My classroom has been adorned in pumpkins and fall decor since the beginning of the month. Today we watched "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," as a reward for good behavior (and quite honestly a reward for me, too).
We have a Halloween party on Friday, and I can honestly say that I am SO happy it's on a Friday. Kids are no good for school on a sugar hangover from Halloween. They come into class with bags of candy for snacks, which I (yes, the mean teacher) allow them to have only one piece, and the rest are put away for safe eating on the bus and at home. Yes, I am happy it's on a Friday this year.
What is interesting is that I don't remember this holiday being such a big deal when I was a kid. Sure, we had parties and costumes, but that was all outside of school. We didn't have Halloween parties, especially in Jerry Fallwell land, and we most certainly did not have elaborate costumes, although I do remember one kid dressing up like a coo-coo clock, and I thought that was so creative, but that was at a party that I had when I was in the second grade.
Incidentally, I learned how to pluralize nouns then because I wanted to make signs that said Careful! Bumps! for the party, and I put an apostrophe in the word BUMPS, and my mother made me redo the sign. I learned then that plural words do not have apostrophes, and if you make that mistake, undoing it can take forever!
Buying a costume back then wasn't very complicated. You had a mask and a plastic smock-like robe, painted to look like the body of whoever your character was supposed to be. We picked out our cheap costumes at a local drug store, went home and eagerly took them out well before the righteous day, and slapped those flimsy plastic masks on our faces. I can still feel the snap of the rubber band attached to mask onto my fine brown hair. My poor hair was snapped and broken each time I put on my mask.
As I peered out of the eyeholes I could feel my breath, hot and sticky on the plastic mask. Somehow, I never quite felt like the character I was supposed to be. Even though costumes weren't nearly as complicated as they can be today, I never really felt good about those costumes; which I suppose is why my mother started to sew my own costumes, and why those sewn costumes were re-used over and over again. We were green before green was in.
It is definitely true that Halloween is so much more complicated than it ever was before. But at least kids today don't have to wear those cheap costumes. They have alternatives and choices--perhaps too many. I wonder what tales kids of today will tell their kids. Will they tell of simpler times, or will they reflect on a time of having more than they do at that time? I don't know. But I do know I wish I had a picture to remind me. For now, these memories stay etched in my mind, laid to show in this little blog about Halloween.
2 comments:
Halloween today is very commercial and expensive! I was thrilled this year when my second oldest son tells me he wants to make his costume -- after a few ideas and suggestions - and much contemplating on his end, he decided it was too difficult to come up with a costume idea and went with a ghoul costume from a local big box store.
It does seem like such a different world. All of my costumes were created, I was Lisey Borden, A Hobo, A pop star, a zombie -- all created from old clothing and a little make up.
My friends and I would trick or treat and collect several large bags of candy and there was never school parades or cupcake parties. Often Halloween ended with us visiting some of our elderly neighbors for a cup of hot cider.
Well times are changed, and we should accept them... but still lead our children down the best path we can, even if there is the distractions and differences that there are today!
Good luck!!! :)
I remember when I was 4 or 5 I was Muffy the animal (pet?) from Battlestar Gallactica, and Mama knew I would not want to wear the eye slit mask (I have mask issues--can't even wear ski masks; my face gets all hot and I can't ignore it). Sooo, she elaborately painted my face.
Thing is, I forgot I had face paint on. So an hour or so later--I *had* to get dressed way early--I walked into my room, and I saw myself in the mirror, got scared as all GETOUT at my reflection, and ran into the bathroom and washed my face. Too funny.
This year, for the first in a few years, we skipped the downtown Halloween thing in Campbell. The shops hand out candy, but honestly, they're going to end up with so much, and I think they were kind of over Halloween by the actual day last year, what with dressing up 2 times before then. Also probably explains why Bunny changed her mind about her costume at 5:30 on Hween night, and ended up with the LAMEST costume ever. (Vampire teeth and black shirt/pants--hey I can't just whip a vampire cape out of thin air.)
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