It's that time of year again! The time when candy becomes more acceptable to eat all day long and costumes become a big deal. Some people think that Halloween is only for children and I have to disagree with that statement.
Before I can explain why I disagree, we have to understand why Halloween became a holiday in the first place. The Celts are said to have originated Halloween, but they called it the festival of Samhain. The festival of Samhain was celebrated on October 31st, right before their New Year on November first. This festival was meant to ward off ghosts by lighting bonfires and wearing costumes. They did this because they believed that on this night the line between the living and the dead vanished and everything was fair game between the ghosts and the living human beings. Years later, Pope Gregory III sort of picked this day up when he decided to incorporate some of the traditions of the Samhain Festival for his All Saints Day. (History of Halloween, paragraph 1&2). This all combines to make what we know as Halloween today.
If the Celts dressed up and celebrated the day that we know Halloween as, then why can't we dress up and celebrate too? We may not believe that the line between the dead and living is blurred that night, but we obviously believed that the traditions they made were fun. The Celts were a tough group of people. They fought with giant swords and even women fought in some battles. If these warriors could dress up for Samhain/Halloween, then I think we can dress up too!
Halloween is just a lot of fun! From dressing up, to the special candy and treats, to bonfires, to spooky stories, Halloween is a unique holiday with really cool traditions. Even if you do not like dressing up, you do not have to. You could sit at home, watch Halloween Movies, and eat candy (This is what I plan on doing).
Scary movies can be fun to watch even if you do not like them. I usually do not like watching scary movies unless it is a scary movie that makes me jump. I do not like the super scary ones because they make me think too much. Yet, if it's Halloween and I am with someone I will watch it just to laugh at our reactions. It's just a fun, new Halloween tradition of mine now that I can't pass up.
Bonfires are one of my favorite activities of all time. I love roasting marshmallows, making S'mores, and playing games (preferably corn-hole or glow in the dark bowling). If you do not want to go trick or treating and you do not want to watch movies, just have a bonfire. It is seriously that simple. Maybe your bonfire can scare away the ghosts.
Carve a pumpkin. It makes your house look festive, and it is fun to get the slimy guts out. It is just fun to do.
Last year I went Trick-or-Treating because I was seventeen and I knew that I would legally be an "adult" (which seriously I don't think anyone that has fun in life is actually classified as an adult) and it would be frowned upon for an "adult-ish" person to go trick or treating without children the next year. Some people laughed and were cool with it and some people were just plain rude. I feel like sometimes we owe it to ourselves to just do one more thing that we did as a kid. Yet, that will not be the last time I go Trick-or-Treating. I plan on going with my kids in the far, far, far future. I also recently thought to myself that maybe when I am 90 and I go Trick-Or-Treating, people will think that I am delusional and that I believe that I am a child again, so maybe then it will not be frowned upon either. Or maybe our society will change by then and I won't have to act crazy. Who knows, I just know that last year will not be my last Trick-or-Treating event. It will just be a while before I go back again.
Speaking of Trick-or-Treating, you can always pass out candy. It is always so sweet to see little kids' (or big kids/adult-like kids) costumes and their smiles when they get candy. Plus, you can eat the candy while waiting on the children. Oh, and if you do pass out candy, don't be the stingy guy on the block or the one that hands out dental floss. That's just a disappointment. You don't want that kind of reputation.
Well, I hope that you now understand that Halloween is so much more than a "kiddie" holiday. It's a night when we can eat all kinds of candy, believe in some weird spooky stuff, drink way too much apple cider, and dress up for no reason. I think the Celts also celebrated this day because it was fun! Life gets kind of crazy, if you don't stop and have some fun every once in a while you might just go insane.
P.S.
I got all of the information about the history of Halloween from the History Channel's article, History of Halloween, on their website. If you would like to learn more, go check out this link! http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
Remember Halloween is just a bunch of fun and:
