Page 1 - Huntwick Herald OCT 2020

October 2020

Volume 275 The Official Publication of the Huntwick Civic Association, Inc.
www.huntwickforest.com

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Step aside, 2020! Not even you can ruin • In the beginning: Santa in economics. Halloween is
the first Halloween to fall on a Saturday Halloween started as a pre-Christian second only to Christmas as the largest
since 2015. You read that correctly: For Celtic festival called Samhain (which commercial holiday in the country.
the first time since 2015, all you ghouls, means “summer’s end”), held around We spend about $9 billion on Halloween
big and small, can get back to celebrating the first of November. Samhain every year.
Halloween to the fullest without fear of celebrated the final day of harvest • The Nightmare Before Christmas II:
what school or work will bring the next and the crossing of spirits to the other If you haven’t seen this movie, do
day. Time to live it up! world. People in Ireland, the United yourself a favor and watch it. This
Kingdom, and Northern France would
Halloween in Huntwick is special. Always animated film follows our lovable hero
has been. Our unique neighborhood and hide from ghosts traveling between Jack Skellington (a skeleton) as he
community-first attitude has always worlds by wearing costumes. kidnaps Santa Claus. I’m not kidding.
created the perfect environment for little • The potato famine: Once you watch the movie, you too
monsters, ghosts, goblins, and princesses When the potato famine forced the will be frustrated in your efforts to
to run amuck collecting as much candy as Irish to flee their country in the 1840s, categorize it as a Halloween movie or a
possible. Every October 31, as dusk creeps they brought their Halloween traditions Christmas movie. Your frustrations will
across the sky, I can still feel the excited with them. Some people believe it is the eventually lead you to wonder whether
anticipation of seeing my crew in their Irish who gave us the jack-o’-lantern. you should watch The Nightmare Before
costumes and canvasing the streets for As the story goes, an Irish man named Christmas in October or December.
the best candy. Among Chris Pine, Stingy Jack tricked the devil and The only clear answer is neither.
Mike Rigo, Jon Topolski, Norbert Chang, therefore was not allowed into heaven The only acceptable day to watch
Paul Thomas, Jose Sagbini, and I, we had or hell. Instead, he spent his days this movie is November 1. Also, if you
the entire neighborhood covered. The roaming the Earth, carrying a lantern, think The Nightmare Before Christmas
night wouldn’t end until diabetic shock set and going by “Jack of the Lantern.” is a Christmas movie, you are wrong.
in or we found the holy grail of Halloween • The greatest generation: • From the Irish to the Illini:
treats: The house with full-size candy Sugar rationing during WWII put Illinois produces up to five times more
bars. Our adventures were not without an a stop to trick-or-treating. After pumpkins than any other state. Illinois
element of danger and intrigue. Older the rationing ended, the Halloween farms typically grow more than 500
siblings and their candy-taxing sticky tradition grew into what we’re familiar million pounds of pumpkins annually.
fingers lurked in every shadow and with today, including mass marketing • Government mischief:
behind every well-manicured shrub. campaigns by candy companies. In Alabama, it is illegal to dress up
Good times. • The Nightmare Before Christmas: as a priest. In Hollywood, California,
Ol’ Jack Skellington isn’t just chasing the sale, possession, or distribution of
As you all may have guessed by now, Santa in Tim Burton’s frustrating 1993 silly string is banned on Halloween.
I’m a sucker for a good history lesson. holiday classic The Nightmare Before In Belleville, Missouri, and Boonsboro,
So, sit back and let’s dig into some Christmas. (Is it a Halloween movie or Maryland, anyone over the age of 12
Halloween trivia: a Christmas movie?) Jack also trails is barred from trick-or-treating.

continued on page 5