Merry Gu (辜子蕊)

    is a Grade 9 student at the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur in Villanova, Pennsylvania. She lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a suburb near Philadelphia in the United States.

    The days are getting colder, the sun is setting earlier, and the leaves are shedding their green coats for red ones. It’s October again, and to children and teens, this also means one thing — it’s almost Halloween!

    Halloween, an abbreviation of “All Hallow’s Evening,” is celebrated on October 31. It is also the initiation day of the Triduum of Hallowmas, a dedication day to remember the dead.

    Nowadays, Halloween is celebrated in a much more cheery light by Christians and non-Christians alike. It is a day in which children go trick-or-treating. They dress up in costumes such as cartoon characters, princesses, and spooky characters like zombies and vampires.

    As a child, I have dressed up as a Disney princess, ninja, Olympic gymnast, beauty pageant queen, and my brother has dressed as a ghost every single year! Come evening, we costume-clad children would walk door-to-door and shout “Trick or treat!” We would be rewarded with a handful of candy or snacks, and by the end of the night, our buckets and sacks would be overflowing with sugary delights.

    As October rolls around, haunted houses open up their doors to those seeking a thrill! Costume stores specifically dedicated to marketing Halloween costumes spring up in shopping centers. The department stores load up with scary decorations, like fake spiders and gravestones — and crate upon crate of pumpkins are ready for purchase.

    Carving Jack-O-Lanterns is a Halloween tradition that many families partake in. To make a Jack-O-Lantern, pumpkins are hollowed out and emptied of their seeds and pulp. Then, an image such as a scary face or a black cat is carved onto the front of the pumpkin. Next, a candle is placed inside the pumpkin. When the finished Jack-O-Lantern is placed at the doorstep, the candle lights up the image in a macabre greeting for the residency’s visitors.

    While most children stop trick-or-treating when they reach the age of 13, I plan to celebrate Halloween one last time this year with my friends: We will try to visit every single house in the neighborhood, and collect more candy than we’ll ever be able to eat!

    Halloween is a time of spooky excitement and childhood fun. So, whether you celebrate Halloween or not, it never hurts to place a little plastic spider on your door this year!