The Holiday Season starts with a shock on Halloween and ends with a bang on New Year’s, with gratefulness – Thanksgiving, and love – Christmas, filling in the middle.
All are centered around family fun and togetherness, connecting us to each other and our communities.
A spooky fright, outlandish decorating and an extreme sugar rush add a jolt to your system, bringing you from slow summer vibes to the Opening Games, so to speak, and what a fun way to kick it off. Halloween is a great way to get into an Open Mindset. Casting off dress codes, changing the menu to every non-nutritional option and even letting out a scream or two in public is now the goal. It’s just for one day and all in good fun, but it’s a solid 180 from routine. Even after returning to “normal,” it tends to leave its mark.
Growing up, I remember those plastic full-face masks and princess or superhero costumes that tied in the back like hospital gowns. It was such a big decision and seemed to take up an exorbitant amount of my time, analyzing the pros and cons, picturing myself in full attire. No matter how much energy went into the selection process, the end result was always the same.
Running from house to house at a frantic pace in itchy polyester and non-breathable plastic face covering proved to be every kid’s downfall. It was then, usually 10 minutes in, that another decision would have to be made – ditch the costume or resign to having a disappointing candy haul.
Well, it doesn’t take a lot of deducing to know which one won out. Kids like to dress up, fantasy, all that stuff; but kids LOVE candy. Candy is Kid Currency, and on Halloween you could bring in enough to fill your coffers for weeks, maybe months, to come.
Today, costumes are better, candy is better and decorations are off the charts. Here in Crestline, the Halloween Parade is legendary with floats, marching bands, painted poodles and excited onlookers lining the streets to experience that jolt, that system-shocking sense of celebration that will carry you all the way to the New Year.
We live 364 days out the year pretty much in character of who we are. Well, Halloween is the one day that we can assume another personality and it’s usually totally different. We can be, for a few hours, someone famous or infamous. We can time travel to the glorious past or futuristic speculations. For this one day we get a free pass to let go of normal. We go to great lengths to practice the art of make-believe and letting it call the shots for 24 reality-releasing hours.
Outrageous is what’s called for on Halloween, a classic exercise of risk and reward to start you thinking through your options.
How are you going to play it? What are you going to choose? Trick? or Treat? Halloween illustrates the most basic lesson in the most fun way – choice. So get those skeletons out of the closet, select your style (spooky or gaudy), grab your bag and fill up. The joy is in the choosing. 🙂
Kathryn Valencia is a local author. She put together “Soul Speak,” a daily reads book, during the pandemic, with the central theme concentrating on where, and to what, value is placed. Currently, she writes a weekly blog, Running, Eating & Other Things on livesoulspeak.com, which can also be found on Instagram. She lives in Mountain Brook with her husband. She has three grown children, two of which live in the area, and five grandchildren.
