Yippee! Hallowe'en!

THE LEAVES are falling, the sky is permanently grey, the days are getting shorter and shorter but who cares? It's nearly Hallowe'en! It may seem childish, well I suppose it is childish but I have always loved Hallowe'en. Maybe it goes back to my school days when we had that merciful mid-term break. Or perhaps it's because, despite the grey skies, it's a particularly beautiful time of year, when the leaves are still colourful and it's not quite cold enough for people to be completely wrapped up in coats, scarves and hats. But most of all, probably because it's a chance to let go, dress up and have fun![private] Picking out a costume was (and still is) the best part. I used to plan my costume weeks in advance, and in over twenty years I have never worn the same costume twice. One of my favourites was when I was about nine or ten. I collected the cardboard part of toilet rolls and stuffed them into four pairs of black tights to make spider legs. I expected them to somehow defy gravity, to stick out around me like a real spider, but of course, that wasn't the case. It didn't matter though, I still had fun assembling it. I was also a zombie, Medusa and a host of other characters, possible to do because they were the not-so-long-ago days when people actually made their own costumes. It amuses me to see such a huge selection of elaborate decorations and outfits are so easily available commercially when I can remember wearing a mask made of very thin cardboard, my hunchback costume made from a jumper belonging to my mother and a pillow tied to my back. It's not as easy to impress when so many people now hire or buy professional costumes. I watched an American â€Ëœstyle' show today, where the presenter gave some celebrity-inspired costume ideas. Unsurprisingly, the ideas were supposedly â€Ëœsexy'. An Aladdin's Jasmine ensemble, mini skirt versions of Marie Antoinette and Queen of Hearts dresses and military style outfits (that Goldie Hawn and her daughter Kate Hudson will supposedly wear versions of) were just a few of the less than tasteful suggestions. It seems that traditional Hallowe'en costumes are restricted to children and men. Hallowe'en has become the only night of the year where it is (almost) acceptable for normally perfectly respectable women to dress as provocatively as possible. And even though the original concept of Hallowe'en came from Ireland, it has only been in the past few years that Irish people have really thrown themselves into the new Hallowe'en spirit. Hallowe'en originated in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which was a festival to mark summer's end. This was the time of year when the barrier that separates our mortal world from the world containing spirits and evil beings became weaker, leading to some spirits invading our world and causing havoc. This superstition obviously explains the spooky theme of Hallowe'en. Apparently, the USâ€Ë†holiday of Hallowe'en came about when Irish and British immigrants, who settled in the newly formed United States of America, brought with them their ancient beliefs. Mixed together with some aspects of Native American mythology and some influences from other European traditions, the festival of Hallowe'en was born. It's not, of course, an exclusive feature of European or Irish culture to celebrate at this time of year â€â€ it is harvest season after all. But it's interesting that the Hallowe'en we know today, with costume parties and trick or treating, is basically an American export. It also curiously proves America's description as having a â€Ëœmelting pot' society and it is an excuse for many people, from all walks of life, to celebrate something for pure fun rather than for religious or political reasons. When I studied in Norway for the autumn semester, it was put up to the American exchange students to organize the Hallowe'en party, as the Norwegians, like the Irish not so long ago, are only now getting into celebrating Hallowe'en â€Ëœproperly'. No one really took this event too seriously, we saw it as a good excuse to have a laugh and a few sociable drinks. Most of us did wear costumes, albeit half-heartedly put together (my three friends and I all went as Vikings) so it was subsequently a great source of amusement when the main organiser, my American friend, Eric, greeted us in a pumpkin costume so wide he could barely fit through the door and so orange we hardly needed lights! However, that was five years ago and even though it's only been a relatively short space of time, someone showing up at an Irish Hallowe'en party dressed as a pumpkin this weekend would be admired (although perhaps with a sense of irony) rather than ridiculed. Personally, I think our newly found gung-ho attitude towards Hallowe'en is a good thing. Sure, half the population of girls and women will probably wake up with a cold the next day, and a number of men may wake up lacking some dignity (while women like to wear very little clothes at Hallowe'en a disproportionate number of men like to dress in drag) but 99 per cent of people have a jolly good time. Ireland, like the USA, has become multicultural, and Hallowe'en is not just an excuse for debauchery, it's a time for everyone to celebrate together â€â€ and to wear a silly mask. â€â€ Miriam Burke[/private]