October is one of the most beloved of the “-ber” months. What’s not to love? Days are filled with crisp autumn-apple air, crunchy multicolored leaves, yummy hot spiced drinks and so many warm, orange, romantically mundane vibes in the air. Furthermore, once the sun sets the witching hour begins. Filling the night streets with ghouls and goblins, pumpkins and porcelain, vampires and werewolves; all the spookiest stuff that makes so many diverse people take a liking to All Hallows Eve.
Halloween is a howl-iday that is monastery huge in the consumer industry, stemming from all the fantastic decorations and spookalicious treats. But the biggest market of all is most folks’ favorite part of the ghostly season: the costumes. Costumes are a corner tomb of the holiday season, so why do schools not let students wear their spine-chilling costumes onto campus? Shouldn’t students be allowed to do so for the glory of the season?
Halloween has a surprisingly rich history originating around 2000 years ago, based on the Celtic holiday Samhain (pronounced “sow-win”) which was the festival that marked the end of the harvest season. During this time, the Celts believed that there was an abundance of spirituality on Samhain. To appease their deities, they built huge bonfires and burned crops and animals. For the sacrificial bonfires, the Celts would wear animal heads and skins (which many believe is where the idea of Halloween costumes first came from.) Halloween has turned into a glitz-and-glam sesh for those who wish to throw on an outfit for the occasion. What a treat!
So, what’s the big trick? There are a lot of reasons that schools have put a bit of a cramp on the whole “Halloween Costume Party” on their campuses. There’s a fear of being anti-inclusive to those whose families don’t spellabrate the holiday or might find purchasing a costume not a necessity in their budgets. Kids are distracted enough as it is, now put a silly outfit on and set them down in a classroom and see how that goes. Not well, for most. Also, school is a place where a lot of different people come together, meaning there are a lot of different religions, cultures, ethnicities, and orientations. There is a chance at any school of insensitivity towards these factors, and alienation is NOT cool no matter what peer pressure says. It’s NEVER cool to make someone feel bad from insensitivity. Identification is also a problem. Those Halloween makeup tricks and latex masks are clawsome! Well, clawsome at hiding one’s identity. Schools need to be able to identify students to keep them and all those in the school safe.
Halloween is a super great season and wearing some freaky fabulous costumes makes it even more spooktacular. In this, the year of 2023, the scary cool administrators here at Weber High are going to let ghosts and skeletons roam the halls once more! It’s time to prove that this howlday can be one of ghoul friends, candy corn, and some TOTALLY TERRORIFIC outfits!