Halloween

Halloween is a complicated holiday.

In a future post I will write about my affection for MOST holidays, including Halloween.

I suppose most holidays have related controversies. Since I have no objection to the observance of Halloween, I cannot accurately state what makes Halloween controversial, but it seems to be related to the idea that Halloween, at least in its present-day form, deals with ghosts and witches and monsters, and possibly violence or at least mischief.

As I was growing up in the American Midwest, one of our pre-Halloween customs was to sneak around in the evenings preceding Halloween and throw handfuls of shelled field corn at our neighbors' windows. This custom has largely died out in this community, though I do not know why. Even while I was still participating in the custom in the 1960s, there was talk that the corn left on the ground might draw rodents and especially rats, but I never viewed that as a legitimate concern. In slightly earlier days, children made a device that my father called a "tic-tac", though I have just found on the web referred to as a "tic-tac-toe" (this link seems a little iffy, but there is a thorough reference to tic-tacs at http://books.google.com/books?id=TKBGvbp7TEYC&pg=PA147). The tic-tac made a similar sound to corn hitting the window, but more dramatic, and required the mischief-maker to actually stand beside the window, so more courage was necessary, and there was more danger of being caught by those inside the house -- which is perhaps why they were rarely used in my childhood. With both the corn and the tic-tac, the objective was to startle those inside the house, which would possibly cause them to give chase. No other damage was intended.

Another prominent pre-Halloween activity in my youth was "soaping windows". Like a tic-tac, this required the mischief-maker to step right up to the window, and smear a bar of soap on it, possibly writing something or making a design. I can honestly say that I never soaped a single window. Though there was no permanent damage, the practice seemed a bit malicious rather than fun.

A custom that persists to this day is the smashing of Halloween carved pumpkins, or "jack-o'-lanterns". This was not common in my youth. I find it highly objectionable, partly because the pumpkin-carver is often a younger child, and the pumpkin-smasher is often an older child who gets some thrill out of destroying an object of happiness belonging to a young stranger. Whether the pumpkin-carver was young or old, the act of carving the pumpkin had no particular "purpose" other than to bring pleasure, perhaps both to the carver and those who would see it later, and the act of smashing it is just senseless and mean, giving no benefit to the smasher other than the pleasure of depriving other people of happiness and the destruction of the product of some one's labor, not to mention their property. Pumpkin-smashing is abhorrent.

I know that there are people who object to the observance of Halloween on religious grounds. I see no particular basis for their objections, but perhaps this is just the product of my own lack of understanding of their objections.

One of the things that I enjoy about Halloween is that I feel that I am carrying on a centuries-old tradition -- a product of simpler, possibly more mysterious times -- and in some way showing respect for the past. I do NOT feel I am showing respect or disrespect for any particular religion or belief system. I also feel that I am sharing fun with my neighbors.

I have not even mentioned "Trick-or-treating". This custom has also evolved over time and since my youth, but it persists in various forms, and I am happy it persists, though I am mostly happy for the sake of the children.

As for me, I will carve my jack-o'-lantern, and put a few decorations in the windows, and wish everyone a Happy Halloween. Happy Halloween to YOU!