I Do Not Like Halloween!

Halloween is coming. Quick turn off the porch light, draw the shades and turn down the TV. The children are coming! The children are coming! Pretty soon they will be banging on the front door with outstretched hands holding large bags for us to fill with treats, shouting and screaming, no demanding “Trick or Treat!”   But no more fruits or loose treats please, only pre wrapped candies that can be x-rayed at the local hospital for life threatening surprises. When did that happen? When we were kids we just got what we got and brought the stash home that we didn’t eat on the way. We didn’t need to have our goodies x-rayed back then. Is this because mankind is getting crazier? Or is it because we were just naive back then?

OK, maybe it’s not all that bad but hey, I don’t like Halloween. I suppose if our grandchildren lived here I would feel different. We’re just an older couple that wants to be left alone. Well Alright, maybe my wife doesn’t feel that way; in fact she enjoys the kids. She loves to see the little ones all dressed up in costumes. She rather enjoys the whole thing, like most Americans do these days.

So why do we do this?  What the f@$*# is this all about? Well I’m glad you asked. It seems that Halloween or the precursor to it actually started in prehistoric times by the Celts. No surprise there. I’m from Scotland and all my brothers agree that our mother is some kind of a witch. When we were kids she always seemed to know when we were up to no good. We couldn’t get away with anything, almost. She always seemed to be one step ahead of us. Oh well that’s a story for another day.

So the Druids built large bonfires and wore costumes for their celebrations and asked for protection against the upcoming winter. By 43 AD the Romans had moved into much of what is now the British Isles and added their own bent to the party with the celebration of the dead at the end of October. Eventually with the emergence of Christianity into Roman society they moved the date to November 2 and called it all saints day. Here they were sort of throwing everybody and anybody who was no longer around into the party. Another name for all saints day was All-hollows. Are you beginning to see the connection yet?

When the immigrants started moving to America, They brought their holidays with them including what is now known as Halloween. Because of the puritan type of immigrants it was not so wide spread. Remember those puritans were always looking for someone to burn at the stake. But the second movement of immigrants from Ireland after the potato famine helped to make Halloween a full fledged holiday, with costume’s and all. Always the party guys those Celts!

In the 1920’s and 1930’s Halloween became more of a community centered holiday complete with parades and block parties. Along with these festivities it became more about tricks than treats in those days. Vandalism became a frequent activity then. Picture the 1950’s; “Rebel without a cause” in costume?

It is said that most of what we now experience as Halloween traditions comes straight out of the All Saints Day holiday in England. On that holiday people would leave food at their door step for the poor. Eventually the poor would go door to door begging for food and the families would give them a pastry called soul cakes. In exchange the beggars would promise to pray for the families dead relatives. It is believed that the church came up with the soul cakes deal in order to get rid of a tradition where families were leaving food and wine out for the spirits. Just pray and send your money to the church. That hasn’t change much.

So you can see it was a short jump from beggars getting food to children trick or treating right?  What started as an end of summer Celtic festival of superstition to becoming a scene of hyped up children running around in need of Ritalin because of their sugar rush? It all makes sense now doesn’t it. Well it’s getting dark, the kids will be coming to the door soon, and there’s a football game on tonight. I don’t like Halloween.