When I was in grade school, we eagerly awaited the two days a year when we had class parties: Halloween and Valentine's Day. Halloween was my favorite because we got to dress up and parade through all the classrooms. No store-bought costumes for us. There were always a few ghosts in cut-up sheets, hobos, cowboys, clowns, princesses. One of the stranger outfits that I wore involved a pair of red silk Chinese pajamas and a black, cat's nose and whiskers drawn on with an eye-liner pencil. Was I supposed to be "the cat's pajamas"?
I couldn't wait until I was old enough to go out trick or treating. At last, I was five years old! It was Halloween! I had an ear ache, and my mother insisted that I go to bed. I remember looking out my window at Ricky and Liner in their sheets, knocking on the door, asking if Suzanne could come out trick or treating with them. Obviously, I still haven't gotten over that. But given how much my mother liked chocolate, it must have been a hard decision to keep me home!
My children have their own Halloween memories (perhaps of me confiscating all their Mounds bars), and I am sure you do, too.
But I have been seeing a change lately. Halloween has turned into a huge holiday in the United States - and not just for kids. In my neighborhood, people put out their Halloween decorations on October 1st. Every year, they seem to be more elaborate: witches crashing into trees, ghosts floating from the eaves, giant inflatable spiders on roofs, and tombstones on lawns. Then there are the skeletons, bats, owls, strings of orange lights, jack o'lanterns, and on and on. The day after Halloween, all goes back to normal, but in other countries, there are other traditions.
Roman Catholics observe All Saints Day on November 1. In Mexico, All Saints Day marks the first day of the Day of the Dead celebrations. (Read Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston- E JOH.) On the first Sunday in November, some Protestant churches remember all members, or loved ones of members, who have died.
When I visited relatives in the Philippines, I learned about All Souls Day (November 2). Filipinos traditionally observe this day by visiting cemeteries to clean and repair the graves of deceased family members. According to my go-to source of information, Wikipedia, "offerings of prayers, flowers, candles, and even food are made, while Chinese Filipinos additionally burn incense. Many also spend the day and ensuing night holding reunions at the graves, playing games and music, singing karaoke, and feasting." I don't know about the karaoke, but some of my relatives would bring a picnic and spend the whole day. One family had a rather elaborate little house as part of their plot in the cemetery. Much more comfortable than sitting on a gravestone with one's picnic basket! (Yes, I have done that.)
How will you celebrate Halloween? Will you observe All Saints Day or All Souls Day?