Halloween trick or treat?

            Hello, lovelies.

         Have you filled your biggest bowl with sweets and treats for any little hands that come knocking at your door as soon as its dark outside? Or do you shut all the curtains, turning off the lights so that any passing trick or treaters will think you’re out? Is this Halloween Saturday a fun day full of costumes, carved pumpkins and outlandish scary decorations? Or is it just a marketing ploy to get us to spend more money than we really have? Should we be celebrating the haunted holiday or saving out teeth from the deluge of sweets? Is Halloween a trick or a treat for you?

            Okay, so maybe not this Halloween, but previously on the 31^st October we have become accustomed to seeing the roads filled with terrifying monsters, gruesome zombies and evil witches and wizards. But this year’s horror is the Coronavirus. That alone has us hiding in our homes from the very fear of it.  But what is it about this ghostly holiday that has us delighted in everything spooky? And why do we celebrate it in the first place?

            Halloween is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain when people lit bonfires and wore costumes to keep the ghosts away. The Celts believed the spirits of the dead would return to earth on this night to cause trouble and damaging their crops so wanted to prevent it. But for most of us, we no longer believe that our ghostly ancestors will come back to destroy things. So why do we hold on to this ancient tradition? Is it that we want to scare away all those dark and sinister forces that come with the changing of the seasons and the nights draw in? Or is it our desire to flirt with fear? That we can be scared but not actually be in any form of danger.

            Most of us enjoy dressing up. There is something about making or finding costumes that can fill us with joy, transports us, even for just a short while, into someone or something different. Halloween also inspires a creative mind. Telling stories to each other, creating arts and crafts to decorate our homes, and reading scary stories. I cannot recommend enough reading the book, The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. Not watching the film as it’s a ‘Meh’ film and not worth the time. But to read the book is terrifying. And if you want to be completely creeped out, go when the theatres open and see it live at the Fortune theatre! Absolutely terrifying.  Halloween also brings with it a sense of community spirit. All generations decorate their homes and prepare for the neighbourhood children. Generously handing over sweets and treats.  But has it always been like that?

             It used to be called All Hallows Eve, or the day before All Saints' Day. It has also been known as Nut-crack Night, Thump-the-door Night or Apple and Candle Night. Some people call Halloween Bob Apple Night or Duck Apple Night. This comes from a traditional game played at this time of year and known as apple bobbing. A bucket is filled with water and apples are placed in the water. Then you take turns trying to catch an apple with your teeth, all the while holding your hands behind your back. It is said that the apple bobbing is a reminder of the way women accused of witchcraft in the middle ages were tried. They were tied to a chair and repeatedly dunked into a river or pond. If a woman drowned, she was declared innocent. If she survived, she was declared as a witch and burnt at the stake. A total lose-lose situation if you ask me. And in Puritan times, Halloween celebrations were outlawed through strict religious beliefs, but they were reintroduced in later years.

            There are many symbols associated with Halloween. Carving lanterns out of vegetables and now pumpkins originated long ago. The colours orange and black can bring on the Halloween spirit. There are also pumpkin lanterns, witches, wizards, ghosts, spirits and characters from horror films. Animals associated with the festival include bats, spiders and black cats. Those poor black cats. And then there’s the trick or treating. Who doesn’t love free chocolate and sweets? And it’s been a very long time since anyone egged those houses that asked for a trick instead of handing over the goodies.

            But for me, Halloween conjures up a lot of happy childhood memories. My mother tirelessly making me a cat, bat or witch costume out of black sacks and Sellotape. Then there’s the decoration without the need to make it look Christmas perfect. No need to banish those cobwebs and spiders as they can be part of the festive spirit. I love the fact that I can dress up without anyone staring at me. It's that one time of the year that I can be the crazy zombie witch an no one bats an eyelid. I can also watch all my favourite horror films without anyone telling me to turn them off. I can watch zombie and ghosts to my heart’s content. And it would usually be a time for friends and families to come together to celebrate all things spooky. It’s also that time of year when the autumn colours really come alive. The trees have turned from their luscious greens to a whole myriad of browns, yellows, reds and oranges. And we have an abundance of root vegetables in the shops. Soups and stews are on the menus and pumpkin spice is once again available in the shops.

            But I do understand that Halloween has completely taken over in England. Whereas before everything was homemade, now the shops are filled with everything spooky and plastic. But unlike Christmas, it only lasts for about a month. Whereas Christmas starts in the shops from November 1^st. A whole 2 months of Christmas trees and gift ideas. So, if Halloween isn’t your idea of fun, you can look forward to Bonfire Night, with fireworks and toffee apples.

            So, I’m about to take my dogs out for a walk. One is dressed as a spider and the other as a pirate. I’m not overly convinced that they’re enjoying it, but they look so cute. My daughter has made her own skeleton costume and I’m dressed like an ancient Egyptian Mummy, for I am the Mummy of the house. But I think it’s very important to celebrate. And to celebrate everything. Life is very hard and depressing for the most, so putting on a costume and eating sweets is no bad thing.  

                                                    Happy Halloween everyone.