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Halloween Night

Approach To Halloween

Anyone who knows my wife will tell you that she is even-tempered, fair-minded, and emotionally generous. As you might imagine, this isn’t easy to live with. Me, I am more of a fan of the adage: "If you don’t have anything nice to say, come sit here by me.” I am the sour to her sweet. Call it balance.

The reason I bring up her maddening tendency toward insufferable kindness is that, up until recently, she has always dressed as a witch at Halloween. Not a princess. Not Cinderella. Not anything that might be seen as an extension of her basic nice self. Instead, each year, she would don a pointy black hat, paint her face green, and stand over a bubbling cauldron, stirring wickedly.

I wasn’t into the theater of it all. But I must say I liked the ensemble. Some guys like French maid’s outfits. I happen to enjoy a nice witch’s costume. Her get-up was part of our overall approach to Halloween. Ours was one of those houses that took the night a little too seriously. We’d cobweb all the windows, hang plastic skulls and rubber bats from ceiling fans, and play a tape of spooky Halloween sounds — creaky doors, anguished cries, that sort of thing.

And so there she was, year after year, in the living room, stooped over a black plastic cauldron of bubbling fruit punch, the steam of dry ice rising into the darkened room while screams and moans from the tape recorder punctuated the night. As they grew, our boys and his friends went from being intrigued and even a little scared by the sight and sounds of our house, to being excited by it to eventually becoming nonchalant, almost comforted by a tradition they had come to anticipate. But all that has changed.

Our boys, over the years, have been pirates, vampires, devils, and Groucho Marx, all of the costumes homemade (save for the Groucho glasses). Last year, the youngest was 13, they were nothing so much as theirselves. They went as something, I think. I don’t remember. It wasn’t a pirate, though, or a fireman.

They left with friends and they went off on their own, no parents. There is nothing cute about opening the door and seeing a gaggle of teenagers on your front step. It is, however, in the spirit of Halloween, for it could be argued that for homeowners, there is nothing more terrifying than opening the door and seeing a bunch of teenagers on the doorstep.

If teenagers wear costumes at all, they are of some abstract, indiscernible type. A flannel shirt and jeans — "I’m Kurt Cobain,” they mumble. Or their father’s long overcoat — "Neo.” "Huh?” "The Matrix?” "Oh. Yeah.” That’s if you get any explanation at all.

Their at that awkward age when it’s unclear whether they should go out trick-or-treating at all. Halloween is mostly a holiday for the little ones. They toddle down the sidewalks holding a parent’s hand, looking so cute in their little angel costumes and Superman get-ups.

Halloween will never be the same at our house. They've outgrown our Halloween shenanigans. All too soon, they’ll be going off on their own. And we’ll be here by ourselves, alone. Hmmmm. Wait a minute. Alone? I wonder where she stored that witch’s outfit.

Jim Shahin. Trick Or Treat? Both. American Way Magazine. October 15, 2003.

Trick-Or-Treating

As the little pirates, ghosts and goblins prepare to come out for trick-or-treating, here are some things you need to know for Halloween night. All Saints Day is observed November 1, by many Christian churches, including those in the Roman Catholic tradition. Halloween is the day preceding it, and is so named because it is "The Eve of All Hallows". The Rev. Stephen Bird, pastor of Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church, said All Saints Day was at times called "Hallo Mass" with "hallow" being another word for saint. (According to several sources, All Saints and All Souls observances were originally in May but were moved to November to downplay the "pagan" holiday of All Hallow's Eve or Halloween on Oct. 31.) Bird said the date was set aside to help Christians remember all the saints who have died and gone to be with God. "We remember those who have gone before us — leading holy lives. We look to their example," he said. "Just as in a person's house they might have pictures of Grandma and Grandpa and others they want to remember, so we as Christians remember the great people who have gone before us that mean something to us."

Bird said Scripture from the Book of Revelation, Chapter 7, is often quoted during All Saints Day observances. The Scripture is significant for the day, Bird said. "It's that image of all these saints in heaven — a beautiful image — that helps us to remember our ultimate destiny is to be with God in heaven," he said.

Meanwhile, All Souls Day, also called Defuncts' Day in Mexico and Belgium, or Day of the Dead in Italy, is the day set apart in Western Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church but to some extent also among Protestants, for the commemoration of the faithful departed (also the Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, from the Latin Commemoratio omnium Fidelium Defunctorum) was Nov. 2. Some churches typically observe the day on the first Sunday in November. The Rev. Patrick Bright said All Souls is a day to "honor all the faithful departed. It's in terms of remembering our own personal family, but in much larger terms and on a grander scale, remembering God's family — both present and down through the centuries." Bright mentioned the same Scriptures as Bird as a good way to describe the premise behind All Souls Day.

He said the targeted passages in Revelation, Chapter 7, vividly portray "the fulfillment of that wedding supper in heaven." The celebration is based on the doctrine that the souls of the faithful which at death have not been cleansed from venial sins, or have not atoned for past transgressions, cannot attain the beatific vision yet, and that they may be helped to do so by prayer and by the sacrifice of the Mass.

Both All Saints and All Souls were preceded by Reformation Day, typically observed Oct. 31. Within the Lutheran church, it is often celebrated Oct. 31 or on the last Sunday in October (called Reformation Sunday), said the Rev. Roger Bruns, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Edmond. It is a time set aside to remember the day in 1517 that Martin Luther began what came to be known as the Protestant Reformation. Bruns said Peace Lutheran in past years has held Reformation festivals that included historical presentations on Luther's life and the liturgical and theological changes he made in the early 16th century.

1. Trick-or-treating may have come from the British practice of letting the poor beg.
2. In 1921, Anoka, Minn., had the first official citywide Halloween celebration.
3. 36.1 million "potential” trick-or-treaters are in the United States. These are 5- to 13-year-old children in the United States, though many children younger than 5 and older than 13 hit the streets on Halloween night.
4. There are 108 million potential trick-or-treat locations (occupied housing units in the United States, all with potential candy givers inside).
5. 26 pounds is the amount of candy consumed by the average American in 2005.

Safety tips

• Avoid face masks that obstruct vision or breathing, and make sure hemlines on costumes are short enough to prevent tripping.
• Make sure masks, wigs and beards are flame-retardant.
• When crossing yards, watch for obstacles such as garden tools, water hoses and lawn sprinklers.
• Check candy carefully before eating.
• Carry a flashlight.
• Adults should accompany small children.

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