Whether or not you believe in ghosts or the undead, Halloween screams for your attention. A trip to any Shoppers Drug Mart will confirm this—the casual observer will note candy bars mingling with garish decorations in orange and black, while chintzy polyester costumes of witches and “naughty” medical personnel dangle beside the first red velveteen bows of Christmas. It’s a spectacle of consumerism, decadence and attention deficit disorder, all at the same time.
Still, Halloween deserves more credit than we give it, schlepping our two-fours and last-minute costume choices to the party destination of the hour. October 31, this ridiculous little blip on the calendar, is a muchneeded and perfectly-timed dose of therapeutic community. It is a bear hug in holiday dress.
Looking back on my own first Halloween in Toronto three years ago, I was a first-year student clumsily maneuvering my way through U of T’s vast social pathways. Seven weeks into my life in a new city where no one knew my name, I slipped into a space suit and became someone else. It no longer mattered that I was a stranger, because all around town, people were opting for anonymity. I went to a party and chatted with Shakespeare. I shared a mickey with a girl dressed up like Jennifer Beals, circa Flashdance. I danced with zombies. I was no longer alone.
Whether you’re in your first year at U of T or your fifth-year victory lap, chances are you’ve felt stranded here. Students frequently complain about a lack of community, and who could blame them when we’re surrounded by too many study spaces, not enough campus hangouts, and let’s face it, too many damned faces to keep track of. It’s easy to feel insignificant and overwhelmed at this time of the year, when essays and midterms threaten to take over our allotted time for human contact and—dare I say it?—fun. The days are getting short and cold, and instead of sharing this shock together, we’re holed up at Robarts.
As an outlet for the insanity we are all feeling, Halloween holds a potent and palpable power. Even the international and exchange students, many of whom initially approach our very North American holiday traditions with the same cynicism of the anti- Valentine’s brigade, are typically won over after their first costume party.
Alas, Halloween is now one day behind us, but we can still revel in the afterglow of its silly, glorious unwinding— or, at least, in the clearance shelves around town that await our sugar-seeking fingers.
