the problem isn't with the holiday, the problem is with you. There is something profoundly, disturbingly wrong with you, and you should get professional help immediately. Let me be that professional help:
I hate all the fuss. Replace the word "fuss" with "fun" and you will see that what you call a bother (coming up with costumes, taking the kids around door to door to beg for candy, dressing up yourself) is really what makes the holiday enjoyable. Embrace it. Plan ahead.
Halloween is evil. Make Halloween what you want it to be. If you don't want "evil" avoid Wiccan coven get-togethers. Think Halloween is too scary/dark/morbid? Do pretty/silly/retro Halloween instead. Target can help.
All that candy will rot their teeth. Yes. Halloween candy is definitely bad for teeth. (And thighs. And muffin tops. And it is a huge contributing factor to a butt that looks like two sacks of wet laundry.) But you know what? It's one night. Let the kids eat all they can stomach. They will love you for it, curse themselves for eating too much, and may just learn a little something about moderation in all things. Brush and floss their teeth yourself before they go to bed--we always do!
I can't stand having candy in the house for weeks/months after Halloween: Who says you have to keep the candy? Take advantage of their aching bellies the next day and get rid of what's left. (We always donate ours to the Bishop's candy jar two days after Halloween.) Of course kids like candy, but I've found the real fun to be had on Halloween is the thrill of the hunt. Coming home to sort the loot, counting all the Reeses/Twix/100 Grands and then trading the rest for something better is what childhood dreams are made of.
In conclusion, I love Halloween. I love so many things about it, but just this year I think I have really hit upon why I love it so much: THERE IS NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST. It's all too easy to fill up Christmas and Easter with secular fun at the expense of the spiritual, because those holidays have been commercialized to an offensive degree. But Halloween? There is no spiritual component. You can't get it wrong. It is a meaningless holiday that is nothing more than an excuse to dress up, eat lots of candy, and decorate your house with plastic skulls and rubber rats. What's not to love about that?
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4 comments:
Amen, sista. Let me just add that unlike Christmas, Halloween is a low pressure holiday. No huge financial commitment is required. You can go big or small without the fear of your children later needed psychological services. You can be messy. You can move beyond your day-to-day conservative exterior. You can let your inner-Goth reign supreme. For just one day. Then it's back to Relief Society.
...And I love YOU for that post! I needed to hear it, my professional help:) I've gotten better over the years, but just tend to skip on by Halloween b/c it is too dang close to Thanksgiving & Christmas and all that planning:)
YES!!! Love, love, love Halloween! I love black and orange, spiders, skulls, bones, tutus, wings, hats, glasses, and my all-time favorite....wigs! Who knew?! However, I also love Tyce Diorio.....so now I hate you.
; )
Amen!
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