By: Thomas Gosart

If one were to look at how my family celebrates Halloween, one wouldn’t think it is anything special to us. We carve pumpkins, put up decorations, and dress up in costumes. My brother and I even did school work on Halloween the last few years. I remember writing a paper two years ago for TAA while my brother was out trick-or-treating. Last year, my brother attended his OHS class at the time he was supposed to be celebrating. From the outside, Halloween seems like it just comes and goes in my family. However, this is far from the truth.

I love Halloween, and I love it for many reasons. First of all, it is in the fall, one of my favorite times of the year. I love the weather around Halloween more than the weather of any other season. It is getting cooler, but not yet too cold. I love looking at the trees and the leaves changing color. The kinds of foods available around Halloween are wonderful. Apples are in season, and I always look forward to apple cider. And, of course, pumpkins! I love pumpkins and not just because of pumpkin pie. I love the way they look. Their color, orange, fits perfectly with the theme of fall. Looking at a pumpkin puts me in a better mood.

But I have not yet said anything about the actual holiday of Halloween. Why do I love the holiday itself so much, if it is just seems as if it is a slight deviation from my normal day? Well, Halloween is not a “slight” deviation from my normal day. The greatest deviation is carving pumpkins! This is super fun, and I always do it every year. When I was young, I used to watch my dad as he carved the pumpkin, watching his every move. Now, when I carve my pumpkin, I try to do it the same way he did, following each step just as he would. I still haven’t gotten it exactly right, but this year I am hopeful I will finally carve a pumpkin the way my dad would carve one.

Besides carving pumpkins, there is something special that I get to do on Halloween. On Halloween, I remember the days when I was very young, when I went trick-or-treating with my brother and my dad. This was our special Halloween tradition from when I was around four or five and all the way until I was around eleven or twelve, this was our special Halloween tradition. Now this tradition may not seem like anything special; many children go trick-or-treating with their parents. But this was special to us, especially to my brother and me. It was a yearly event where we spent time together while getting free candy. I enjoyed it greatly and looked forward to it every year. Just the three of us: my brother and I dressed up in our costumes, and our dad, with us like he always is on our crazy adventures. When my dad decided we were too old for him to come along with us, trick-or-treating was never the same for me. It felt as if my brother and I were missing a third, vital piece. I stopped trick-or-treating a few years later, and my brother gave it up last year. Halloween is a day for me to remember these days and relive them over and over. It is a special tradition that comes only on this day.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. There is no other day for me that is anything like it. I look forward to it every year, and always set aside some time on that day to celebrate, no matter how much work I have. I know that the holiday comes around once a year, and I want to make the most of it. For a variety of reasons, this year I have the most work I have ever had around Halloween, and so I will be working for most of the day. But I will set aside some time to celebrate, and I will look forward to that time all week. As I am finishing my UM52A Multivariable Differential Calculus Unit 2 Exam, I will be looking forward to carving my pumpkin to my dad’s perfection, and reliving some of my favorite childhood memories.

Categories: The Argo