Halloween (the Eve of All Hallows Day) is approaching quite quickly, so it’s time for some thoughts relating to the season of Fall and other, scary, things. I LIKE Halloween! In spite of the Christian church’s attempts to insist that Halloween is “really” the DEVIL’s night, or to otherwise appropriate this vestige of paganism (which exists in some form in many societies) it remains extremely popular as a late harvest festival which also has overtones of remembering and honoring one’s ancestors. In fact, what many people think of a “Christmas Caroling” grew out of the tradition of “souling,” which involved visiting one’s neighbors to sing songs and beg “goodies” (soul cakes) at both Hallowmas (what we now call Halloween) and Christmastide. So, “trick or treating” really doesn’t have the “put out or be pestered” background that one might think it does, at least in theory.
In the British/Irish tradition, the festival which has become Halloween was known as Samhain, which referred to the end of summer (see below).
In the British/Irish tradition, the festival which has become Halloween was known as Samhain, which referred to the end of summer (see below).
As this points out, in the US, it seems to be most closely associate with “pumpkin spice,” which I think is just fine in pumpkin pie, but is often overdone and not appreciated (at least by me) in the myriad of other places it crops up every fall. Still, I won’t let the overuse of so-called “pumpkin spice” spoil the season for me; there’s too much fun to be had.
Part of that fun is, of course, Jack o’Lanterns. My old friend, Vince the Sign Guy, has a comment regarding them which I found both amusing and to the point in spite of the fact that the original jack-o-lanterns were turnips!.
Part of that fun is, of course, Jack o’Lanterns. My old friend, Vince the Sign Guy, has a comment regarding them which I found both amusing and to the point in spite of the fact that the original jack-o-lanterns were turnips!.
Jack-o-Lanterns, of course, bring up the notion that people get a lot of fun out of being “scary” for Halloween. This shows up in many sorts of ways, even in foods. Here, for example, is someone’s idea of the perfect entree for a Halloween feast.
Scariness, of course can come in a wide variety of forms, many of which tend to be celebrated for the season. A while back, the comic strip Thatababy had a fairly lengthy occasional series featuring, of course, the baby encountering different “Creatures from under the Crib.” I remember enjoying most of these, but I was especially fond of the one created for Halloween day of 2020. It does require some understanding of the reference to Charles M. Shultz’s Peanuts to be fully appreciated, I suppose, but I found it MOST enjoyable.
I confess that I, personally, have never been overly enthusiastic about being really scared as a source of entertainment. Hence, I haven’t been a participant in “haunted” houses, and the like which seem to crop up in large numbers during this season. I have to admit that I can appreciate the theatrical effects and makeup which are used (often to considerable effect) for these venues, and I even have some pretty good ideas as to how at least some of the effects are created. I wonder how many people have any idea what can be accomplished with careful lighting and a bit of scrim or a properly placed reflective surface? It certainly can be effective on the stage, so I understand how it works in a “fun” house, but it’s not really my thing.
I confess that when we did a production of one of the many Dracula plays at Western many years ago, I was (somewhat pleasantly) surprised how many people asked me about our having Dracula suddenly “appear” in a painting above what seemed of be a burning fire in a fireplace. I have to agree that the “bit” worked pretty well, but it was just a carefully constructed electrical fire effect in the fireplace and some careful use of paint on scrim, combined with delicately focused and timed lights, which made Drac “appear” in the painting. Okay, it was using some fairly complex stuff, but the basic idea dates back to the Renaissance.
Still, I don’t really enjoy people jumping out at me and screaming in my ear as a source of “fun.” That doesn’t mean that even I don’t think of Halloween as an occasion for “scary” costumes and stuff. Perhaps you have to have been the father of daughters to really understand thisDustin comic strip, but I suspect not. Parents, especially fathers, are somewhat notorious for their desire to prevent their daughters from wearing clothes which they think are too skimpy, sexy, etc. Actually, I don’t remember my daughters ever pushing that particular button on me too hard, but I do understand (and enjoy) this strip.
I confess that when we did a production of one of the many Dracula plays at Western many years ago, I was (somewhat pleasantly) surprised how many people asked me about our having Dracula suddenly “appear” in a painting above what seemed of be a burning fire in a fireplace. I have to agree that the “bit” worked pretty well, but it was just a carefully constructed electrical fire effect in the fireplace and some careful use of paint on scrim, combined with delicately focused and timed lights, which made Drac “appear” in the painting. Okay, it was using some fairly complex stuff, but the basic idea dates back to the Renaissance.
Still, I don’t really enjoy people jumping out at me and screaming in my ear as a source of “fun.” That doesn’t mean that even I don’t think of Halloween as an occasion for “scary” costumes and stuff. Perhaps you have to have been the father of daughters to really understand thisDustin comic strip, but I suspect not. Parents, especially fathers, are somewhat notorious for their desire to prevent their daughters from wearing clothes which they think are too skimpy, sexy, etc. Actually, I don’t remember my daughters ever pushing that particular button on me too hard, but I do understand (and enjoy) this strip.
The female of the species does get a chance to poke some fun at the things which are associated with Halloween, though. I confess that I was quite amused by this particular sign/card/whatever when I first saw it. And, yes, I think my “girls” could actually drive a “stick” shift car, while they were still pretty young and new to driving. I also confess that it would take a little practice for me at this point, and that’s NOT just a reference to replaced knees!
Still, the “scariness” of the occasion can, perhaps, serve a useful purpose at times. This Non Sequitur strip from a couple of years ago suggests one potentially good result, I suppose.
I’m not completely sure that I think tavern/pub/bars should engage in taking advantage of this sort of mythology for the purpose suggested, but I’m not completely sure that it would be all that bad, either.
Thinking about the excitement of holiday celebrations got me to thinking about the challenges which many folks have noticed in regard to their dogs and Fourth of July fireworks. I know that the loud noises and bright lights have become a real concern for many dog owners, at least in recent years. When, and where, I was growing up, fireworks of any serious nature, were kept strictly under the control of licensed pyro-people. Civilians could have “sparklers,” which caused enough burns, etc., but REAL fireworks were confined to professionally supervised shows. None of this setting off of fireworks on city streets and in parks in Evanston, IL, thank you very much. Omaha is MUCH more “wide-open” regarding fireworks, at least for July 4th and New Year’s Eve. I can’t say that it bothers me too much, although I don’t like to hear the medical reports on the local news the next day very much.
Still, I’ve always been glad that our pets were cats. It may not be true in all cases, but I’ve not noticed cats being overly bothered by fireworks and such. This got me to thinking that Zits creators Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman seemed to have it correct in this strip where Jeremy is concerned that his cat, Clapton, is going to be upset by Halloween festivities leading to the following test.
Thinking about the excitement of holiday celebrations got me to thinking about the challenges which many folks have noticed in regard to their dogs and Fourth of July fireworks. I know that the loud noises and bright lights have become a real concern for many dog owners, at least in recent years. When, and where, I was growing up, fireworks of any serious nature, were kept strictly under the control of licensed pyro-people. Civilians could have “sparklers,” which caused enough burns, etc., but REAL fireworks were confined to professionally supervised shows. None of this setting off of fireworks on city streets and in parks in Evanston, IL, thank you very much. Omaha is MUCH more “wide-open” regarding fireworks, at least for July 4th and New Year’s Eve. I can’t say that it bothers me too much, although I don’t like to hear the medical reports on the local news the next day very much.
Still, I’ve always been glad that our pets were cats. It may not be true in all cases, but I’ve not noticed cats being overly bothered by fireworks and such. This got me to thinking that Zits creators Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman seemed to have it correct in this strip where Jeremy is concerned that his cat, Clapton, is going to be upset by Halloween festivities leading to the following test.
Clapton’s response seems perfectly reasonable for a cat, to me.
I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.
🖖🏼 LLAP,
Dr. B
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
— Nelson Mandela
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic; capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” ― Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
“Not everything which can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
— from a sign in Albert Einstein’s office
I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.
🖖🏼 LLAP,
Dr. B
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
— Nelson Mandela
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic; capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” ― Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
“Not everything which can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
— from a sign in Albert Einstein’s office
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