Do you feel like dressing up on Halloween?

November 2, 2009 by Samuel Powers 

Halloween is an anomaly among holidays, a strange ritual that centers on community interaction.

As time passes and each of our families and close circles of friends become more withdrawn from the expanses of society, Halloween continues to draw us from our isolated fortresses of homes, if only for one night.

On Halloween, many of us meet neighbors we never met or cared about, when they come knocking on our doors.

Chocolate pieces and assorted treats are distributed to children and adolescents-too-old and we enjoy the entertaining social aspect and our own selflessness in the process.

Seeing all the costumes and the unadulterated enjoyment of children brings smiles to each of our faces. But the meaning of the holiday and the reason for amusement changes as we age.

In youth, Halloween carries a magical aura. The concept of adults around the neighborhood giving out free candy seems too absurd to be true.

Even the cantankerous old man who yells at kids to get off his lawn every other day of the year will participate and display compassion for a few hours.

As kids, we take advantage of the system and fill our pillowcases and plastic pumpkins to the brims.

Sometimes we are overjoyed with receiving an entire candy bar from one generous neighbor and can only brag to all our friends and relatives at such a strike of luck. We often consume too much candy in such a short period that waiting another year for the holiday seems appropriate.

Growing out of the trick-or-treating phase can be sad and having to let go of dressing up takes even longer.
Many of us continue to put on costumes through our 20s and even 30s. Sometimes that’s because we can’t let go of that aspect of our lives and the fact that Halloween makes us feel young again.

Maybe that’s just because we wait so long to grow up, but we finally realize that we don’t want to let go of our youth.

Our costumes change through the years from cute and pleasant to uncreative and suggestive.

Women in this generation use Halloween as an excuse to dress like they wish they could every other day of the year. I had thought the original purpose of dressing up was to scare away ghosts and evil spirits.

What demonic figure is going to be frightened away by a pirate wearing a tube top and a miniskirt? If anything, the outfits are all-to-inviting and a tangible symbol of a loss of innocence.

The holiday has commonly turned into a justification for us to drink, to assemble with friends and to become loud, drunk and obnoxious.

There is nothing that separates drinking on Halloween from any other night of the year except for the fact that as adults we wear ridiculous outfits and drink from a community cauldron instead of the usual plastic punch bowl.

There eventually comes a point when the joy from Haloween comes from watching others have fun and evoking our own memories in return.

Whether we accompany young friends or family around the neighborhood, or are the ones passing out candy, we reach an age when watching kids and their excitement is what makes that day special.

While technology advances and we spend an increasing amount of time in our homes fiddling on our computers or staring at the TV, we become isolated from our neighborhoods and no longer know everyone on our street.

We emerge from our solitary existences on Halloween, engaging and amusing one another.

From those who walk around receiving candy to those who choose to dress up, Halloween is a holiday that brings happiness through interaction.

It’s a day when we are kids again.