Hallowe'en Invites Our Imaginations

Hallowe’en is an evening of fun, a respite from reality, and a celebration to help anyone imagine that there are actually ghosts, goblins and spirits of people who are deceased.  It is designed to be scary, yet it provides the setting to use one’s imagination.  At one time, Hallowe’en was definitely pagan, but in recent years, it has become an occasion to entertain children and celebrate the congeniality of neighbors, even for those not enthusiastic about witches, devils and werewolves.

Around the neighbourhood of our grandchildren, families demonstrated their excitement by the extravagant way in which their yards and homes were decorated to entertain kids by sights and sounds and by treats to show their love.

Our evening began with a family dinner at the home of our daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren.  Both sets of grandparents were invited.   Our grandchildren are ten, eight and six; ideal ages to dress up in their costumes and pretend to be someone else.  One was a doctor, another Elvis, and the youngest, a pumpkin.  It was a perfect evening to collect bags of candy and chocolates.  We went with our grandkids’ parents to enjoy the excitement and experienced their pleasure as we meandered down the street, meeting many parents who were in costume.  Houses were decorated with spiders, skeletons that moved, gravestones, pumpkins expertly carved, flashing lights and frightening shadows.  The artistry of parents and their desire to make this a memorable event was evident by their originality.

The kids came home laden with so much that one can only imagine what was to be done with the excess.  While so much candy can be injurious to the teeth, one householder gave each kid a huge O Henry bar with a toothbrush taped to it.  That was a thoughtful handout!  Talking about handouts, our young people from White Rock Baptist Church, came with a van and collected food for the local food bank.  

Unfortunately, there are some that think Halloween is their excuse to vandalize.  Some yard decorations needed repair before the big night, and in the city of Vancouver, fireworks were used to wreak destruction on several schools.  In spite of Hallowe’en being a happy event, there are those who react adversely, not realizing they’d have a better time by making it a party occasion.

Though Hallowe’en has its origin in imaginations resting on evil, it has transpired into something good, as a way for kids to dress as various characters, mostly good ones like Spiderman, Cinderella, Elvis, or an animal character.  It’s an evening when neighbors visit happily along the way as they keep an eye on their children, and share a family time with their kids and the grandparents.  The time before bed was one to tell stories about the night and reminisce about Hallowe'ens of the past when our own kids were just like them, hoarse from calling out “trick or treat.”