Linus and Me
I watched the Charlie Brown Halloween special last night. I love Peanuts. The innocent of the kids is often deceptive. They care not always nice and deal with adult feelings. I think it's easy for adults to forget that kids are that complex, but kids are complex.
As a kid, I always watched Charlie Brown Halloween and Garfield Halloween. Once we had a VCR, Dad even taped them for us.
What my brother and I didn't do is celebrate Halloween.
The only year I remember dressing up and trick or treating was my kindergarten year. I went with my little friend Candice. We were the same age and lived right next door in Navy housing in San Diego. Her mom made matching witch costumes for us. We were head to toe in glitter.
There may very well have been a year or two that I don't remember before the festivities were canceled. It started with the fundamental Baptist church we attended when we lived in New London, CT. They were very fundamental indeed believing in women wearing long hair and skirts. Of course, Halloween was out of the question.
We lived there several years and literally helped build the church. When we started there, they were having services in rented space. I have only positive memories of being there.
Even after we moved there was no Halloween. We always had a church wherever we lived, although less legalistic congregations. The holiday tended to be frowned upon, but often an authernate festival would be offered. I don't remember going to many of those either. For a variety of reasons, neither of my parents were every very good at making a fuss over holidays.
As a teenager, I found that I believe that Halloween is nothing wrong or anti-Christian. Rather, it is a celebration that predates Christianity by thousands of years. It is a Celtic celebration. Since my heritage is primarily Celtic, I figure Halloween is my heritage. I do not believe that honoring those traditions takes away from my Christian faith.
As a matter of fact, my mom believes something along the same lines. It makes me sad that I missed out on this aspect of normal childhood without the passion of conviction to make it worthwhile.
As an adult, I have a thoertical relationship with Halloween. By this, I mean that we always have tiny candies on hand. We've yet to have a year with more than two or three trick or treaters. I even dressed up one year when I worked at Payless. I got a witch hat and black wig. I already had red and white striped tights, black skirt, and shoes. I liked that it took me full circle. Truth be told, I felt funny about dressing up.
So in theory, I celebrate Halloween. I believe in celebrating Halloween. I might as well go sit in a Pumpkin patch with Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin. I have a simaliar disappointment with the holiday. Plus, it was one more way that I was always the weird girl.
it kinda sucks that you missed out =/ Halloween was always my favorite holiday as a kid. I loved dressing up, and still do, i even did today, even though i only had 2 classes to show off. Living in a college town, there are about 50 partys i could go to ... but i am not a party person. So here i sit, at home all dressed up and doing homework
As a kid i had a crazy sweet-tooth! So of course i would love a day decaded to sweets.I remember school parties of cupcakes and cookies, then you got home and spend all evening getting candy!
We dont get tricker treaters here either, its kind of sad
Reply to this
I hope to take my lack of Halloween satisfaction out on our house when we have one. Anyone for orange lights?
Reply to this
We all know you are weird dear, it is something that endears you to those of us that know you.
Personally, I went trick or treating til I was 12 or 13, after we moved out in the sticks, where there were like two houses within a quarter mile, it lost its luster.
As for Peanuts, it would have been more entertaining had the channel not had so many issues when we were trying to watch it.
Reply to this
I'm glad my loved one's enjoy my weirdness, because otherwise it'd be lonely. Love ya.
Reply to this
I love Halloween too. I like the Celtic history of it as well.
Reply to this
I guess I should go as a Druid next year.
Reply to this
Awww I love Peanuts, I even wrote a letter to The Great Pumpkin on Halloween night ( it's a new tradition for my sis and me ). Halloween's a big religious holiday for me, being pagan and all ( lol ), but I also love the popularized candy-giving celebrations - we actually got a decent number of kids this year, one was dressed as a Cobra Commander and I got a little misty eyed - and felt very old, lol.
Reply to this
I love that tradition. Talk about classic. You don't think of yourself as pagan, do you? I mean, that's just what Romans called people who practiced their cultures tradital beliefs. Bloody Romans!
Reply to this
Oh, of course I do. The actual term for what I am is "Norse" or "Germanic" heathan, Asatru reconstructionist, but you'll find that most of the heathan community and "neopagans" alike have whole heartedly embraced the term as a singular to tie us all together. The Romans gave us a lot of names, how Pagan is the one that stuck, I don't know, lol. Rome was Christianized, really, before there was a Christianity, and because of that the Romans had this sick, psycho idea that everyone who wasn't like them was some stupid bumpkin with barbaric ways and ridiculous beliefs, but then again they eventually kicked their own asses so I suppose the story ends on a laught, lol.
Reply to this
I am a Christian, but I don't think that those beliefs are in opposition to the religions of peoples since the dawn of time. So I keep in my heart a bit of the Druid tradition of my heritage.
Reply to this