The New Christmas?

Scott at Purple Twinkie is one of my favorite blogs.
His links are comical; the title changes from time to time (go see them!).
Recently, the links are titled “Bloggers who think Halloween is the new Christmas”.
That hit home. That feels ‘right’ for me.

As a child, Christmas and Halloween were both magical and exciting for very different reasons. They made a nice bookend (with Thanksgiving in the middle). .

Working in a mental health field, I have seen the joy of Christmas time die. It is a time of too much pressure, too many expectations, loads of disappointments, and impossible demands to be too many places at once. All made worse by the pressure to purchase things/stimulate the economy. Then there are the dozens of patients with active depression or on the verge of killing themselves over a holiday. It is a good Christmas for me when no one kils themselves.

Halloween in contrast has no expectations or pressures. You can make it what you will. Historically, it is an accumulation of several ancient and recent cultures celebrations, like an ever growing river being fed by many tributaries. There is also the ‘spice’ of being in touch with something dark, ancient, and not conventional. The more I hear people howl for its banishment, the more it appeals. Ask a six year old, a teenager, a middle aged gay man what is ‘Halloween’ and you get very different answers.
Its’ anyone’s and everyone’s holiday, young and old. Or not. And little to no driving.

This year I will go to a Bear Club costume party. On All Hallow’s Eve I will hand out quality treats within a well decorated house. Tarot readings will be conducted. Pumpkin Ale will be consumed. I will read ghost stories, think of the dead, and recall the delights of Hallowe’ens past. I will make Someone a Hallowe’en dinner with the traditional flank steak (once a year for this meat).

Less than two weeks to go! Time to get out the trappings!