The True Meaning of Halloween
You will normally find me discussing contemporary politics on this blog, but today I need to get something off my chest. I fear that excessive commercialization of Halloween has disguised the true meaning of this glorious holiday. Now I can get past the silly fake tombstones and spider webs on neighborhood lawns. I’ll even accept little kids dressed up as princesses and cowboys even though these outfits aren’t even scary. But I have to draw the line when it comes to these ridiculous “exotic” costume balls popping up all over the place this time of year. This is nothing more than a bunch of decadent suburbanites prancing around in skimpy fetish outfits as though Halloween was meant for fun. We’ve replaced horror with horny.
Long ago the Celts celebrated Samhain on the night before their November 1st New Year. They believed that on October 31st, the ghosts of the dead returned to earth in order to burn crops and cause other trouble. Later Pope Boniface IV designated November 1st All Saints Day and the night before became known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. I suppose it’s good that saints have their own holiday. After all, they’ve performed miracles, inspired people and so forth. But how many of us will ever become saints? Isn’t it nice to know that there’s something for the rest of us when we die? Of course it’s not a full day, but an evening is better than nothing.
Halloween should be about re-animated dead people. When most people expire, they follow the light to the end of the tunnel and pass peacefully into the afterlife. But every once in a while, someone says: “Hell no. I’m staying right here in my earthly home to haunt my friends and family. And if someone else moves into this house, I’ll scare them too.” Imagine how boring life would be without a few wayward spirits. We need to show some respect for the neglected ghosts and goblins among us. Let’s make Halloween spooky again.
Halloween, spooky, scary, Samhain, All Saints Day, All Hallows Eve, dead people, ghosts, goblins, spirits, exotic balls, spirits, hauntings
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Great post, Bob. And I agreed with it 100% –once I stopped laughing!
October 23rd, 2007 at 4:33 pm
You’re right, we’ve lost that spooky feeling, now it’s gone, gone, gone … I’m still not returning my clown costume, though. I find clowns somewhat scary.
October 26th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
I love this post Bob! Can’t help but smile… from horror to horny..-lolz:D
October 27th, 2007 at 3:08 am
I have to say I’ve been out of touch with the Halloween-drag for some years now, but I get what you mean, Bob, lol. I’m a “Dia de Los Muertos” (day of the dead) kinda-girl that experiences well-meaning young white liberal kids trying to blend trick-or-treat with our cultural celebration. Sure, it gives folks another reason to get drunk in the streets but Nov 1st & 2nd is a rather sacred tradition in my community. I’m not only for keeping commercialized-Halloween spooky but keeping it “separate but equal” from Dia de Los Muertos. (… now where did I put that scarey George Bush mask of mine? hmmm…)
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