We observe holidays to celebrate and to remember the things most important to us as a society or culture. Some are religious, some nationalistic, and others appear to just be for fun. But one thing all holidays seem to have in common is a tendency for widespread irrational behavior. I'm not talking about the kind of behavior that involves alcohol, because if that were the case, then every Friday night could be considered a holiday for some people. I'm talking about the fundamental traditions that separate holidays from more prosaic, regular days.
Take Fourth of July, for example. For 364 days a year, parents, firemen, and other important people make it very clear to children that fire is dangerous and should not be used as a means of entertainment. Then, on the 4th of July, we throw that very good advice out the window and eagerly hand out not only matches, but cardboard tubes filled with gunpowder and tell the children to go have fun. And we do it in the middle of summer, perhaps because the dry weather adds to the allure.
Christmas is another opportunity for people to throw off the shackles of prudent fire safety. A few days or weeks before the Big Day, Christmas devotees take a dead tree, often laden with pitch, and bring that large fire hazard into the living room, which they cover in metal hooks, pieces of glass, and several yards of live electrical wires. Since that's not quite enough to really get into the Christmas Spirit, they then pile large amounts of tinder in the form of wrapping paper and cardboard boxes underneath this tree. When all that is done, they light a nice, crackling fire in the fireplace, sing some songs, and hope for the best.
In a week, we'll have one of these breaks from rational behavior when Halloween rolls around. For the other 364 days a year, parents, police officers, and other important people make it very clear that children shouldn't take candy from strangers. But on October 31, we'll dress our children in elaborate costumes to conceal their identity, wait until it gets dark, and then send them out in the streets to solicit candy from strangers. So many, in fact, that the children will need some sort of storage device, like a pillowcase or a nice, plastic pumpkin to store the spoils of their nocturnal panhandling, so that when they come home, they can enjoy their sweet, delicious sugar rush for days or even weeks afterward.
Yes, holidays are filled with irrational behavior, but it's absolutely essential that we have them. We need the bright sparks and colorful bursts of light in the night sky to remind us that freedom isn't given, it's earned. Evergreen trees, whose needle-like leaves stay green in winter, teach us about the enduring power of love, the source of all the gifts that lay piled under the twinkling ornaments of polished glass. Halloween allows us all to be children again, to embrace the darkness, to try on another identity, to take a vacation from ourselves and see life through the eyes of another. On Halloween night, we meet neighbors that we might not see regularly, and gush together over a child's costume. Yes, it's odd, and probably a little irrational, but it's also a lot of fun.
Shared traditions create bonds of fellowship and familiarity, a way that enables people of varying backgrounds to dip into the cultural well, drink together, and be refreshed. In this era of division and digital isolation, it's something we can probably use more of.
Happy Halloween!