Quote:
Originally Posted by IC_Dedpeeple
As bizarre as it may be, I think it's all just an extension of my true self. It's the one day of the year when I can totally let loose and be as insane as I want and everybody thinks it's "cool".
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There are elements of almost everything the posters before me have mentioned, but the quote above is probably my primary motivation. What I love most about Halloween is that you get to come as you
truly are, or want to be - not as your everyday self.
In my case, that's compounded by suffering from a painful, chronic illness that hasn't exactly done wonders for my outward self and precludes me from participating in many "normal" activities. Halloween is a lot cheaper than therapy, especially without health insurance. I highly doubt that it's coincidence that my displays always feature a happy afterlife that has no traditional spiritual components.
On a practical level, I can work on Halloween at my own pace over the course the year while still being motivated by a drop dead date to be sure that things get done rather than remaining theoretical. Every year, elements get dropped at the last minute for one reason or another, including my own health, but who cares? No one's the wiser, and I can always incorporate them next time. Try pulling that off in corporate America.
Halloween is also not only a bonding experience for my somewhat fractured family, whose members don't exactly fight but have little left in common, but also for my neighborhood. Ours is a very established, almost deadeningly so, community, and neighborhood life tends toward being routine and dull. The one thing guaranteed to bring everyone out of their house to share a communal celebration is Halloween. People actively seek out ways to help and participate. Everyone is welcome, from the unemployed contractor to the Down's syndrome man-boy, and for a few hours each year, we enjoy each other's company and shed all the petty frustrations of having known each other a little too long. When we're partying with the dead men, no one's thinking about parking disputes or barking dogs or unruly children.
Besides, I get to scare little children
and people thank me for it!