Friday, October 31, 2014

Thoughts on Halloween

It is Halloween today, the turning of the wheel of the year into the cold, fallow season. This time of year makes me think of hurrying home in the gathering dark, walking along the edges of the sidewalks so that I might kick through fallen leaves, and hear their papery rustle beneath my feet. It makes me think of potted mums, dried corn stalks and bales of straw, of carving pumpkins and eating their seeds, toasted. It makes me think of candles glowing in darkness, of mystery and magic.

I remember Mrs. Cosman, who lived behind the school, giving out candy apples, and my mom driving us over to Nana and Poppa's so they could see our costumes. I remember the last time I went trick or treating with my friends, no parents, and getting lost in an unfamiliar neighbourhood as wet snow began to fall, and, a little older, watching Halloween over and over on Pay Per View, in the dark. I remember how my mom always had two bowls of candy: in one, the good stuff reserved for the little kids; in the other, packages of gum for the older kids.

Hay rides, haunted houses, heavy wool sweaters: all these memories come from Ontario, from my childhood and teenage years. Here in the Yukon, the rustle of fallen leaves underfoot has long been replaced by the crunch of snow: there is a foot of snow outside now. All of the things that I associate with this time of year are buried, muffled by snow. This is not the descent into winter: we are already well into that season. Even after almost 10 years here, I still struggle to incorporate these wildly unbalanced seasons into my psyche. 

I don't feel particularly festive today. My kids are not dressing up. The logistics of going to town just to collect candy I don't want them to eat are too great for me. I worry I'm depriving them of some essential part of childhood, but then again, they're young still. Perhaps a bonfire tonight in the yard, if we can uncover the fire pit.

Do any of you mark this day with something other than costumes and candy? I'd love to hear what this time of year means to you!

7 comments:

  1. I love Halloween in Faro. All the kids, right up to the ones in grade 12, come trick or treating. They have manners and humour. I love it!

    This is now my official start of winter. Bring on the stews. The homemade bread. Cooking warm meals for friends. AND SLEDDING AND SNOWSHOEING! WOOHOOOOO! :)

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    1. Kara, I love your enthusiasm! I think I'd feel differently if we lived in town or had some neighbours. I know I'd get into it if there was a chance of kids knocking at my door!

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  2. I don't think Halloween has ever been such a big festival here as it is across the pond. We rarely did anything to observe it. In the UK we have another big festival on the 5th November which we always observed as children. The one time I can remember really celebrating Halloween was a pagan festival I went to to celebrate Samhain there was a big fire, lots of food sharing and drumming. The drumming was the most amazing experience I have ever been part of, I can still remember it now (it was twenty years ago). Whenever I hear mass drumming I am transported back to that night.

    Perhaps it is time to create you own way of observing this time of year, unique to the Yukon. If you look at Samhain and how that is celebrated it might give you some ideas.

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    1. Is that Guy Fawkes day? I'd love to hear more about how it's celebrated! That festival sounds incredible, I've never experienced anything like that. The Pagan festivals really appeal to me, and I think as time goes on I'd like to incorporate elements of those with some of the traditional things I remember from my own childhood.

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    2. The roots of Guy Fawkes are centred around religion and a plot to blow up the government buildings some 400 years ago. The celebrations always revolve around a huge fire and fireworks usually a village/community event. As a child I was told by my mother that the continuation of this event over the centuries was most likely tied to the fact that it is close to Samhein and the darkening of the year and that traditionally people probably did come together at that time of year and lighting big fires to keep warm, give them some light and celebrate their loved ones.

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  3. Your post makes me miss autumn in BC! We moved to Denmark in 2007 and they don't really celebrate halloween here (they are starting but it isn't the same). I sometimes feel sad that my children will never really experince halloween (the magic) as I did as a kid. Here it is just another day.

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  4. That's so interesting, I wonder how it came to be such a big deal in North America? Are there other big celebrations in Denmark that we don't have here, like sustainable mum mentioned? Thanks for visiting! : )

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