While growing up, my neighborhood was close and we knew each other well, plus it was a small town and there weren't any other businesses or activities that drew us away from it. Trick-or-Treating from door to door was well in practice. I enjoyed the activity, not because of dressing up, which I've already explained before wasn't one of my favorite things to do, and not because of the candy (though I didn't mind that part), but because it was one of the few activities I did with my older siblings, particularly my sisters just older than I. I watched as I grew sibling after sibling give up on the activity, eventually narrowing it down to two of us. By the time I turned eight or nine, my sister just older than I abandoned me for friends. I say abandoned, because that's how I felt. I found out about it last minute, so I couldn't make other arrangements. That year I was left wandering around the neighborhood alone and it was miserable.
I was so devastated that the next year I begged my mom to let me take my brother with me so that I could have someone with me. She wasn't sure about that, because October nights can get cold, and he got cold easily. I talked her into it, explaining that we still had my horse costume from my third grade program (I was a horse in the Casey Jr. Circus Train), which was made out of warm material. I took him out, but soon figured out that it was a little bit more of a hassle than I'd thought about. Not only did I have to watch him to find out if he was getting too cold, but I also had to explain to every single neighbor that he wasn't collecting candy, because he couldn't eat it, not being able to chew--if I was a devious child, I could have taken advantage of that situation, but I was too honest to have that even occur to me. Not only that, but his level of comprehension wasn't high enough for him to understand or get enthusiastic about the activity, so he basically had to put up with me until I took him home.
This memory is a little bittersweet, because I loved having him with me, but it didn't fill the void. It was the one and only year I got to do it with him. I had a few friends at school, but they rarely did activities with me outside of school. I learned early on how to keep myself entertained, but going trick-or-treating wasn't fun at all as a lone person. By the time I was twelve, I was done with it all, and decided to stay home from then on. Home was comfortable, and it gave me the chance to see the people I knew, making it much more enjoyable of an experience. I didn't have to dress up if I didn't want to, either.
Even though Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, I don't ridicule those who love it and go all out. Some people won't tolerate it, because they see it as a heathen-ish holiday, but there are parts of it that are completely whole and fun, particularly activities meant to be family oriented (those of all ages can participate). My dad always said that he celebrates it as a harvest holiday, focusing more on the beautiful time of year, and my family doesn't really delve into the dark side of things that deeply. I also like the idea of the All Saints Day, or Day of the Dead that is celebrated in several cultures the next day when the dead are remembered and honored. I never grew up with that culture, so I don't know everything about it, but what I've learned sounds amazing. My brother was once in an area heavily influenced by the Catholic religion, which apparently started the holiday, much like many others. He said it was an amazing sight at night to see all of the candles lit in the darkness. Being a sucker for that type of thing, just conjuring that up in my imagination looked magical.
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