The Best of Halloween
Halloween creates almost as much excitement as Christmas!!
It is actually said to be the second largest commercially successful celebration second to Christmas. These two events are however, miles apart in meaning and portrayal.
The shops overflow with decorations and costumes that are irresistible to the over exuberant shoppers whose main objective is to be the scariest, funniest, most unusual and gory masquerader on the streets on the night that belongs to the ‘undead’.
BLOOD, becomes the order of the day for those evil spirits!!
Halloween with all the really scary and morbid characters in the form of ghosts and goblins still attracts little fairies, angels, rabbits, cartoon characters, actions figures and so many other characters that are absolutely unrelated to the true meaning of Halloween. This softens the gore usually associated with that supposedly gruesome night!
Perhaps this is what makes it such a festive occasion. The excitement lies in the ‘mystery’ of who is behind the mask! The idea of the mask came from the earlier days when people believed that on that night, spirits came wandering around. They wore the
masks in the hope that the spirit would not think they were human, and therefore they would be saved from the wrath of the spirits.
Halloween can, in my opinion, be described more as a Mardi-Gras of sorts. Costumes abound, and excitement and laughter fill the air on that ever so popular evening of October 31st.
The Pumpkin is the big symbol in Halloween – can you imagine Halloween without a pumpkin?? Fake or real, pumpkins are in abundance everywhere. The good old Jack O Lantern originated in Ireland where the Irish used them to keep away spirits on the ‘day of the dead’ – Halloween!!
Today – Jack O Lantern can be scary, funny or happy. Light him up and he delights everyone!
The seeds of the pumpkin make an excellent, healthy treat for all. This is quite a welcomed accompaniment to the hundreds of candy bars, bonbons and other sugar-filled goodies that the little Goblins hope to collect throughout the evening.
Although these ‘Goblins’ are supposed to exchange a trick for a treat, this ‘rule’ is hardly ever enforced. The original idea is for the tricksters to perform some mischievous act or a practical joke and having provided the entertainment, earn a treat. Most just collect the treat and run off to the next ‘victim’.
Halloween is just one huge, boisterous evening, filled with creative little ‘monsters’ running around collecting as many goodies as their bags can contain.
You won’t want to miss being a part of this festival. The color orange is everywhere as the harvest is over, autumn has arrived, the leaves have changed colors – and then – the Blackness of the night!!!
Happy Halloween!
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