There is something palpable in the air this week. It’s a level of energy and excitement that can only be found in grade schools across America. Our local Target stores and Walgreens have the fanfare and accessories to go along with the buzz, but the actual frenzy of anticipation cannot be found in retail establishments. No, the barely touching the ground, hysteria of joy is reserved for the kids of elementary school age and makes this one of the truly magical and challenging weeks of the school year.
Of course, I’m speaking of Halloween. A 2000 year old, Celtic tradition which celebrated the last day of the year when, it was believed, the line between the living and the dead was blurred. Being pagan in origin, the Pope in 609 A.D., established a holiday honoring all the Saints hoping to redirect the celebration away from spirits and ghosts. All Hallows Day was quickly adopted, but the tradition of All Hallows Eve, then began. Classic rebrand.
It was important for the people to honor their dead, acknowledge the beginning of the long, harsh winter and the natural world on which they were entirely dependant. The pagan celebration, October 31st and the new Christian tradition, November 1st, were successfully partnered. Until the puritanical wave came to America. Those puritans were not much for heathen rituals and Halloween almost met its end before it began in America. And then, a potato famine.
When a million Irish immigrants came to America, they brought with them their folklore and traditions. Which brings us to today, at Corpus Christi. The younger kids literally bounced into the building today. They bounce still and likely will until the candy crash sometime tomorrow night. For us, here at school, a Wednesday Halloween is particularly tricky. Two days of energy off the charts in anticipation and then two days of follow up crashing while trying to learn.
We’ll see you all at the parade and I’ll leave you with a few words from the man himself, “by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”