Hallowe'en 2020

As with the rest of this year, we know that Hallowe'en is going to be an odd one. No trick or treating, no parties of more than six, no real excuse to dress up. Well, maybe not that last one. I may spend the day sporting the costume I made last year, it is definitely on the cards. To be honest, I am not even decorating this year. Not beyond the mud we track in from walking the dogs.

So what can we do to celebrate this time of year?

Well, for starters, you can join in on my Spookfest from the 26th to the 31st!

 

There will be fun, games, and GIFs.

I suppose now would be a good moment to reflect on why I love Hallowe'en. If 2020 has been good for anything, it is perfecting our introspection skills. Amiright?

Hallowe'en falls in the really good bit of autumn. It's cooler, but not uncomfortably so. There are leaves on the ground, still orange and yet to rot. The nights are longer, but have yet to dominate the day. It has a nice balance before winter well and truly sets in. Nature gives a lot in the autumn, despite most of the plants dying off and the trees losing their leaves. We get conkers, acorns, pine cones - autumn always was the best season for foraging on Harvest Moon!

Despite the weather cooling, there is a warm aesthetic to autumn. The orange hues, the excuse to drink a hot chocolate which is 75% marshmallow, the scarves wrapped all the way up to your nose; it all evokes a nice cosy image. I like feeling cosy. Snuggling up on the sofa with the dogs while we watch a good horror movie - what more can a girl want from an October evening?

Coronavirus is going to make this a difficult autumn and winter; numbers are already spiking in Shropshire. Part of me is still very worried that we are barrelling towards a second full lockdown over the darkest months of the year. For job hunting, I'll back to where I was in March receiving "thanks but COVID says no" responses. Lockdown will be more taxing on the mental health because there won't be that "at least we can sit in the garden" escape. Plus it's cold and flu season, which always makes everything that little bit crappier.

Still, there are things to be excited for, like Hallowe'en. I find it to be a very spiritual time of year. Christmas lost its spirituality for me roughly around the time I realised Santa was my mum sneaking into my bedroom. (Ah the joys of being a light sleeper.) But Hallowe'en still holds all its magic for me.

Sure, a very large part is the excuse to eat sweets and dress up like a pillock. But the magical part is tied to the change in the season, for me. You can almost feel the veil between this world and the next getting thinner. And as I get older, I have more reason to feel connected with those on the other side.

In the last two years, I have lost my grandad, my father-in-law-ish, and my partner's grandad. While I wasn't especially close to the latter two, their absence is still felt. I miss my grandad every day and I still regret that I barely saw him in the last six months of his life. I just always assumed there'd be another Thursday visit. He is still with me though, from the matching freckle on the end of my nose to our weirdly similar sense of humour.

This year, I shall be lighting a candle for these missing men and celebrating having known them. There will be homemade honeycomb for my grandad and Italian food to honour the fella's family. I will crack out the Tarot cards to see what the Pagan New Year holds for me. And I will enjoy being cosy indoors, safe from ghouls, spectres, and COVID.

 

 

 

 

Listening to: Paaaaartttaaayyy