My most wonderful time of the year

What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite?

Forty years ago, my answer to this prompt would have been Christmas.

After the dreariness of November, the arrival of December brought the anticipation of twinkling lights, Christmas trees and the unlikely, but oh so wished for, possibility of snow. I didn’t care about getting presents; I was far more enamoured by the magical atmosphere the holiday created. It truly used to be the “most wonderful time of year” for me.

But then my world changed, and Christmas is now a time of deep melancholy for me – to the point where it’s the hardest time of the year. I can’t wait for it to be over.

But this is a post about my favourite holiday, and although Christmas has long lost its sparkle for me, there still remains another holiday that has always excited and inspired me, and I know it always will – without fail – for the rest of my life.

Halloween.

Yes, the holiday that many of my fellow Brits seem to sneer at for being tacky or an unwelcome import from the US; but at least it’s honest in its trick-or-treat intentions, unlike the fake ‘showing your love to others’ spiel (i.e. splashing cash) and ‘carol singers’ (i.e. people knocking on your door demanding more cash) that Christmas brings these days.

Sorry. I know many people love Christmas for religious and other reasons, and perhaps it still has its original kind and joyous elements buried within it. But it sadly doesn’t for me anymore.

I like – no, love – Halloween because I like the weird, the wonderful, and the creepy side or life (though not so much the gore). It was never much of a holiday when I was growing up here in the UK, and my parents, siblings and British culture in general totally ignored it (mostly). So no dressing-up (not that I would anyway as I’m far too self-conscious), and no pumpkins; let alone pumpkin-carving (the only thing I could carve was an orange – which actually wasn’t a bad substitute).

But to my joy, Halloween has really taken off during the last few years. I’m not sure why, but I’m certainly not complaining. Seeing my local supermarkets decked out in bats, grinning Jack-o-Lanterns, and witches silhouetted against a full moon is glorious to me. And unlike my childhood experience, I now buy a proper pumpkin in the final few days of October every year. I carve it out, put an electric tealight in, and proudly place it on my kitchen window as the sky darkens.

And I love it.

Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com