The Origins of Halloween

October signifies to me the beginning of the official “Holiday” season.   Halloween has become synonymous with everything autumn, such as pumpkins, red and orange colors and harvest time.  But it is sometimes viewed as a controversial holiday.  A holiday that glorifies evil and darkness.  I used to be one such proponent of boycotting this holiday.  In fact, as a sophomore in college, I decided to write an entire thesis paper on the origins of the Halloween traditions, it’s associations with Druid worship and witchcraft.  My paper was well written, thoroughly researched and extremely biased, and so was I.

I carried my biased opinion throughout my early adulthood.  I refused to participate in the office Halloween party, would not eat any Halloween candy, and on Halloween nights I turned off my lights and hung a big sign on my front door that read “WE DON’T CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN.  Not surprisingly, my home and car were targeted on more than one occasion for an occasional egg washing with a toilet paper accent.

I was adamant in my “anti-Halloween” sentiment, until I had children.  For the first five years of child rearing, it was easy, until that one fall afternoon when my 5 year old daughter returned home from school, with a wild look of excitement in her eyes as she declared she was going to be a “Princess Angel” for Halloween.  Her three year old younger sister piped in that she too was going to be an angel.  Then they looked at me with innocent, thought provoked eyes and asked the question I feared would be asked, “What’s Halloween?”

Suddenly, my thesis on the evils of Halloween seemed so inappropriate and totally irrelevant.  Certainly, my children weren’t evil, nor their classmates, nor teachers, nor MOST of my neighbors.  We weren’t going to draw a circle of fire in the backyard, recite ancient incantations, and sacrifice our puppy. 

“What’s Halloween?”  I realized it’s a time of imagination, pure fun, and an excuse to eat an unbelievable amount of candy in one day.  It’s also an American tradition, as American as apple pie, baseball, and Thanksgiving.

My personal convictions, still keep me opposed to the ideas of blood and gore, I won’t purchase the “hatchet in the back” costume, nor do I enjoy an “Angel of Death” wielding a bloody knife chasing me down a corridor.  For me, life is full of things to be afraid of, natural disasters, diseases, Wall Street needing government assistance, and my bank going bankrupt?!!!…. So to willingly make myself afraid isn’t my idea of a good time.  But that’s my personal choice and I understand now that other people have the right and freedom to think and feel otherwise.

I’ve also discovered that there are local churches that offer alternative options for celebrating Halloween minus the fright.  One such church is Real Life in Clermont FL.  This Halloween, the church will have a “Fall Festival” where children can dress up like Biblical or Historical characters, enjoy hay rides, roast marshmallows, listen to live music, and yes partake in eating immeasurable amounts of sweets.  This church is one of many in the Central Florida region that offer fright-free Halloween fun.  Next week, I’m taking my family to “SeaWorld’s Spooktacular” which is a month-long celebration of Halloween, and another fun and safe alternative.  I will be sure to write about that experience, from a child and adult’s perspective.  Happy Halloween!

Cirque Du Soleil Lives up to the Hype

After cleaning up from spaghetti night, I raced to get dressed as I was running late for the 8pm Cirque Du Soleil show I had bought tickets for.  I hopped in my rental car and sped through Windsor Hills Resort, going much faster then the mandated 15 mph!

All my worrying turned out to be wasted energy as it took me no time at all to get to the venue (which is in the Disney’s West Side) and I ended up arriving 30 minutes early for the show.  I grabbed a Bud Light and some popcorn and took my seat, watching two mimes entertain the crowd as we all anxiously awaited the curtain rising.  The mimes were fairly amusing, however I have a small fear (okay, a large fear) of mimes so I was a little uncomfortable especially as they inched closer and closer to my row targeting unsuspecting audience members to poke fun at!  Luckily they did not choose me to prey on so I was able to relax a little and laugh at the people that became victims of the two mime’s shenanigans.

After what seemed like hours, when in actuality it was less then 30 minutes, the curtain finally rose.  I cannot even begin to explain how amazing the show was.  There was so much going on at all times and I saw some amazing stunts, tricks, and talents.  From tight rope walkers to BMX bikers to people flying around on curtains to trampoline gymnasts there was never a dull moment.  Cirque has so much visual stimuli at all times that there was not one second of the show that I was bored or not entertained by.  I wish I could better verbalize how great the show was, but unless you have seen Cirque it is hard to grasp what it’s all about and words simply just don’t do it justice when trying to describe the actual experience

The show lasted around an hour and a half and when the curtains went down I felt like it had only been watching for 20 minutes – it went by so fast and I didn’t want it to end, I wanted to see more!  I will be honest; I initially thought that the 80 dollars I spent on the ticket was a little steep, but now having seen Cirque I believe that it is worth every penny.  So, as so many people advised me before, I will now give the same advice to those reading this:  Do NOT leave Orlando without seeing Cirque Du Soleil!

Jordan