Happy Hauntings: What Halloween Says About Us
A remarkable thing happens in my little town of Bedford every year at Halloween. Bedford is a picturesque town where the main street running up to downtown is lined on each side by big homes. The streets are wide and the houses are relatively close together; in other words, perfect haunting grounds for trick or treaters! And the folks who live in those big houses throw open their doors at Halloween, year after year, and give out Skittles and Reese’s to hundreds of children who parade by. When my kids were young, I would take them out and join the masses of ghosts, goblins, witches, and superheroes who thronged the sidewalks and spilled out into the streets. At the end of the evening, my kids had a nice stash of chocolate while the neighbors were left with a big bill for all that candy. The neighbors could just turn off the lights and draw the curtains, but they don’t. Instead, they put up elaborate decorations, put on their own costumes, and hand out treats until the cows come home.
Of course, Halloween can have its low moments. One student talked about the time when she went to the door to give out candy and an angry teenager repaid her hospitality by spraying her with silly string and running away. Some folks don’t celebrate for religious reasons. Others are concerned about the way in which the Halloween costume business trades on damaging stereotypes of other cultures. Still others are aware that all that sugar- laced candy is off-limits to kids with certain dietary needs (sugar-free, gluten-free candy, anyone?). These are all genuine concerns, and well worth considering because Halloween is worth our best efforts. As the good folks over at SALT (a faith-based organization) point out, there is more to this celebration than meets the eye. Halloween, they say,
at its best, [is] a magical, playful night of community-building and neighborhood-making… It’s a glimpse, if only for one night, of how the world is supposed to be: homes decked out in mischievous fun, front doors thrown wide open to visitors of all ages, a spirit of wit and excitement in the air, and simple, sweet gifts distributed to children (all children, not just “our” children!) dressed up as heroes and villains alike.[1]
Halloween is one of the few nights in which the hidden dividing lines in our community – such as class, race, and ethnicity – are crossed as parents and kids, friends and strangers, walk shoulder to shoulder down those sidewalks. Halloween turns some of our social conventions upside down for one night and gives us a fun opportunity to show our love for our neighbor.
This opportunity can happen for college students who live off and on campus. One student was excited to get a tag from her apartment complex office to put on her door. It signals to her neighbors that she is participating in Halloween. But even if you can’t participate in Halloween, any day is an opportunity to demonstrate your neighborliness through simple acts of hospitality. Happy Hauntings, everyone!
[1] www.saltproject.org