O O Ø O O O O
All the Right Parties
Why is it that people seem to have such a problem with Hallowe’en? Parent groups demand the banning of costumes at school. Religious groups attack it as a pagan festival. Mental health practitioners protest its portrayal of the mentally ill. Naked protesters decry the hyper-sexualization of costumes .
With apologies to the obviously overly-sensitive mental health practitioners, has everyone gone completely insane?
First off, let’s do away with this “pagan and/or satanic festival” thing. Right now, I’m wearing a Superman costume made out of old towels. On the weekend, I dressed up as Two-face, a villain from the Batman universe. At the party I attended on the weekend, there were more than a handful of pirates, there were 19th century duchesses, there were comic book characters, there were political figures, there were game show hosts, there were Jedi, there was a very large penis, there were lifeguards, there were statues, there were goth fairies, but last I checked, there were no actual pagans, goat-headed or otherwise. And yes, I asked. (”Excuse me, are you a pagan?” “No, Episcopalian.” “Hey, don’t you guys have an actual Gay Bishop?“)
I will concede that one of the mainstays of Hallowe’en is that people dress up in costumes, and absolutely, some of them may be “devilish” in theme. I suppose some of them could even be considered “pagan,” especially those involving goats (in fact, that gives me an idea for next year). But going along with these themes, there’s also “religious,” “satirical,” “funny,” “ironic,” and (one of my favourite categories) “skimpy.” In fact, the whole point of Hallowe’en is that people can dress up as pretty much whatever they damn well please. Once a year, people can let loose, and be something that they’re not usually allowed to dress up as. It’s not pagan or satanic—it’s fun.
Wait a minute. Maybe that’s it. Maybe the whole objection to Hallowe’en is that the people protesting it are upset that others are out there having fun. Parents are objecting because their kids are getting all the candy, and they have to do all the sewing. Religious groups are objecting because (for reasons I can’t fathom), modern gods seem to have a hate-on for everything enjoyable. Mental health practitioners are all irritated because their patients are better at letting loose than they are, and naked protesters, they…
Actually, I can’t explain that one. Naked protesting sounds like a hoot.
So why the big hullabaloo every year around All Hallow’s Eve? I think it’s pretty clear.
People just aren’t getting invited to the right parties.
Kjell Wooding
October 31, 2006
OOØOOOODCCLXXXVIII
September 30th, 2007 at 7:56 am
doors.txt;6