Halloween '10

Halloween is coming and it's one of my favourite holidays for several reasons.

Firstly, it's always fun - dressing up, sweets and partying with friends? Sounds like fun to me. Secondly, there doesn't have to be any other connotations to it. You don't have to see it as religious, or sacrilegious, you can simply see it as a silly holiday which gives you cause to dress up with your friends. Thirdly, it's great for all ages. You can trick or treat with your siblings/friends when you're a kid, you can go to a proper Halloween party with your friends when you're older, or you can have a horror film fest with lots of sweets and popcorn if you're not in mood for either of those. And since there's no age limit with Halloween, I still get as excited about it now as I did as kid!

But this year, I fear my Halloween night will go uncelebrated. No-one really seems to want to do anything and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't gutted. How will I get to wear my devil horns if I have no means of celebrating? I think I'll have to watch The Crow in my room with them on. Sad and lonely - but by Jove I have to do something.

Also, it's the Day of the Dead on November 2nd, and I think that holiday is kind of really cool. It's quite a beautiful, if not slightly morbid, celebration where people celebrate the lives of the loved ones they've lost by building shrines to them and celebrating with their families and friends. They make skulls of sugar which they paint with bright colourful patterns, make amazing food for them to eat, and light candles for the ones they've lost. It seems like a nice idea to me, and if I was Mexican I would definitely try and take part, but I think it's disrespectful to encroach on a particular culture's traditions for the sake of it being "cool". But I think it's nice way to deal with death and loss.

Anyway, after that tangent, I'm off to scour Facebook for Halloween related events, and friends to maybe go with me. Wish me luck, blogsters.

-A