Halloween - The Day After
Last night, thousands of ghosts and goblins invaded our neighborhoods. They came in all shapes and sizes, some scary-looking, others cleverly hidden under the guise of a beautiful or handsome human being, and still others imitating a superhero. But no matter how they appeared, we knew their game. It’s trick or treat. “We want your candy, and we want it now!”
The celebration of Halloween has been around for a long time. Still, in recent years, it morphed into the second-largest retail sales event behind Christmas ($12.3 billion in retail sales for Halloween). At least it is good to know that Jesus is still number one when it comes to candy, decorations, and selling useless items to eager buyers.
Halloween wasn’t quite as extravagant when I was a kid. Costumes often consisted of an old bed sheet with cut-out eye holes draped over a kid’s head. Princesses were popular, especially when Disney hit the scene on Sunday evening television right after the NBC Peacock ruffled its feathers. I was always a pirate. I liked pirates, not the dastardly, murderous ones of real life, but the cute, funny ones of Pirates of the Caribbean fame. How could one not love Johnny Depp as the wily and whacky Jack Sparrow? Of course, those pirates came along long after my trick-or-treating days.
With the invention of inflatable Halloween characters, thousands of yards are now covered with ghouls for weeks before the holiday. One of my neighbors even had a colossal skeleton rising halfway out of the ground, ready to haunt unsuspecting intruders. He must be a descendant of Biblical Anakites, who were said to be giants. Perhaps he is still angry from the days when Caleb, the Jewish warrior and best pal of Joshua, inherited their land and ran them out of town. Caleb wasn’t afraid of no ghosts!
Halloween has been celebrated in America since the early settlers, but its popularity increased dramatically when the Irish immigrated to the USA during the potato famine. Emerald Islanders have recognized the holiday since the Celtics celebrated Samhain several thousand years ago. Celts were thankful for the harvest season and inaugurated the start of winter. People built huge bonfires to ward off evil spirits while Druids and Priests foretold the future during the celebration. There is no record of a Druid predicting the potato famine or the invention of Guinness. Some prophets they were!
Worshippers donned giant animal heads in those days, likely leading to our children dressing up like the Hulk or a local weir wolf. They danced around the fires and sacrificed an animal or two for good measure to appease those rascally evil spirits. Today, our sacrifices come from Hershey and taste much better.
Meanwhile, during that time of the year, the line between the living and dead was very thin, which allowed Irishmen and women to communicate with relatives who had passed into the next life. I think my deceased mom and dad would be ticked off if I bothered them with more silly questions from their son, so I wouldn’t participate. I think my wife might say, “I’m up here partying, so stop bothering me. I’ll see you again soon enough.” My reply was, “Yes, dear.”
As is typical, at one point, Christians tried to “Christianize” the holiday by calling it “All Saints Day,” recognizing saints who had gone on to the next life. Christians were instructed to pray for the souls of the dearly departed. Nobody knows if it worked since the prayer recipients were already dead and couldn’t let the living know to keep praying for them. All Saints Day is November 1st, so October 31st is All Hallows Eve. I have as yet to see an inflatable saint in a neighbor’s yard, so I don’t think that Christian twist went over too well. After all, who wants to dress up like Mother Teresa and beg for candy?
Our neighborhood used to fill up with kids walking the streets, laughing at how easy it was to fool adults into buying them candy. They carry fancy baskets for their treats, but in my day, we carried pillowcases. Kids today aren’t as smart as we were. A pillowcase holds five times the amount of candy of the paltry baskets of today. We ran through neighborhoods like track stars, filling a pillowcase, returning home to dump it, and then back to the streets. School teachers suffered for weeks after Halloween because most children experienced sugar-induced ADD from consuming Milk Duds for breakfast.
When I became an older teen, I was no longer allowed to trick or treat, which angered me. So, I soaped everyone’s windows, thinking, That’ll teach you to withhold candy from me, pal. But my window soaping days ended after my 1964 Plymouth Barracuda windows were first covered with Dial soap. I flipped out and prayed that God would bring quick and thorough retribution to the perpetrators. I soaped no more. What goes around comes around.
A couple of recent years, I forgot to purchase candy for the Halloweeners, which meant I cowered in a dark house for three hours, praying no child discovered my foolish mistake and stood at my door yelling obscenities at me. I’ll never make that mistake again. Gathering free sugar is a serious matter, and I pity the fool who forgets to feed the children.
Interestingly, Halloween is celebrated on most continents. Some countries, like Mexico and many Latin Americans, call the holiday “The Day of the Dead.” Even China celebrates, probably because much of the $12.3 billion goes to them through American purchases. Halloween is a growing phenomenon among young Chinese professionals. Many use their costumes as a political statement. Let’s face it: with his extensive comb-over, Donald Trump is a pretty good costume target for young Chinese political advocates.
Okay, so you’ve just learned more about a seemingly meaningless holiday than you ever wanted to know. You’re welcome. But perhaps there is a lesson or two hidden behind those Halloween masks.
The original idea of this holiday was that it is good to recognize and celebrate the harvest – even if in some rather strange manners. Since Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, I resonate with this rationale. We all enjoy a rich harvest of blessings, many in places we have not sown. We should be thankful and celebrate our bounty. Wise people understand that a lack of gratitude is a chosen character flaw. This is called feeling “entitled,” and it is an ugly mindset.
Here are some blessings that come to mind:
· If you gave out candy, be glad you could afford it and happy you can put a smile on a child’s face.
· Be thankful you live in a country where we can enjoy such freedoms without worry. Most of us did not choose to be born here, nor did a child in a poverty-stricken country choose that as their birthplace.
· Thank God you do not have to live wearing a mask. You can be you, who you were created to be.
· If you are a Christian, be glad our God celebrates the harvest. He even commanded his people to throw a yearly harvest party. He’s with us on this.
· Finally, be glad we don’t need to go around somber and severe all the time. Halloween can be a short time to lighten up, no matter what’s happening in the world and who gets elected.
It’s time for a wholesome breakfast. I think I will enjoy a few mini Reese’s cups for my morning sugar fix. Life is indeed good here in America!
Live Inspired!
Don Mark
Book Update: As many of you know, my new book, Lead Like a Bodyguard – Fifty-Two Timeless Leadership Lessons, is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other book outlets. It comes in all formats.
I am excited to announce that the book made the Amazon best-seller list several days in the past two weeks.
If you have purchased a book, thank you! I hope the work is informative and uplifting.
If you enjoyed the book, please do me a favor and write a positive review on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
I will do a book signing on Tuesday, November 12, from 3:00 to 7:00 pm at George and Sheila Small’s home in Mechanicsburg. You are welcome to bring a book for me to sign, or you can purchase one there.
George & Sheila Small
720 Spyglass Lane
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
