It is Halloween tonight, All Hallow’s Eve. For a guy who likes to write about seasonal traditions and the magic of ceremony and the willingness to suspend disbelief, well… I could write a book, as they say, about Halloween. And maybe someday I will. The traditions that make our Halloween what it is today––the centuries of beliefs and practices that inform our celebration––are truly fascinating and darkly mysterious, and they evoke such paradox of emotion. I’ve met people who refuse to celebrate Halloween, for they feel it is an unholy thing, and I know people who couldn’t care less about Halloween. But then again, there are many who love Halloween so much it is easily their favorite night of the year. And why wouldn’t it be? If we are open to Halloween and its mystery, we get to go back in time, back to our childhood, back to a land we’ve all been forced to leave behind.
The kid in the photograph above rang our doorbell and yelled “Trick or Treat!” in his spaceman costume years and years ago. He was a sweet guy and he let me take his picture, even though he was a man on a mission with a lot more doorbells to ring. Who knows what he’s like now; but I hope he is a person who still loves Halloween and who is not embarrassed to reconnect with the kid he used to be. I wish this for him and I wish this for all of us. There is real magic in that, and it is powerful stuff.
If you are a person who is willing to suspend disbelief for a spell, you’d probably enjoy a good ghostly story at this spirited time of the year. Convivio Bookworks happens to have one for you: It’s the annual Halloween Convivio Dispatch. It won’t be published here on the Convivio Book of Days blog, because the blog is the blog, and it is about seasonal traditions, mainly. The Convivio Dispatch is much older than the Book of Days blog. I began writing it in 1998 as a plain text email to the 30 or so people on my mailing list. Nowadays, there’s a lot more than 30 people on the list, but still the Dispatches are plain text emails, little story bombs that arrive in your inbox to make your day a bit more special. The Halloween Dispatch each year seems to be the most eagerly anticipated, and despite advances in technology, I like them as plain text emails. You know me: I like the simple things.
If you don’t already get the Convivio Dispatch in your inbox, I’d be delighted to add you to that list of people who get it. All you need to do is sign up by clicking here.
I’d suggest reading this year’s Halloween Dispatch with a cup of cider or a mug of coffee. It involves Minnie’s Diner and revenge between friends over an April Fools prank, and a ghost train, too. I’m working on the edits and polishes just about now and the finished story will be sent out to wend its way through the world like a nighttime fog most likely late on Halloween night, or maybe the night after. I rarely know until… I know. You’ve got to be open to the mystery.
May your Halloween be a spirited one.
John
