In North America, the Christian feast of All Hallows Eve has become Halloween. In reality, the Christian feast was purposely set to obliterate an older celebration called Samhain. Samhain is a pagan sabbat that marks the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. It was thought to be a time when the veil between the worlds of the dead and the living was very thin.
Modern Halloween rituals retain some of that spookiness, but the most prevalent ritual is to dress in costume. Kids dress in costume and go "trick or treating," walking from door to door in their neighbourhood (or these days sometimes in an office or mall for safety) and obtaining candy and other treats from the neighbours who answer the door. More recently, adults have gotten into the act. Adult Halloween parties abound.
If you're not yet out as trans, one thing that Halloween allows is dressing in clothes typical of the opposite sex. Even some non-trans people go for this. It also tends to be a night when women—and maybe some men—dress as slutty as possible. Halloween is a vehicle for normally hidden sexuality and gender issues to come to the surface.
My partner and I hadn't been all that big on Halloween for many years, but in 2007, when I was out to very few people, I did indeed take advantage of the night. Instead of me being the pirate and my partner being the pirate wench, we did it the other way around. She made a short but fearsome pirate! And I had a great time being the wench.
I'm past that now, and maybe you are as well. A friend's band is doing a Halloween-themed show at a local club, and we might go to that. But I have no inclination to do anything like drab! I'm thinking
Mad Men—my 1960s-ish dress, (faux) pearls, nice pumps, and my hair up with tons of hairspray. Given my shape, more Megan than Joan. :)
What will you do, if anything, for Halloween?
