January 31st - Halloween

Hooray! We've finally come to my favorite holiday, Halloween!!!

Halloween is a shortening of All Hallow's Eve, and is celebrated every year on October 31st.  It has Pagan and Christian influences that can be traced back to the 16th century, though the celebration that most of us take part in today has little to do with those early festivals.  The Pagans built huge bonfires to ward off the spirits as they took stock of the fall harvest.  Christians donned disguises to protect them from vengeful spirits, as they believed that All Hallow's Eve was the last chance for spirits to wreak havoc before the holy holiday of All Saint's Day.

Now, as I said before, Halloween is my favorite holiday and is a perfect way to round out the Holiday Month.  Yes, my priorities during Halloween have shifted throughout the year.  When I was little, the name of the day was candy and how much of it I could shove in my bag and then my face.  When I was in college, the priority was seeing girls in scanty costumes (adding the adjective "Slutty" to anything still seems like an appropriate way to make a costume).  Now, my goal is making the funniest and wittiest costume I can (this past year I grew my hair out and was the spitting image of Pablo Escobar).

I love the horror movie marathons they play this time of year as well.  Of course, I enjoy it the most when they include films like The Evil Dead, Halloween, Let the Right One In or Hellraiser.  Better still is when it's capped off by The Shining, which is in my opinion the best horror movie ever made.  However, I also enjoy the really cheesy horror flicks that sometimes pop up late at night during the weeks leading up to Halloween.  Some personal favorites include They Saved Hilter's Brain, Blood Feast, and Troll 2, which is quite possibly the worst movie ever made.

Today I celebrated by decorating  my entire office.  Many thanks to Kevin Sellers for coming in late last night to help me with this, as well as Heidi Waibel and Matt Shilling for their help this morning.  I think it turned out pretty well!

I also tried to get people to participate in trick-or-treating.  Only a few did, but there were some great costumes nonetheless!

Jillian was an Indian's fan and Elizabeth was a NYE Party Girl

 Matt was Ghostface from Scream

 Tyler was Charlotte's web.

 

 I was a quarter back.

 A day to let loose and become something that we're not is a terrific thing indeed, but Halloween is so much more than that. It's a day that allows us to act like kids again, even if we're participating in decidedly adult activities.  We get to play dress up, and we get a free pass to eat all the candy we want.  We get to use our imaginations, and we get to pretend.  Speaking as an office drone, I can't say how much I appreciate those kinds of opportunities.

My haul...

I think what I value most about Halloween, especially at this point in my life, is that it is an "un-textable" holiday.  Like Christmas or Thanksgiving, it is a holiday that requires getting out and getting around other people.  Halloween encourages us to walk around our neighborhoods and meet those that we surround ourselves with, even though they're usually in unrecognizable costumes.

In an age where communication has connected the world, but separated us physically, I cherish those times when actual interaction is not only important, but necessary.  We're removing ourselves from each other with each "LOL" we send and every smiley face we pass along.  Halloween, like many of the holidays that I've celebrated, shows that the connections we have with one another still remain.