Halloween was a big event at my house when I was growing up. My mother donned a tall black hat and a black cape and became a witch, attended by our two black cats. My brother and I would, weeks in advance, sketch plans for our costumes with particular attention to the faces, and get to work repairing or building moulds and pouring liquid latex. This would yield flexible scars, open wounds, heavy brows and jaws, and other ghastly bits. On the big night, we'd adhere this stuff to our faces and hands, cover it with grease paint in some putrid color, don meticulously-torn clothing amended with dirt and charcoal dust, and tour the neighborhood as zombies or ghouls.
This holiday seems to be in a state of flux, with communities pushing trick-or-treating toward more convenient days and times, many communities doing away with it all together, and people instead attending parties here and there.
I’ll put some questions to the reader and ask, “How can one be the solution for Halloween?” What are some easy ways that people can green all of the accoutrements of this most excellent holiday?
Image source: Some flickr page that I randomly looted
Friday, October 31, 2008
The great pumpkin
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
who knew erd was such a halloween nut!!.. great post!!! who are you dressing up like this year?...
In our rural area of no sidewalks, and dispersed housing, the institution of a community based party for all the children at the community center (opened in 2000 in an abandoned elementary school), is a solution that assists both safety and reduces automobile use, as parents used to have to drive children from small holler to holler to trick or treat. Every one in the neighborhood can donate one big bag of treats to the community center and not have to worry about whether they have over bought or under bought for the crowds. Which reminds me, I'd better get out of the office and stop at Walmart on the way home to buy my donation bag of treats and drop it at the community center on the way home!
PJ,
My brother and I were Halloween fanatics. As for this year's costume, I'll be dressed as a part-time graduate student.
Sue,
What a great way to observe the holiday. I'm always glad to see events that bring the community together.
The community where my mother grew up in rural Louisiana has the same kinds of problems with traditional trick-or-treating. Their solution is for all of the kids to meet at the church and pile into a hay wagon. The wagon hauls them in a circuit to several homes that have volunteered to give out candy or baked-goods. They stop at each house for several minutes and the adults spend a few minutes talking, taking pictures, eating pie, and drinking coffee (it's a dry parish), while the kids play games.
Post a Comment