Hallowe'en: a time for being scared and trick or treating. I didn't even think of my trick or treating days as being particularly different than other people's, but it turns out if you're in the city the experience is much different than the country.
Now I literally lived in the middle of nowhere when I grew up. There's a provincial map in my office, which has simply been there since I arrived, and when I first looked at it I noticed there are virtually no roads crisscrossing in that area.
As I Skyped with a friend the other day we began talking about our Hallowe'en experiences and for someone who grew up in Calgary they remembered bundling up and freezing as they went from house to house gathering very little candy from each stop.
I laughed and relayed what a typical Hallowe'en on our farm was like. We got dressed up, nice and warm, because we'd be running to and from the vehicle. We never went to a multitude of houses, but we did stop at all the farms within, approximately, a 15 mile radius. However, despite not stopping at as many houses as those in the cities we came away with huge hauls. Large chocolate bars, a can of soda, a bag of chips, and a handful of Hallowe'en candies could all be given out by one house. In turn we had to sing a song or do a dance, but a large sack was filled quickly.
My sister and I would then get to watch "Hocus Pocus," as we went through our Hallowe'en candy picking out those we didn't care for, mainly candy corn and, for me, any type of licorice.
Since my days gathering candy, I have become quite fond of watching scary movies or reliving my childhood by watching "Hocus Pocus." Though I've seen it countless times, it's still one of the better Hallowe'en movies out there.
I've always liked scary movies, but find they're easier to watch when not isolated on our farm. I was simply thankful when I decided to watch them on my own in high school that we had a dog I could let into the house to sit with me. There's something rather eerie about watching a horror or a thriller, all alone, with your nearest neighbor a couple miles away, and a sketchy feeling whenever you went into the basement.
I say sketchy because I can't explain it. My sister has since told me she's had the same sort of feelings about the basement at our old farm. If we ever had to grab something from downstairs we would both run. It was just one of those weird feelings where your hair stands on end and you simply feel uneasy.
So, as I watched a scary movie I would close the basement door and let our dog inside. I like scary movies though which is why I would put myself through this.
Therefore as Hallowe'en approaches I am looking forward to seeing all the costumes of ghouls, ghosts, ninjas, Power Rangers, princesses, and many more varieties. I'm hoping to find a good scary movie for the evening and wait for the little trick or treaters to show.
One of the other things I'm looking forward to is carving a pumpkin and roasting its seeds. It just makes it seem like Hallowe'en is here.
A couple of years ago a friend and I took on Hallowe'en in Australia. It turns out it is not popular at all, though it's beginning to become more prevalent. Pumpkins large enough for carving are ridiculously priced there, so instead of carving a pumpkin we bought a honeydew melon and carved that. After hollowing out the melon's flesh we began carving the typical Jack-o'-lantern face into it and proceeded to place a small candle inside.
Hallowe'en is full of fun and despite political correctness now calling it Black and Orange Spirit Day at some schools, it should still be Hallowe'en. It's simply a fun day for kids to play dress up and entertain themselves through gathering candy as they go door to door showing off their costumes. Although Canada likes to be accommodating to everyone the fact of the matter is Hallowe'en is a North American custom and those coming into Canada are welcome to participate or not; but, it shouldn't banned from schools.
