2005-10-19 - 12:45 p.m.

Oh my, I love Halloween. I love it more than any other holiday. Here are the reasons I love Halloween:

1. The weather: I do not like summertime weather. High heat and humidity make me logy, grumpy, nauseated, and stupid. My pale, pale skin is proof that I am not made for a warm, sunny climate, and as soon as the temperature goes above 80, my brain shuts down all non-essential functions and goes into silent running.

But ah! autumn weather. Cool, crisp, often with a fine breeze or a teasing rain, and wonderful clear nights under a hunter's moon that will break your heart. And the first time your breath curls out around your lips in a gentle mist is a fine day indeed. I don't need to explain to you why autumn leaves are fantastic.

2. The food: Candy, yes. Halloween candy is remarkable not in its novelty (it's mostly smaller versions of "year-round" candy) but in its tinyness and variety. Many of you know how I like to eat a variety of small things (witness my love of tapas and dim sum, and my urge to order the appetizer plate), and Halloween satisfies my urge to eat candy, but not to gorge myself on it.

Also, if you're lucky, you can have toasted pumpkin seeds, which I could eat a bucket full of. Other fine foods that pop up around this time of year are cider and doughnuts, root vegetable soup, freshly harvested veggies, apples, and cold spaghetti (used for many a witch's brain in the most terrifying of haunted houses.

3. The costumes: I sure as heck hate fashion, but I sure as heck love wearing costumes. I have no explanation for this dichotomy.

4. The general spooky atmosphere: Call me a "baby bat" or a "kindergoth" or a "misery chick" if you will - I will not give up loving campy Halloween stuff. Halloween stores give me the giggles, and the Halloween decorating section in Target made me squeal with delight. I've spent the past two days listening to GotRadio's Halloween station, with its Black Sabbath and its Monster Mash and its Ghostbusters theme song and it puts me in a state of glee.

5. The lead-in to the holiday season: Halloween is only a month away from Thanksgiving, which is my second-favorite holiday (I fully support any holiday where the purpose is: eat, especially pie and mashed potatoes). And these two holidays give me the strength to get through the Christmas season, which I increasingly loathe. I'm not religious, I hate any Christmas carol written after 1700, and the candy is terrible (though I do enjoy the occasional candy cane in my hot chocolate). The stores are busy and there's too many uncomfortable, rushing moments.

I observe Solstice, not in a spiritual fashion, but as more of a nod to the "return of the light" aspect of the generic Winter Holiday and a reason to celebrate with close family and friends. And our family still opens presents on December 25th, but it's more out of tradition than a love of the Spirit of Christmas.

But I digress. This post is about Halloween and how exceedingly excellent it is. Huurah for Halloween, and all that it stands for!

Go talk about Halloween over here!