Let's be real. Halloween is an excuse to party, but then, aren't most holidays? To be clear, I don't hate 'All Hallows Eve', which precedes the largely forgotten 'All Saint's Day' of November 1st. After all, monsters and spooks are muck more exciting than some long forgotten prudes. Halloween itself is just another example of the Catholic Church hijacking a formerly Pagan holiday, just as it did with the Christmas and Easter. I do not begrudge the average person their fun, after all, if it weren't those holidays it would be others. In more modern times we've created Thanksgiving, Independence Day, and the Super Bowl as reasons to party.
I have to say my personal favorites are Thanksgiving and Christmas, as these holidays provide strong incentive to gather with ones family. Independence Day and Easter do as well, but not with quite the same pull as the previous two. On the other hand, holidays can often make lonely people feel a bit more lonely than they already do. I have personally experienced this with even my most favorite holidays. I remember feeling strong depression during those times because I was trapped where I was, and had no one to spend the holiday with. So, I just tried to pass it off as just another day. In reality, I suppose it is just another day, however perception is everything. It is why I empathize with all the military personnel away from their families over the holidays, because I've been there. It sucks.
The last time I actually dressed up for Halloween specifically, was many years ago, and I had dressed up as a werewolf, which at the time was my favorite 'monster'. I managed to gather a small, but reasonable amount of candy in my bag, so I suppose it could be called a successful Trick or Treat. Nice to know my last one actually worked out okay. After that, my family had gotten more serious about attending church and the secular parts of Halloween were pretty much ignored from then on. The church did have an annual 'Harvest Festival', to give us kids something to do on Halloween, so that was good. I also dressed up as various Bible characters over the following years, so the dress up aspect of the holiday wasn't completely lost. There was candy and activities at the festival at least, but I never did go Trick or Treating again.
Today as I sit here, Halloween for me, is yet again just another day. Perhaps if there were some party I were actually invited to, I might would dress up for Halloween again, but perhaps not. I don't drink alcohol socially or otherwise, so most parties wouldn't fit me anyways. If holidays are an excuse to party, than it wouldn't be far from the truth to say that parties are often excuses to drink alcohol. That isn't entirely true or fair though. Parties are occasions to socialize with others in a usually light mood. Alcohol is just often used to 'soften' the mood. I suppose having lived in a home where alcohol was abused, I have a pretty negative view on alcohol in general. However, I don't begrudge others their right to drink and enjoy it. Just leave me alone when you get drunk, unless your a really hot girl that's only slightly drunk. For some reason many drunks think they are great to be around, but given my personal experience with them, I'd prefer to be far away. It's just too messy in general.
In any case, I wish you a Happy Halloween..! May it give you more joy than it does me. I've just gotten out of the habit of doing anything about it, so it really is just another day for me. I may buy a bag of candy for any kids that come by, but that'll be the furthest extent I celebrate the day. Maybe if the Charlie Brown cartoon special, 'The Great Pumpkin' airs on TV, I'll watch that too.
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