Halloween offers many treat that I no longer partake of.
I tried at one point to enjoy the endless corn mazes and haunted houses planted all over northern Utah, but that wasn’t pretty. Wetting my pants and crying like a baby isn’t really an option when you’re on a date. So I put on my bravest face and stomped into that awful haunted house as courageous as I could be…and I almost passed out in the process.
Forget scary movies, I tried those out too. For a while I considered myself a scary movie buff…that is until I learned that The Ghost and Mr. Chicken isn’t in fact, found in the horror section. Scary movies these days are about maniacs on unstoppable killing sprees. To me, there is nothing entertaining or pretty about that. Those movies leave me gifts of fear and worry that I would rather not have. I seek after anything lovely, of good report or praiseworthy, and surely Saw 5 is not that.
Even trick or treating isn’t my cup of tea. I’m not overly fond of the idea that clowns, zombies, ghosts and devils are repeatedly showing up at my doorstep. Even at dear old Polk Elementary Halloween and I didn’t get along. The blood, guts and gore that other kids dressed as would swiftly take my appetite. When it was time to dress up I was always something pretty. From mermaids to princesses to the Statue of Liberty, you could bet that I strayed from mummies, scarecrows or the Keebler Elf, all costumes my mom was eager to dress me in.
Although Halloween and I don’t get along, we did manage to find common ground. Amid the scary, ugly and repulsive creep a few traits that I do actually admire about the holiday.
Every year I’d help mom decorate the house, but only with pretty things of course. No spiders, gravestones or skulls for me. I adored pumpkins- heavy pumpkins, handheld pumpkins, painted or carved, I loved those brisk autumn nights that we spent carving pumpkins on old newspaper. Sometimes mom collected the seeds, washing and salting them to bake in the oven.
There’s something about crispy, colorful leaves, dropped from the sky. Childhood memories of walking to school are filled with images of those leaves. Polk Avenue always had lofty trees, gently leaning over the sidewalk. Those trees would drop armfuls upon armfuls of beautiful ruby red leaves. Yellow leaves snuck into the mix too, sometimes accompanied by chestnut brown as well. I was so intrigued by the sound of those leaves, crunching beneath my feet as I walked along my path every day.
While I didn’t love the chilly weather, I sure didn’t mind the food that accompanies that cold. Thick soups warming on the stove and rich cocoa or steaming cider have a magical way of warming the soul. Sweet pies topped with cream aren’t far behind meals of roasted turkey, butter-topped corn and golden potatoes. There’s something about good company, thick sweaters and warm food that make this time of year so incredible.
So although I don’t particularly love Halloween, I manage to get by on the pretty things that the holiday does in fact, have to offer.
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