I don't know why, but Halloween has always been one of my favourite occasions of the year. There is something about the low level of expectations, morally speaking. It's always been the one day that a child can really have fun. Birthdays and New Years have always been reminders of growing up, with lectures and expectations of resolutions. Christmas was the disappointment of less gifts and more talk. Every other occasion was tinged with an emotional awareness of that which was missing.
Halloween though, was fun. Regardless of actually going out and trick-or-treating, or dressing up, somehow the lack of any real cultural overtone made the day so much more enjoyable. I have so many memories of this day and not all of them great.
5th grade, I had this amazing pant and jacket suit, black with big red polka dots all over. I had a rainbow coloured wig, and all I had to do was paint my face white with the usual highlights, and there you go, I was a clown. I remember running to school that morning in my costume, just after the bell had rang, and getting in while the rest of the class was sitting, and just at the door, I noticed no one else was dressed up.
I was mortified. I turned right around and ran back out the door, and racing into the fields behind my house, I ran into my dad who was coming in to help the kids during the day. He had a hard time getting through my muffled cries and persuaded me to go back in.
I was 10 years old, and the only person to really have dressed up in the entire class. As a clown. There was one other guy who came as a Vampire, but our desks were all pushed together in groups of 6, and I was so mortified to be sitting there with my rainbow wig and clown outfit.
Maybe that`s one of the cornerstones to making me the nonconforming and rebel person I am. Because when I entered high-school, I ended up being a real class-clown. And when I was in university I was awarded the Most Likely To Not Give A Damn award. Yeah, me.
Oh, and the candy. I loved the candy, which kid didn`t? But as I grew older and became more philosophical, I started questioning the necessity of it. What a waste - spending so much money to buy junk food that will only rot children`s teeth, and there are so many children out there who are starving.
So there we go, I undid it all didn't I? There's the missing element of morality that gets tied into the idea of simple fun. But that's okay.
One of the top reasons I love this occasion is because of the joy of friendship, the pleasure of doing something absolutely crazy such as dressing up differently than you usually would - a just go crazy day. And I've found that not too many people do.
I'm not exactly sure what my favourite Halloween memory is. Making my own little broom and donning a witch's hat when I was 6, being sailor moon, dressing up as a black cat (always my default costume), and winning the best halloween costume in highschool, after freaking all the younger kids out. Piles of candy and treats, watching the little tots parade their costumes. Laughing so much with my friends about absolutely nothing.
Happy halloween to you all! ^.^ Mrow.
So there we go, I undid it all didn't I? There's the missing element of morality that gets tied into the idea of simple fun. But that's okay.
One of the top reasons I love this occasion is because of the joy of friendship, the pleasure of doing something absolutely crazy such as dressing up differently than you usually would - a just go crazy day. And I've found that not too many people do.
I'm not exactly sure what my favourite Halloween memory is. Making my own little broom and donning a witch's hat when I was 6, being sailor moon, dressing up as a black cat (always my default costume), and winning the best halloween costume in highschool, after freaking all the younger kids out. Piles of candy and treats, watching the little tots parade their costumes. Laughing so much with my friends about absolutely nothing.
Happy halloween to you all! ^.^ Mrow.
