Hallowont

 Sorry, I don't get Halloween - not in the American sense of the day. I don't get why people get all dressed up, do their houses up with pumpkins and skeletons and cobwebs and make a big to do of it. 

I do understand All Hallows Eve, the day in which the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. I get All Souls Day and Dios di Muertos - or the day of the dead, which follows All Hallows Eve. I rather like the thought of the Day of the Dead, as its celebrated in Middle and South America. It Looks great fun. 

But I still don't and will never get Halloween. Particularly in Australia. Maybe it's because if it was ever brought up with my parents it was shouted down as American crap. I have friends who spent some of their childhood in America and they see it as one of the best days of the year. 

In my suburb, there is a house around the corner owned by goths. They've lovely people. I've often had a chat with the family on the way home from work. They just have a different aesthetic to most and live the lifestyle every day of the year, up to the gargoyles on top of their roof. I'll let them do Halloween. It makes them happy. 

But for the rest of the population, I still don't get it. Driving through the suburb at 5 pm this evening, I watched as perplexed forty-somethings took their young children out trick or treating. I'm not sure what the rules are. Do you and your costumed progeny approach only the decorated house, or chance your arm at any place? What do they do with the older kids - can they go without parents? Isn't this just another excuse for kids to muck up.

I don't get Halloween. It's never been a part of my zeitgeist. I don't think I'll ever understand it. 

Today's song: