MAE JULIAN
HALLOWEEN CHILDHOOD
By the time these words reach publication, Halloween will be past, but now, as I write, it is before me. I have been pondering on why so many people respond that Halloween is their favorite holiday. I think I have the answer. On the major holidays, so much is required. On Thanksgiving, it takes three days for me to prepare the meal that will be consumed in about a half hour, give or take. Christmas looms ahead like outstretched hands that want me to fill them. I struggle with shopping which has always been a vexation for me. I try to shop in small places because the big shops send me into a maze that threatens to trap me forever like some horror movie. I have to be able to see the four walls of a store in order to shop comfortably. Probably could be called a phobia. I cannot even imagine entering one of those huge superstores.
But back to Halloween: What I think attracts so many of us is that it gives us the opportunity to return to childhood. Back when dressing up in crazy stuff, and pretending to be anyone or anything you wanted to be was accepted, and encouraged. There were no expectations. There was no one waiting for you to meet their needs and there was no one to criticize what you were. It was just fun. Just to have fun for the sake of having fun.
When I was young, probably a pre-teen or a teen, our gang played the same pranks that kids do today. We would TP trees, soap windows, scare people (we thought) and with a mindless abandon, live the night for nothing more than our own amusement. I love Halloween. Decorating is fun, not a chore. Nothing was a chore at Halloween. It was the time of caramel apples, treats, shrieking, running around in the dark, and eating goodies ’till you thought you would throw up. And some did. It was all part of the overdoing of a good thing.
When I lived in Waynedale we would start about two days before Halloween. Back in the 40’s and 50’s they let us do that. People were prepared for hoards of kids early because we would show up with our paper grocery sacks, trying to walk around in costumes of our own making. As far as I know, no one ever had a store-bought Halloween costume. Maybe masks were bought at the Dime Store. Other than that, we created our own. What a gift to be able to create a costume for whatever you wanted to be. Pirates, cowboys, ballet dancers, skeletons, ragmen, and all sorts of imaginative characters would come out of the dark. No one had any class differences, and it didn’t matter if you were smart or dumb, fat or thin. It was the great equalizer. The big family gatherings would come later, for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Halloween was just for us kids.
Adults didn’t accompany kids on the trick-or-treating missions back then. They didn’t trail around after us in fear that someone would kidnap us. We were set free to a night time of fun and plunder. Like all folks, I suppose, I wish for the good ol’ days for myself.
But, thank heavens, I have grandchildren, so that I can relive my childhood through them on Halloween night. I make them hold still long enough so that I can take their pictures before they go off into the night to have their adventures just as we had. I do not fret or worry that someone will put razor blades in candy or give them poison apples. I refuse to ruin the perfect night of childhood with grown up “wisdom”. This is their night, their time, their gift.
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to set myself free on Halloween night with all my friends when I lived in Waynedale as a child. I gave that gift to my children, and now give it to my grandchildren. If I am really lucky, someday I will pass the baton on to my great-grandchildren.
I will always remember the excitement of Halloween in Waynedale and I should apologize to the Dickey family for stealing their pumpkin off their porch. I hope that I, and my friends were forgiven when we took it back again before Halloween night.
I will be thinking of all of the children of Waynedale this Halloween and I hope they all get generous treats from the folks there who remember childhood, as well.
Happy Halloween Everyone!
Mae Julian
> Read More Information About Us
> More Articles Written By Our Staff
- Community Invited To Paint Rocks For Urban League Project - April 26, 2024
- The “Bad Guys” In Your Garden & What To Do About Them - April 26, 2024
- Why Voting In The Primary Election Matters - April 26, 2024