Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Last Sunday, we had snow flurries, and today, it is 60 degrees! Ah, now THAT is what I'm talking about! That is perfect weather for trick-or-treating!

Photobucket
(Actually, I took this pic at an August wedding, ha:)).


I just wanted to share this story. I find it funny. When I was a bride-to-be, my in-laws-to be (in-law aunts and cousins of aunts, etc) threw a shower for me. They came up with this really fun game, where they would ask me some questions so that they could get to know me, and then they called Aaron and put him on speaker phone and asked him how I answered. One of the questions was, "What is your favorite holiday?"
"Halloween!" I answered.
...Then I saw the look on some of the more conservative Christian faces in the group...you know that sweet, "Oh, that's nice" I'm trying ot be kind look, and I added...
"... because you get to dress up and be someone you're not... and eat candy..."
... and then I added...
"I also really like Thanksgiving..."

To make things worse, when they asked me what music I did NOT like, my answer was, "The worship kind where everyone is singing together..."
And I didn't realize until later that what I meant to say was, "The LIVE RECORDED worship music they play on the radio where a large crowd is singing together! (I just don't like live recordings at large concerts!)"

Oh my lands. GULP! So now I really portrayed myself as a heathen and gluten!! (Is that how you spell that?).

Well, while no one said anything, I'm sure they have gotten to actually know me and know that I am not a heathen. ... The gluten is to be decided on, depending on your definition of "gluten!" Ha! :)

I like food a lot (it's like a hobby), and it's true... I love Halloween (even though I am a Christian... what??!).

Why? Well, I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I grew up celebrating Halloween in the "Halloween Capitol of the World!" No lie. Just google it, and "Anoka" pops up. When I was in Elementary school, we used to have Halloween parties, and we participated in the Kiddie Halloween Parade... we would walk down Main Street in our costumes while hundreds of people gathered to watch. We learned how to spell "Halloween" by learning THIS song... and I have been singing it all day!

(There is a "play" button under the Halloween image. The song starts around the 1 minute mark.)

This is the same tune, but with no words... I love this cartoon, haha!


We used to play Danse Macabre in orchestra. So much fun.


The Saturday before Halloween, there is a BIG parade that takes place again. People from all over the state show off their city royalty on floats, and all sorts of businesses hand out candy. This is no dinky parade, folks. This is a LONG parade... lasts a long time, AND it is at least a mile long. It's that, if not longer for sure.


Halloween parties are also a big deal... there is ALWAYS someone throwing one. I have thrown my share of them, and they are SO much fun. We also do pumpkin carving contests often.

I also like Halloween because of the excitement in the air... the leaves are blowing, the kids are running from house to house... people put up fun and/or scary decorations...

And literally, as I am writing this, I just heard some kid jump out from behind my house to scare his friends as they walked by. I love the shrieks of excitement.

I'm obviously not into the super dark Halloween stuff... just the fun aspects of it. Yeah, some people get weird about it. But let's be honest. The majority of people who "celebrate" Halloween, celebrate it because it's fun to dress up, eat candy, carve pumpkins, decorate, go on haunted hayrides and to haunted houses(the fake kind of course) and drink cider.

I hate the dark, so I don't go to haunted houses much:)



Tonight I'll be decorating my entryway (complete with a very fake looking skeleton, Dead Fred, and strobe light) so that hopefully I can once again be told by a 6th grader, "Nice getup!" Ha! :) I love handing out candy. And if I can find a costume from my huge costume box, I'll be attending a Halloween Party tomorrow night.



And so, Happy Halloween, everyone, from the Halloween Capitol of the World! (Well, next to it, anyway...I moved:)).

5 comments:

Brandi said...

I decorated our porch on Thursday in like ten mins hehe. I've been so busy I have had no time. Our weather here has been cold/hot.. But in Texas terms cold is highs during the day in the 50s but this weekend highs are in the upper 70s low 80s!!

Anonymous said...

Love the video. Happy November!

Heidi said...

Funny, I didn't remember the specifics about the story from your shower, until you talked about what you accidently said about the music and I remembered that I knew what you meant when you said that. I thought you made yourself clear anyway. I don't think you're a heathen. Oh, and glutten is spelled as such. But I'm glad you're not gluten either. =) Have I ever told you that I'm glad you're in our family? You help liven us Swedes up! =) Love you.

Dan said...

I really like Danse Macabre as well - sometimes I wish I had been in orchestra, but I think the training I got in choir all those years has helped me a bit in doing what I do.

Also, according to Webster's:

glutton:
1. a person who eats and drinks excessively or voraciously.
2. a person with a remarkably great desire or capacity for something: a glutton for work; a glutton for punishment.

Boom.

Ginger Murray said...

I stand corrected. Glutton!

Haha, oh, Heidi! I'm so glad you love me:) I was more worried about what the aunts thought of me! I'm sure they don't even remember:)