Something Wicked

Ok, hear me out. I think that Halloween should be recognized as an official holiday. I think we should get a long weekend to celebrate it. And I think that much like Christmas or Thanksgiving, it should be guaranteed at the highest levels.

And I have reasons to back up this ludicrous belief. So think not that I am some entitled young person demanding more time off. Because while I do always insist that we need more time off, I am do not feel entitled to it. Work needs doing and the information age means that it never stops. But, as I said, hear me out.

Firstly, I think that we should take any excuse to shut down and enjoy ourselves. The line must go up forever, leaving aside the insane notion of sustained and limitless growth, but we are worthless to the system if we destroy ourselves to produce before we can consume.

Did you know that the average working adult in the modern developed world technically works more than an average medieval peasant? Yeah, the literal serfs had more days off per year than do we. One thing to thank religion for. Speaking of, that's where the world holiday comes from. A holy day was one on which it was blasphemous to work.

Neat, eh?

But on to more important things.

The 31st of October SHOULD be a holiday. Not in the traditional religious sense, but rather in the even older festival sense. Maybe a little history will help plead my case.

Halloween evolved from All Hallows Eve, which in turn evolved from the Irish (maybe pan Celtic but I can only say for certain Irish) festival of Samhain. Pronounced "s'ow-wen" in case you were curious. This was a complex and layered festival crushed by both colonialism and capitalism, as well as the church but don't worry about it.

Anyway, Samhain took place in the autumn and was a combination end of harvest festival as well as one to mark the beginning of the cold season. Not winter as we traditionally understand it, but the end of the warmth and the sun. Most of our modern Halloween traditions are related, directly or indirectly, to the celebration of Samhain - this is in many respects similar to the evolution of Christmas but we'll get there.

Why do we wear costumes? Because in ancient times the Irish would dress as monsters to protect themselves from evil fairies. Yeah, on Samhain the Changelings would capture people by dragging them into the underworld through portals in the roots of Hawthorn trees and take their place in the human world.

Why do we go trick or treating? Because much like the tradition of Mary Llwyd in Wales, the ancient Irish would go door to door in their villages singing songs and telling fables in exchange for apples and roasted nuts. There was probably also liquor involved but hey, it's a festival, live a little.

Why do we carve jack o lanterns out of pumpkins? Because the ancient Irish would carve them out of large turnips to scare away monsters and pumpkins are easier to carve. Proper old school jack o lanterns are also really scary, and frequently look very ghoulish. Effective to scare the fairies.

So, why do I think we should get Halloween as a holiday? Is it just because it's old and Irish? Well, for the former, partially. And for the latter? Well, why not?

But more seriously, all the holidays celebrated around the world came from old traditions. Christmas as we currently understand it was a combination of the Roman Saturnalia, the Norse/Germanic Yule, as well as other pagan traditions about preserving life until spring. Easter was directly co-opted by Christianity from different Pagan (I believe Celtic) traditions around Eostre, goddess of the dawn and Springtime; that's why rabbits and eggs are important parts of the celebration.

After being consumed by the expanding Christian faiths, these traditions were folded into the new religious structure as it was easier for the missionaries to simply include what people liked instead of trying to erase them. "No no," they would say, "you can keep your festival. In fact, we have one ourselves at just the same time and we think your traditions of celebration would fit perfectly!"

This is, fun fact, also how a staggering number of early Christian Saints were created. Saint Bridget exists because the Celts would not give up their goddess Brig, so the church just folded her in. History is fun :)

So, we in the Anglo/Irish sphere of cultural influence have been celebrating Halloween for centuries. There was a period of repression thanks to different religious factions believing that Halloween celebrates witchcraft (this is why it's significantly less common back across the pond) and devil-worship, but it never went away. It's always been around.

And it's a thing that people look forward to! There is a massive festive atmosphere around this time of year, the sense of change and the movement of time speaks to something in the core of being human and tells us to celebrate. The build up to Halloween is a fun time, with anticipation rising right up until the day! And then it's done, and we enter a social waiting place.

Of course, capitalism demands we start consuming Christmas immediately. But that is a whole different argument. In the natural flow of our lives, there is a waiting time between Halloween and Christmas that is perfect for that sense of rising tension until Christmas and New Year's.

These traditions are old, very old, and still earnestly practiced by millions of people in North America and to a lesser degree around the world! I understand that Japan and Korea have really taken to Halloween thanks to the American occupations and media dominance, but I don't know for certain if that's true.

Much like Mardis Gras, Festival (Brazil), and Dia De Los Muertos, these are old things that have the chance to be given new life. If we manage it properly, give people a day off to celebrate it, then we will be a richer community.

One of the things we have lost, and my family knows this intimately in so many different ways, as the gears of civilization grind on, is our joyful traditions. The parties and celebrations, the community building third places, and I think that Halloween has the ability to help us regain some of that.

A night for the children to enjoy themselves, to scare themselves and close the book on that summer. A night for young adults to celebrate the fact that they are fleetingly young, to build connections and enjoy themselves as they feel the pages of their youth slowly turning. A night for different levels of grownups to enjoy in their own ways until the book closes on them forever.

Most importantly, give us back the things that have been taken by our collective obsession with the line going up. Make our civil government decorate our towns and cities, encourage a diversity of fun activities for all ages and interests.

We work longer than our medieval forebears. Shorter than our industrial revolution predecessors, but we've lost many of the things that made their hard lives bareable. Take hold of your fun, your sense of wonder, and enjoy yourself. Embrace these festivals and holidays. They exist for you, a gift from generations of grandparents handing you a piece of cheap chocolate and saying, "now go on then, and have fun."

Because in the ancient tradition of Samhain, much like the Day of the Dead, the dead can visit the living on this night. Leave aside a meal for them in case they're hungry, and a second for the fairies and the gods (Irish divinities are tricksome and easily offended) and have fun.

Happy Halloween everyone. Stay away from Hawthorn trees, don't touch the fairy mounds, and have a great time!