Halloween
by Steve
I like Halloween. Well, I’m not really a fan of scary stuff. I find horror films far too stressful. And while I don’t mind dressing up in stupid outfits, it seems like a lot of effort to do all that ripping of old clothes and dousing in fake blood. And just hiring or buying a ready-made outfit seems like cheating.
But I do like Halloween. I like sweets. And I like buying far too many sweets in anticipation of getting lots of Trick or Treaters. And then I like eating those sweets when we don’t get that many Trick or Treaters after all.
That’s not to say that I turn all the lights out and pretend I’m not home, just to guarantee I get to eat all the sweets, although that isn’t a bad idea.
I quite like Trick or Treaters, at least when they’ve made an effort and when they are still children rather than surly teenagers trying it on. I like that this is one of the few days of the year when neighbours might actually interact. That seems like a good thing. Although it seems like a good thing that they don’t pop around too often either.
And 31st October feels like a real marker in the passing of a year. The clocks have gone back, the nights are well and truly drawing in, and the bright days that precede those nights are becoming crisper and colder. Winter is on its way. Christmas is on its way. November tomorrow. Where did the year go?
Wait until next year 
I’ve been treating Halloween like a proxy New Year’s Eve for a few years now. I believe in making and keeping resolutions, but I never stuck with them when I began them on January 1. The year started with a hangover, and I’d get glum on Valentine’s Day, St. Patty’s Day was a bender, and it seemed if I looked back on my resolutions on the aptly named April Fool’s Day.
It’s easier to ring out the old year on Halloween. The next day is All Saint’s Day, which is oddly motivating if you want to improve yourself. And if you can survive the false good cheer of Thanksgiving and Christmas, you can make it through the rest of the year unscathed.
Also, Halloween candy is way, way better than New Year’s Eve food. Give me Reese’s peanut butter cups and tiny Kit Kats over champagne and shrimp trays any day.
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