Nothing But Treats!
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Nothing But Treats!
The Maundy Morning Newsletter - This Week in History October 31 - November 6.
Happy Halloween! Yes, I will eat lots of chocolate because I overcame my allergies.
Your continued support of Okay History is the only treat I need.
If you are driving home tonight, be sure and leave about four hours early because every kid will be on the street, clogging the roads with their parents, going door to door dressed as Spiderman, or Captain America, or Rey, begging for candy. You won’t be able to park, even if you have a driveway.
The good thing is that everything will be over by 8:00 p.m. This is when all those kids, plus me, go to bed.
The tradition of Halloween dates to before the United States was ever considered a thing. In fact, it goes back to a time when Irish people loved paganism. The Celts celebrated the end of harvest by lighting fires, dressing up as animals, and probably getting drunk. This tradition evolved over centuries, but the date was set on November 1.
Years later, the Catholic Church stepped in and declared that November 1 was now All Saints Day, and the response was to create Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, on October 31. Take that, Rome; we will keep burning stuff while getting drunk!
The Irish brought their Halloween traditions to the US in the 1800s, along with their rage, terrible recipes, and all things green. The festivities turned into more playful parties where scary stories were told. People dressed in costumes went to their neighbors and asked for food and cash. They also pulled pranks. This is where we get the “trick-or-treat” demand from seven-year-olds at our doors every year.
Over time, Halloween became a big-time American holiday, which means we consume candy like crazy. Like $3 billion a year, crazy. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups remain the most popular, along with Skittles and M&Ms, among others.
I can’t remember ever getting toothbrushes or pennies, but perhaps I had since I brought them up.
Here’s hoping you make it home okay, and that your bag is filled with everything your dentist would despise.
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. Here's what I got:
Fred Thompson died on November 1, 2015. The politician/actor was a Senator from Tennessee (Not yet ranked) from 1994-2003. He also ran for president in 2008. In between, he starred as Arthur Branch on Law & Order. I loved Arthur. He was an excellent foil to Jack McCoy's Jesuit, Liberal, and obviously Destructive Mindset.
Carol Mosley- Braun became the first black woman elected to the US Senate on November 3, 1992. Mosley-Braun won the Illinois Senate in 1993 when elections weren’t stolen. It was the same year we elected Diane Feinstein of California (NYR), but Carol only served one term. Meanwhile, Diane, age 89, is still serving. Eighty-nine.
Elanor Roosevelt died on November 7, 1962. The former First Lady of FDR also served as the first representative of the United States to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. She was 78, which is eleven years younger than eighty-nine.
I’ve never been a big fan of Halloween. Too much death. As a society I think we have an unhealthy fascination with death. Why do we need to see so much blood? Why do we need to scare each other? But frankly, what I most dislike about Halloween is the incoherent decorations people put out.
Most of the time, none of the stuff people put out makes sense. I like simplicity; a couple of jack-o-lanterns are cool, but if you put out five happy scarecrows, along with cemetery plots and zombies, I’m shaking my head. I ask that as I walk by your house, I understand the story you are trying to tell, and plastering your home with cobwebs and Beetlejuice doesn’t do it for me.
However, I have this neighbor who lives on a corner lot, and they have THE best Halloween decorations.
Look at this:
I love what the owners have done. A skeleton theme. They are climbing into the house, which is scary and hilarious. Towards the back, a ton of them are headed to the roof, where a party is going on. Two of them are passed out!
This is how you Halloween.
Have a wonderful week; November is here! I’ll see you on Friday after the election. Please vote!
Okay,
Chris
Nothing But Treats!
I was once trapped on the ring road in the Pentagon's South Parking Lot on Halloween. It took two hours to get through the lot because everyone was leaving at the same time, and no one was observing niceties like stop signs or rights of way. I had to have a neighbor go pick the kids up from school.
Time awareness is like public math. Not to be taken lightly. The federal general election is next week. The Tuesday after the first Monday in November. I have no idea why they expressed it that way but there it is.