188 Halloween 2020

As I've said numerous times in the past, I am VERY fond of Halloween!  Okay, that's a mispronunciation of All Hallows Eve, which is the Christian adaptation of the traditional Samhain, but I'm not going to pursue that again this year.  See the Archives, if you care.  I don't, really.  I just love the dressing up, the "trick or treating" with the neighborhood kids, the general sense that there is still fun and "magic" in the world, etc.  It is true that the idea that the veil between this world and the next is weak at this time of year makes sense to me, so it's also an appropriate time to remember one's ancestors.  But I really don't view this as, essentially, a "religious" festival.  I just think it's fun!
 
Apparently, so does The Wizard of Id:

Still, things being what they are, celebrating Halloween properly at this moment in history was somewhat complicated even before COVID.

Now, of course, we have to be at least somewhat aware of the need for concern over COVID-19.  Don't get me wrong!  I'm quite supportive of the need for appropriate safety precautions, but I do think that the method demonstrated below MAY be carrying things a bit further than is truly necessary.

While this would appear to be reasonably safe from a COVID point of view, I doubt that OSHA would approve of it without at least eye protection (and probably additional PPE, as well).
 
Perhaps my fondness for the Harry Potter books, movies, etc., can be at least partially explained by my love of Halloween.  And both may (ultimately) be based on my love for theatre.  After all, when it comes right down to it, theatre is really all about make believe, dressing up, making things appear to be real when they are not, and moving towards a greater understanding and "truth" in the process.  If that ain't magic, I don't know what is.  I think that may explain why I meant it when I put this sign up in my scene shop.

Of course, Halloween season is not an exclusively American (or European) based tradition.   It is also the time for the "Day of the Dead" (Día de los Muertos) in Mexico.  As the population of people of Mexican heritage has grown in the U.S., so has the popularity of this festival, which I think of as somewhat more "religious," but not totally.
 
When Bonnie and I were in Bloomington, IN, on our trip last November, we had lunch in a Mexican restaurant (Note: Has anybody else noted that such things were quite rare, say, forty years ago?  I first remember encountering one in Atlanta in the mid-1970's.  Now they are at least as popular as "pizza joints" were in the '60's.)  Anyway, as part of the decor at this restaurant, they had this Día de los Muertos "carving" (which may have been molded plastic) on the wall and I just could not resist getting a picture of it.

Of course, you know a celebration has become an accepted part of "American" culture when both Disney and 20th Century Fox make a movie based around this celebration, as both have, in fact, done.
 
When I got a Target© ad the other day featuring these figurines I found them entertaining.

Then, Bonnie showed this (quite small) statue she had of a figure sewing something on a sewing machine.  I thought it seemed perfectly natural for her to have something like this.  She has, after all, supplied the entire family with COVID-appropriate masks, in addition to the other sewing she is constantly doing.  And, the piece being worked seems about "mask-size."

I confess that I got a kick out of it.  In any case, however you choose to celebrate this season, enjoy it!  Have a good time.  We all need a break every so often and this seems like a good time.
 
LLAP,
 
Dr. B
 
P.S.    By the way, don't forget to celebrate St. Crispin's Day on Oct. 25.  (At least if you are of some English extraction.)  If you don't understand the reference, see Henry V, IV, 3.  Or, you could just look up the battle of Agincourt.
 
P.P.S. If you have not yet done so, VOTE!  "Time's a wastin'" and, by the time of my next  post, the vosting will be over, and the counting may be.  Do it NOW!