Halloween: Not Much Fun for Me

My least favorite holiday is Halloween. I am glad when it is over each year.

I do like carving pumpkins, candy corn, images of black cats, and festive autumn colors. Beyond that, however, little endears me to the holiday.

Halloween began over 2000 years ago in the pagan festival of Samhain among the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland. On November 1, the new year marked the beginning of the winter period. It was often associated with death and warding off evil. Traditions around those concerns developed on October 31 and remain today.

I didn’t go trick or treating as a child since we lived in the country. The alternative was a Halloween Party at our church. I am not blaming my feelings for Halloween based on my upbringing. On the other hand, I did not get overly excited about church Halloween even though we did activities like wear costumes and bob for apples. I will, however, always remember (circa 1956) when my cousins dressed up at Elvis Pressley and a hound dog at the Halloween party.

I am one of those curmudgeons who turns off all the lights on Halloween night and retreats to the back rooms of my house so children will NOT come to beg at my door. Candy rots teeth and makes people chubby—how is that for being a Halloween killjoy?

My biggest problem is the focus on horror, scary things, creepiness, and the grotesque. I went to one horror movie in my life when I was in high school. I pulled my coat over my head the whole time and have never gone to another such movie. I find it offensive that Halloween regalia can make fun of people who are “different.”

Costumes do not have to be ugly and grotesque. I have had fun seeing the outfits that creative people can put together and wonder why I didn’t think of that. However, Halloween creativity is a stretch for me, except for my Fat Bear costume in 2019 (see photo).

I am glad that I live in a community that has a fun Halloween tradition. In Estes Park, residents come to the main street blocked off for 2-3 hours. Children as well as adults (and sometimes dogs) dress up in costumes and go store to store to garner free treats. Local organizations and businesses serve complimentary hot dogs, chili, and cocoa. People stroll on the streets and greet each other along the way.

Halloween is what it is. I do not disparage people who look forward to Halloween rituals–Happy Halloween! It’s just not for me…