Halloween: My Christmas

By Luci Farrell

Halloween: My Christmas

Hello Dear Bloggers,

If you ask most little kids what their favorite holiday is, they’ll probably tell you Christmas. After all it’s a month worth of celebrations with presents, cookies, and getting to stay up late to watch movies.

If you asked a little Lucille, she would scream “HALLOWEEN!” If you ask me today I’m a bit calmer about it, but the answer still stands. Halloween is my Christmas.

I spend the entire month of October getting in the holiday spirit. My Halloween movies are out, costume changes are made, and I sing “Come Little Children” under my breath at all times. Mind you I know the whole version, which is extraordinarily creepier than the version you hear in Hocus Pocus. Here’s the link, hope you enjoy it. Or are terrified. Either way…
http://youtu.be/QdNEY3i57UY

Nice and creepy.

So why do I love Halloween? Simple. It represents all things I love. Celebrating life, embracing the dark, and starting over. Halloween’s roots are always discussed and disputed. Most historians agree, however, that the closest link is with the Celtic celebration of Samhain (also celebrated on October 31st). Samhain, roughly translated to “summer’s end”, is a harvest festival still celebrated by many today. In popular cultures many Pagans celebrate it as a new year. Wiccans, in particular, see Samhain as their most important holiday. They celebrate the lives of loved ones who have passed on and embrace that with the darkness, light is soon to follow. I’ve always appreciated that outlook.

Aside from that, Halloween brings out the fun supernatural side of me. You can usually see a deck of tarot cards on my desk and I’ve had discussions about different layouts for readings with many others. You can also hear me groan about people with their glow in the dark Ouija boards. That’s a complaint for another day. Many believe that during the time around Halloween the veil between the world of the living and the dead is thinner than usual. Many take this opportunity to pray hoping to get some kind of sign from loved ones who have passed. Others leave an extra place setting at the table to honor the dead and remind their loved ones that they will never be forgotten. I’ve always loved that. Call me silly for liking those traditions, but I believe honoring our loved ones that have passed on should be a part of everyone’s life.

On another silly note: Costumes. I have always loved dressing up, and there’s nothing I love more than seeing little kids who make their own costumes. Yes, store bought costumes are great (and amusing), but there’s something about a homemade costume that just always makes me smile. Probably because I was one of those kids. I was the super dork. I went as the Sorting Hat (from Harry Potter) one year. Lots of sewing. Lots of singing the sorting song. Pretty sure everyone wanted to murder me. Now I get excited when I get pictures of my little cousins (8 and 2) dressing up. Of course, I also get a bit uncomfortable. My little cousin Kyleigh went as a vampire this year. Here’s a photo of the cute kid.

Now you may want to know why I’m depressed by this. Well dear readers, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I went through a wee bit of a Goth phase and I swear I had a dress that looked just like that, only full black. My mother even stared at it for a while because she couldn’t figure out why it looked so familiar. Oh the memories.

I will be celebrating this weekend between papers and all that fun stuff. Still! Movie marathons while working on papers is always fun. I will even give you some movie suggestions I think fit with the Halloween spirit (in no particular order).
*Sleepy Hallow
*Corpse Bride
*The Silence of the Lambs
*The Nightmare Before Christmas (I prefer it during Christmas, but it works)
*Hocus Pocus
*Practical Magic
*Ghostbusters
*Beetlejuice
*The ‘Burbs (if you haven’t seen it, rent it NOW)

There are a few good choices. I’m not a huge fan of horror movies. I’m not afraid of them, I just find most of them to be too ridiculous to handle. I’m also a big fan of classics, so if you want a scary movie. Push away recent movies. Go make fun of 70’s films. Enjoy the classics like The Omen, Poltergeist, and the like. Spend some time with the classic Hollywood scary guys like Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr., and my personal favorite, Vincent Price. I don’t care who you are, if you don’t love that man’s voice there is something wrong.

So, dear readers. I hope you celebrate All Hallows Eve to the fullest! Give candy, dress up, dance around a bonfire, and celebrate!

Leave me messages on my blog to tell me how YOU are going to celebrate. I would love to hear/see costumes as well!

Keep Calm and Search for the Great Pumpkin!

Luci Farrell is a senior from New Haven, CT. She is an Organizational Communication major with a minor in Anthropology. Luci is a Resident Peer Minister on campus and chair of the Honors Program Advisory Council at Saint Xavier University.