First and most important things first: I’m lucky enough to live in a part of the Northeast that was more or less left alone by Hurricane Sandy; the worst we got here were a few brief power outages. However, there are many millions of people suffering in this part of the country, and my heart goes out to each and every one of them. Here are some links where you can donate to relief efforts: The Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the ASPCA, and the Humane Association. If you’re in the Northeast and able to, also consider donating clothing, blankets, and toiletries* (especially diapers, pads, and tampons) to shelters you know are housing people displaced by the storms.
*I volunteered for a homeless/battered women’s shelter in Indianapolis the summer before I started going to school in Vermont, and you wouldn’t believe how high the demand for these things are at shelters. And sheets! So keep this stuff in mind any time you donate to a shelter.
So today is Halloween, and tomorrow is Dia de lose Muertes (“Day of the Dead”, for those of you who speak less Spanish than I do, which would actually be impressive; my Spanish is terrible). Personally, I love Halloween, but I wish Day of the Dead were more widely celebrated outside of Mexico. It’s a fantastic holiday.
It doesn’t escape my notice that both Halloween and Day of the Dead are holidays that honor the spirits of the afterlife, such as they are. The difference between them, though, is that Halloween is based in fear and Day of the Dead is based in joy. I’ve always been a little put off -for lack of a better phrase- by that. I don’t think death, in and of itself, is something to be celebrated, but it’s a natural part of life. Death shouldn’t be feared; people shouldn’t try to make themselves immortal. Have you ever stopped and really considered all of the ramifications of immortality? Outliving your loved ones; possibly living with a terminal illness, in constant pain and suffering, and knowing that there’s no relief from it; watching history repeat itself around you all the time? I’d rather die. (‘Course, I also notice that the people most afraid of dying are the ones who’ve never stepped outside their own little sphere and lived for a bit. So I’m guessing the reason they’re so afraid of death is because they know they’re not going to leave any legacy worth remembering.)
So for as much as I love Halloween, I have to say I like Day of the Dead more. I celebrate it, and for all those who might tell me I have no “right” to because I’m as gringo as they come… Pardon my French, but fuck that shit. You don’t need to be Mexican to appreciate the beauty and symbolism of a holiday that honors the dead and celebrates the lives they lived. Besides, most cultures outside the US have similar holidays: The Bon Festival in Japan, All Souls/Saints Day in predominantly Roman Catholic European countries, and the tradition in Eastern Europe of decorating relatives’ graves. Oh yes, and the Celtic holiday Samhain, upon which Halloween is based.
It’s also worth noting that Halloween, itself, is not widely celebrated outside the US, Canada, and the UK. But to each their own: I don’t go trick-or-treating anymore (it’s more than a little frowned upon when you start pushing into your mid-twenties) and, sadly, I don’t have a costume. This Halloween, I’m going to finish watching The Nightmare Before Christmas and go through all of the horror movies in my Netflix queue, all the while finishing my essay about why fanfiction represents all the principles of Modernism and writing up my lab report for biology. Fun, I tell you! FUN!!! And also reveling in all the Lushie glory I’ll receive tomorrow.
On that note, I close this entry with my favorite piece of classical music, The Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns. And hope that someday Disney makes a third Fantasia and includes this song. (Disney, feel free to steal my idea: All of the past and present Disney couples as ghosts in a graveyard, with Jack Skellington as the emcee.)
A Little to the Left 