I’m seeing a lot of discussion today on Facebook and some other sites about Halloween and its horrible messages. Some people say it’s all wrong that we celebrate the dead and undead, the ghosts and goblins, the violence and gore and all the rest of what Halloween entails. Lots of them are Christians who say celebrating Halloween is akin to celebrating the devil and the devilish. Others don’t identify themselves religiously but say they don’t like how we glorify such nasty symbols or engage in such conspicuous consumption this time of year.
I have to say I think the people who believe that Halloween is an awful holiday aren’t giving it enough credit. I would use stronger words but I think I might be related to some who hold this opinion.
I am, by no means, a Halloween maniac. I don’t dress up and haven’t for years. My kids wear costumes made from borrowed things and scraps from the fabric store. We cut out some construction paper witches and bats and taped them to the front window and called the house decorated.
Still, I like the holiday and what it says about a community. My kids trick-or-treated at the Washington Heights neighborhood “Spooktacular” on Saturday night. It was our second year at the event and it was the second year that I was impressed by it.
To backtrack a bit, the origins of Halloween are a bit murky but it probably began more than 2000 years ago as a way for a community to come together and ward off evil spirits as the long nights of winter approached. They stored the harvest and celebrated what was then the beginning of their new year. Over time the rise of Christianity turned it into a day to remember those who had died and, even later, the rise of commerce turned it into a chance to sell candy and costumes.
Still, on Saturday night, much of Washington Heights and people from other parts of Milwaukee converged in the cold to greet each other warmly. They stopped in the middle of the closed-off streets to share news and gossip and admire each other’s children. Without exception, people were polite and even kind as they wheeled wagons and strollers and wheelchairs up and down blocks decked out with spider webs and newly erected graveyards. A giant Sasquatch stalked the streets at random, one family had a movie theater set up in their front yard and another family had a whole zombie play taking place on their porch.
In a city as segregated as Milwaukee can be, I saw African-American, Caucasian, Asian, Latino and Hispanic families everywhere I looked. I saw at least a dozen interracial families like our own either asking for treats or handing them out. We were all one community on Saturday night.
My own kids said “trick or treat” and “thank you” at every house they visited and got up the courage to approach monsters, ghosts, witches and Frankenstein. When one little friend wasn’t sure she wanted to go up to a house with a scary lady in the doorway, the other two grabbed her hand and said they would go with her. Those are important lessons in social interaction, gratitude, friendship and bravery.
We all called out compliments on good costumes and decorations, compared pirate and princess paraphernalia and warmed our hands in fire pits together. As a whole, it didn’t feel like the devil or the devilish, violence or consumerism had any real part in the evening. Just as the original Halloween celebrations probably did, it simply gave people a silly reason to chat, laugh, enjoy a last chance to get outside before the weather gets too cold and be together as a community and I don’t see anything wrong with that.
