Halloween Traditions and Times Past
I love Halloween. I mean I LOVE Halloween!
Come the end of September, I pull out all the Halloween decorations and make the house festive. Just a little creepy with some whimsy and nostalgia thrown out there. It reminds the Hubs and I of the kids we used to be and lets us celebrate those younger versions of ourselves.
Decorations
I was raised in a family that loved to decorate and celebrate holidays. Decorations, foods, music- I have so many happy memories of pulling out all the seasonal goodies, experiencing the anticipation of fun things to come and all the yummy foods that Mom would make for us to enjoy.
Of all the memories I have growing up, one of the things that tickled me was a blow up jack o’lantern with two different faces and a witch’s hat.
If you squeezed the hat, it would make a squeaky sound.
If you were in an m-o-o-d, you’d turn it so the mad face was showing. Happy? You’d turn it to the smiling face. If you were in an m-o-o-d and you bopped someone with it, you got to hear the squeak, feel happy again and not get into trouble (worked for me…).
It always sat on our stereo cabinet (anyone remember those?) and I loved that thing immensely. To my delight, I discovered some on eBay. I haven’t bit the bullet to add one to my collection…yet…
Something I grew up with that still get hung in the windows all these years later are my blow mold Trick or Treat cats. They are fading through years from sun exposure but they make my Halloween heart go pitter-pat every year I pull them out of storage.
I am so thankful I had a Mom who never entirely grew up and loved a bit of whimsy in her life. She has passed that on to me. Walking through our house, there is always something a lil spookish for the two of us and all our groovy ghoulie guests.
Specials
Who out there remembers perusing the TV guide to mark when the Halloween specials came on? The whole family sat in front of the TV and you daren’t move until the commercial lest you missed any part of the program. Kids today have no idea how good we had it!
My grandchildren love to watch Charlie Brown with me and they used to ask to watch The Great Pumpkin all the time. They learned that we only watch holiday movies and shows during the holidays at our house. I heard my oldest grandson comment on this over the summer. He said, “Yep. We only watch it when it’s near Halloween because then it wouldn’t be so special.” Bless him. He’d heard me say it so often that I believe he finally gets it now.
Having access year round isn’t such a good thing. When everything is available all the time, it’s not so special anymore. What’s the point if they’ve already seen it a gazillion times with just one click?
I’ve upped the ante though- now we can build a fire in the firepit, roast marshmallows and watch it outside using our handy-dandy projector and outdoor screen. We are talking next level atmosphere! Same but even MORE special;)
Jack O’ Lanterns
When I was little, my brother made carving the pumpkin a special event. He would always find the biggest, best pumpkin for me and come bursting into the house with it. When I was too little to carve it, he would draw designs on paper so I could pick the best eyes, nose and mouth. I would watch as he turned a perfect pumpkin into the best jack o’ lantern I’d ever seen.
I carried on the tradition with my children, spreading out the newspaper and drawing designs for them to choose from. Now the Hubs and I each have one to carve so we have whimsical jack o’lanterns to greet folks who come up to our door. Bubba’s tradition has been carried on.
Costumes and Candy
Growing up, Halloween was all about the costume. Heading to the five and dime to pick out the perfect costume (does anyone remember Woolworth’s? Roses?). A mask and outfit of cheap cloth or plastic material all packaged up in a cardboard box with a cellophane front that magically transformed you into a creature or character of your fancy when you put it on.
Some folks would not hear of anything store bought- their costumes were made by hand or fashioned from whatever could be had around the house.
It was amazing what could be used to transform you into something or someone entirely different. Whatever it was, it had some magic in it. You could feel it when you tried it on and you counted the days down until you would be able to disguise yourself and head out into the night to beg neighbors for treats. Which means you’d also need a container-add a plastic jack o’lantern for collecting your candy. Or maybe a pillow sack. I wonder if anyone has fancy embroidered pillow case candy sacks on Pinterest? Surely it would be a thing…
There was nothing so magically, frightfully fun as dressing up and walking through the neighborhood at night collecting candy. Perhaps some houses transformed into spooky abodes that didn’t look quite the same. The night held all kinds of possibilities. Spooks, frights, laughing children, the echoes of “Trick or Treat” in the night.
Coming home, you’d be tired, chilly and either pulling along a full jack-o’-lantern or being pulled by your parent who carried your candy for you.
Yet all thoughts of being tired were gone as soon as you tipped out your loot. Sugar Babies, Candy Cigarettes, Pop Rocks, Chuckles, Tart n Tinys, Fruit Stripe Gum, Tootsie Pops, bubble gum, Tootsie Rolls, Fire Balls, wax lips, wax bottles, Dots, Charms lollipops, Dum-Dums, Pixy Stix, candy bars and on and on. My parents did a mild inspection and some of the candy would be dumped in a communal bowl whilst the rest was spirited off to my room to be eaten. Sometimes it lasted and sometimes it didn’t.
My eyeballs are already zinging thinking about all of that sugar. I don’t have the bandwidth to support the influx of glucose anymore. Probably a good thing. The memory of it is sweet enough.
Now our Halloween costume consists of he and she Halloween t-shirts. We sit on our front stoop with jack o’lanterns lit, spooky music and lights in the background as we pass out candy to the league of children who head up the sidewalk and say the magic words.
“Trick or Treat!”
We are enjoying Halloween in a different way. Embracing what we have before us while fondly remembering the Halloweens behind us. I still love the silliness and magic.
For a little while, I am young again. I’ll take it.
What are some of your best Halloween memories? Do you still do anything to celebrate now?