Oct. 19, 2015
April Wefler
[email protected]
Halloween is in two weeks, and I might be the only person who doesn’t care.
I don’t have fond memories of trick-or-treating from door to door like most people. Both of my parents celebrated Halloween as children, but pastoral lectures eventually convinced them that Halloween was the Devil’s holiday and participating in it meant you were worshipping Satan.
Halloween was forbidden in my house until I was 12-years-old, and since then, I’ve only been trick-or-treating twice. Both experiences proved disappointing.
The first time, I went with my best friend and spent hours constructing a SpongeBob costume out of cardboard and paint. It was freezing that night. I remember feeling uncomfortable almost all night and standing awkwardly in my mom’s car as we drove from house to house.
The second time, my friend begged me to come with her because she had never been trick-or-treating before. Her parents had also forbid Halloween.
We tried to go after all the kids had their turns, but, being college students, we received frowns and comments such as “you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Since it was forbidden, Halloween wasn’t big in my family.
There were no jacko-lanterns sitting on our porch or skeletons hanging from our trees, which I didn’t mind since I hate scary things.
Growing up, the Halloween equivalent was “Hallelujah Hoedown” at church, which was essentially Halloween from the trunks of cars with an abundance of games and prizes.
One year, I dressed up as Laura Ingalls of the “Little House” book series. Another year, I was the Queen of Hearts from “Alice in Wonderland,” wearing the crown from “Pretty Pretty Princess” on my head.
Halloween was ultimately the night I got to dress up as a literary character and go to church.
We didn’t give candy to trick-or-treaters since we were either at “Hallelujah Hoedown” or pretended we weren’t home.
I don’t see the point of Halloween, maybe because I wasn’t allowed to participate in it.
This is why I haven’t seen Halloween classics such as “Hocus Pocus” and “Halloweentown” and why I don’t really feel the need to.
The big holiday in our family has always been Christmas, so when Oct. 31 rolls around, I’m not in the mood for candy and pumpkins. Instead, I’m already thinking about what to give people for Christmas.
If they’re lucky, kids on Halloween will get stashes of candy that will last to Easter. College kids use Halloween as an excuse to party, and anyone older doesn’t seem to care, unless they like to humor kids or are kids at heart.
Halloween doesn’t have a goodwill connotation, like Thanksgiving with its blessings or Christmas with its true meaning of giving to others. I like holidays that dig into the good side of human nature, and Halloween doesn’t.
Halloween is the favorite holiday of dentists and candy lovers everywhere (and people that like to party), but it really isn’t that important and we shouldn’t treat it as such.
Halloween is just another day.
But come Nov. 1, I’ll probably start wearing my Christmas socks and blasting Christmas music. And, of course, the countdown to Christmas will begin.