If you are going to celebrate…
November 3rd, 2009
…at least know what you’re celebrating …
This past weekend I watched as the adventure of our first Halloween in our new neighborhood unfolded. It was a wild sight to behold, starting weeks before the actual holiday houses were decorated, kids were picking out costumes and my husband after being warned by neighbors, went out and bought 10 pounds of candy “just to be safe” he said.
Even thought I am not a Halloween observer, I do respect that others enjoy the holiday and celebrate on many levels from decorating the house, dressing up in costume, painting the dog orange and black and even getting married on Halloween as our friends did so many years ago. For some Halloween is a HUGE event, for others like me, it’s just another day of the year. As the evening arrived and the streets filled with children of all ages dressed in a variety of costumes ranging from 9 month old pumpkins to 25 year old punk rockers, I gave in and I moved outside with my coffee spiked with Bailey’s, a couple of torches to keep the mosquitoes away and of course my husband and his 10 pound case of candy. I was now fully prepared for this adventure. At first, as our home sits a bit off the beaten path, none of the trick-or-treaters were heading our way and then it happened…. one little kid noticed from across the street that he was missing out on candy from our house and he let out a holler “hey, let’s go to THAT house!” and with that instruction we were then bombarded with kids from all over. Some of the more creative costumes were the ones the adults were wearing, mostly tie-dye shirts and rainbow colored wigs or jeans and spurs as if dressing up as a cowboy or cowgirl in Texas was not something that was seen everyday…as I type this I wonder maybe they weren’t dressed up after all, just wearing their regular “cowfolk” clothes?
The night wore on and we watched as cars full of children drove into our community and unloaded at the corner so the kids could hit every house, gathering goodies galore. Golf carts decorated with flashing lights and pumpkins drove what I can only refer to as “lazy kids” from driveway to driveway and of course there were a couple of daring truck drivers pulling hay filled trailers with adults in lounge chairs in the back. It truly was a sight to see, right down to the police officers that were called in to direct the heavy traffic flow that filled the streets.
Now here is where it gets interesting as I am a firm believer in if you are going to celebrate something, you best know what it is your are celebrating. I gave the young kids the benefit of the doubt that they had no idea what they were doing other than that mommy or daddy took them to Target or Wal-mart to pick out their favorite costume, they dressed up and now were out getting candy from strangers. So I skipped them in what my husband has referred to as my “experiment.” I moved onto the older children, 9 and up…and as they approached I waited patiently for them to say “trick or treat” to which I began replying “ok, treat.” Wow. I have never seen so many dumbfounded children in one night as I did on Halloween. It was really interesting as the more kids I tried this with, the more blank their looks became. One little boy went so far as to reply to my trick request by saying “I just want some candy please.” Another looked at his mom who was standing at the base of the driveway and said “mommy, she said trick, what does that mean?” to which mom replied by laughing and waving…guess she had no clue either?
My husband wouldn’t let me ask the kids WHY they were dressed up, a question I think would bring up some more blank stares. I learned that many don’t know the history of Halloween nor do they seem interested in learning more about it, they just like dressing up, going from house to house and collecting enough candy to take them (in some cases) through to the following year. Which begs the question, what are we teaching our children? That it’s okay to go along with the majority and not ask questions? That’s one way of looking at it.
Here’s another way of looking at it, for all you network marketers who receive the “I don’t know anyone to sell to” type objections with new prospects…when they say they don’t know anyone or aren’t comfortable sharing something financially beneficial with others who are seeking to get out of the rut of living paycheck to paycheck (or in some cases, not even making enough to get to the next paycheck) ask them if they celebrate Halloween…as that would mean they feel ok with dressing their kids up and sending them out to ask for candy on a dark night from people they don’t know (hey, those are strangers!)….guess it’s okay for kids but not for adults to talk to strangers?
Maybe we should start recruiting 9 year-olds in costumes for our team? Who do you know? Just a thought.
EmbracingMyJourney L.L.C. was created by Caryn FitzGerald in 2008.
Caryn, known as "The Manifesting Queen" is a motivational columnist, speaker and writer, she has been featured in and published several books, including "Tulips In The Sand" "Fish Sticks, Books and Blue Jeans" “Manifest Success” “Visual Arts Junction Interviews” & “Online Marketing Success Stories..."
Caryn is a domestic violence survivor who has triumphed over a 10-year battle with anorexia and bulimia. She is a wife, mother, writer, speaker, blogger, coach and a health food enthusiast Click to connect with Caryn at her website Or click here to get inspired by her latest ebook “Living the Life of My Dreams” There may be paid links on this page, click here to read the blog disclaimer.
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Halloween:
My boys are 9 and 10 and this is the first Halloween they celebrated. Why, they asked me if they could partake in the fun. They went out and picked out costumes and had a great deal of fun dressing up as someone other then themselves.
My youngest turned into Darth Vader and made the vocals and light saber seem like the real thing. My oldest could not find a costume of anyone he liked so he made his own. He bacame a bling gangster like two face on Batman.
Then Halloween day arrived and they went to a business expo dressed to the tee. They were the hit of the show. They acquired enough candy to make a dentist smile and delta dental want to raise there rates. When they got home the days work was put in a large bowl and they were informed they could have one peice after dinner. The remainder would be given out to the trick or treaters who were brave enough the come to our door.
Oh my, that was not going to work. We had to go trick or treat ourselves. So off to the college dormatories we went and low and behold several campus doors were open with more of the sweets to be accumulated. Then to the library for a Halloween show and more sweets were acquired. Last but not least. Dad, that house has its porch light on pull over and let us go trick or treat. Six houses later I pulled into my garage minus my kids. They were running up the street from the last house. They had a blast.
We gave away candy, threw candy away and let them have something they rarely get. But we took pictures to remind them of the fun they had when the dentist gets his drill out.
Sometimes experience is the best teacher. We will see!!!
Blessings and Visions of Greatness Caryn
Brian J. Donley
Author, The Original Psychology of Success – Proven Methods to Attain a Positive, Powerful Winning Personality
Caryn,
I just submitted a comment to your blog and realize I left out the reference … the community I refer to is the College of Metaphysics. There are adults and children who live on campus in an intentional community. One of the mothers was a teacher who travelled; she was home-schooling her daughter and allowed four other adults (including myself) to share in the education of her daughter. It was a great experience for all of us! The school offers a multi-dimensional education which people can learn more about at http://www.som.org if they are interested.
Hi, Caryn,
This is a great blog. I agree that learning the origins of rituals is important and also fun. I had the opportunity some years ago of co-teaching a young adolescent (she was 11 or 12 when a few of us collectively taught her; kind of a home-school co-op). Our class was interfaith/intercultural studies. We looked at a calendar and studied the origins and rituals of the religious holidays that were occurring and then did the practices. We cooked the foods that are traditional, learned the prayers, did the practices, lit candles, read the scriptures and stories, and so forth. It was fun and educational for the adults in our community as well as the children. I heartily recommend doing that; it also gave us the opportunity for her to meet and interview some people from different faith traditions to find out about their practices.