These can be scary times. Property taxes are due; our nation has endured a spate of political violence; and there is an election next week that has more than a few stomachs turning. Scary, indeed.
All of which makes Halloween a welcome diversion into a world of mystery and superstition. For a celebration that started as the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, where people would dress in costumes to ward off roaming ghosts, Halloween has demonstrated remarkable staying power. In fact, it is more popular than ever, at least in the United States, and that brings with it unfettered commercialism.
WalletHub.com estimates that more than $9 billion will be spent on costumes, candy, decorations, parties, pumpkins and haunted houses this year — an average of more than $85 per household. Meanwhile, surveys show that Halloween is the third most popular holiday in the United States, behind Christmas and Thanksgiving, and that it surpasses Thanksgiving for second place among millennials.
All of that for a holiday whose roots can be traced to the unofficial end of the harvest and start of winter. Celtics, according to National Geographic, began their new year on Nov. 1 and “believed that on the night before, the boundary between the living and dead world would blur.” Eerie! Even the tradition of carving pumpkins has ancient ties to Samhain, “when communities would carve turnips to ward off spirits and fairies. When Irish immigrants to America had trouble finding turnips to carve, they used the more readily available pumpkin.”
Yes, if the United States had a more robust turnip harvest, we might consider turnip pie to be a holiday delicacy. Frightening!
Although Halloween originated as a pagan ritual, Pope Gregory III during the 8th century moved the Catholic Church’s All Saints Day to Nov. 1, honoring saints and martyrs. The preceding night became known as All Hallow’s Eve and eventually Halloween, increasingly being associated with the underworld. And why not? It is human nature to have a macabre interest in ghosts, goblins and things that go bump in the night, and Halloween manages to tap into that and our fascination with death.
The origins of the holiday are a far cry from modern rituals of knocking on doors or watching teenage slasher movies. We’re not sure what it means to have “Halloween,” a sequel to a long-ago thriller, as the No. 1 movie at the box office right now — but it must say something about how the holiday connects with our interest in the unknown and a desire to let imaginations run wild.
While Halloween remains primarily a holiday for young superheroes, witches and wizards, it’s not just for kids anymore. The celebration has been hijacked by adults, with the National Retail Federation reporting that nearly 50 percent of grown-ups plan to don a costume this year. We could play amateur sociologist and discuss why adults feel an increasing need for escapism these days, but instead we shall simply recognize that Halloween can be fun for all ages.
It also can be dangerous. We remind drivers to keep an eye out for small ghouls roaming the streets tonight, and we urge parents to check the kids’ candy before allowing them to dig in. You might even need to try one or two pieces to make sure they pass the taste test.
The point is to enjoy Halloween and a brief respite from the concerns of the world. After all, there is an election next week. Eek!
