Halloween
“By the pricking of my thumbs-something wicked this way
comes”
comes”
Act
IV Scene I Macbeth
IV Scene I Macbeth
Halloween was always my favorite of all holidays. I grew up in a small town and for two nights
we could go trick-or-treating. Nearly
every porch light was on, indicating CANDY !
We would plan our itinerary around the houses with the best treat
history (one man gave out nickels, so he was nearly always first. 5 cents won’t but a candy bar now, but back
in the day…) My favorite treat was, and still is, tooth rotting candy
corn. Did you know that Oct 30th
is national candy corn day?
we could go trick-or-treating. Nearly
every porch light was on, indicating CANDY !
We would plan our itinerary around the houses with the best treat
history (one man gave out nickels, so he was nearly always first. 5 cents won’t but a candy bar now, but back
in the day…) My favorite treat was, and still is, tooth rotting candy
corn. Did you know that Oct 30th
is national candy corn day?
But the real excitement was the choice of costumes. Of course then, many costumes were
home-made. Also was the fact that it
could be quite cold and a costume had to fit over a bulky jacket, eliminating
tutus and other fairy outfits. The
history of wearing costumes is an old one.
Costumes both conceal one’s identity (necessary for holding up
convenience stores) and reveal the personality and interests of the wearer. It is fun to engage children in a conversation regarding their upcoming choice
of costumes. As I have stated before I
volunteer at our library’s children’s room and for several weeks now the main
topic was not what are you going to wear but what you are going to be,
indicating that, at least to children, a costume transforms them into
princesses or super heroes.
home-made. Also was the fact that it
could be quite cold and a costume had to fit over a bulky jacket, eliminating
tutus and other fairy outfits. The
history of wearing costumes is an old one.
Costumes both conceal one’s identity (necessary for holding up
convenience stores) and reveal the personality and interests of the wearer. It is fun to engage children in a conversation regarding their upcoming choice
of costumes. As I have stated before I
volunteer at our library’s children’s room and for several weeks now the main
topic was not what are you going to wear but what you are going to be,
indicating that, at least to children, a costume transforms them into
princesses or super heroes.
Cotton, France, c 1880
Cotton, USA, c1930’s
Cotton. England, c1875
Cotton, USA, 1950’s
But children aren’t the only costume wearers. According to Real Simple Magazine (Oct.
2012) “$310 million is the estimated amount Americans spent last year on pet
costumes”. There must be money out
there somewhere. The Wall Street
Journal ( Wednesday, Oct.24, 2012) reported the best selling pet costumes by region:
Northwest and Northeast, Bee; Midwest, Frog; Southeast, Lion; Southwest, Lady bug;
and Mid South, Pumpkin.
So go out to your big box store, buy treats and turn on your
porch light. Maybe you should invite
some neighbors in after the kids are in bed (costumes required) and finish off
the left over candy and carve a pumpkin or two.
Photograph, Karen Tischer
Leave a Reply