Our
View: Halloween greatest holiday of the
year
Of all the holidays on the greeting card list, Halloween beats them all. Yes,
you get presents on Christmas, and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are of religious significance,
but what other holiday
allows you to simply
enjoy yourself without any hang-ups?
There are three main reasons Halloween is a great, fun-loving holiday.
First, for one night, you can dress up, party and be someone you may not usually
be and it is acceptable. Although it is widely debated, this generally benefits
men because many women use the day as an excuse to wear as little clothing as
possible while still resembling the character they intend to be.
For example, if she is a cop, she is a cop with a push-up bra. On the other hand,
there are people who really get into the spirit and create costumes that are
so realistic, it can be frightening. The amount of money some people spend for
looking authentic proves the Halloween spirit is important to these people. Regardless
of motives, the dress-up factor creates an atmosphere that is not present in
any other holiday.
Second, at most other holiday get-togethers there are usually emotions present
that can destroy the mood.
Imagine it is Christmas morning and you have just woken up, ready to see if Santa
made a visit to your house. After the high of opening your presents, it is time
to visit your family.
From the moment you arrive at your relative’s home, your cousins begin
to compare gifts, the adults start cooking the food and yelling at the kids to
get out of the kitchen and eventually, somebody winds up crying.
At Halloween, these types of conflicts are not present; everyone is just having
a good time walking from house to house (or store to store if you do the Second
Street trick or treating) gathering as much candy they can rot their teeth with.
You don’t have to be a child to appreciate the trick or treat aspect, and
although college is a little too old to be collecting candy, it makes the kids
happy.
Finally, it is one of the few remaining commercial holidays that does not have
significant religious ties. It is simply a day to dress up and eat candy. In
the past, Halloween was known as All Hallows Eve, the day before Day of the
Dead
or All Souls Day. There are still a major part of tradition in other countries.
While ceremonies took place and rituals were performed, these traditions have
dissipated from American culture, leaving a simple holiday behind. While this
may seem like a negative thing alongside all the other traditional holidays,
it is nice to have a relaxing day without any obligations other than to have
a good time.
So tonight, put on your costume and get ready to watch as children flood the
streets of your neighborhood in search of candy or go to whatever festivities
you may have planned for the evening and live it up on the best holiday of the
year.
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