Fall is officially here in Red Deer.  Leaves are changing colour and falling from the branches, the air is cool and crisp and has that smell of burning that for some reason is almost addicting to me.  This is my all time favourite time of year.  From the colours to the smells to the fashion-yay for jeans, hoodies and boots- I just can't get enough.  If there was a place that existed where it was this way year long, I think I'd move there!  School has settled into routine for my girls and is something we all look forward to.  And in a few short weeks...HALLOWEEN!!

Mitch dragged out the three Rubbermaid bins from their appropriate home under the stairs and yesterday we dug through finding all the treasures forgotten about from last year.  Costumes, spiders, spooks, skeletons and a surprising amount of pumpkins and window clings.  I may need an intervention.  Even though we are barely through the first week of October, our house is ready for the big night!  Which got me to thinking about holidays in general and how things have changed since I was a kid.

When I was a kid...kids were allowed to dress up for Halloween in any costume they chose (excluding a full face mask at school, for actual rational reasons), they were allowed to call Halloween "Halloween" without anyone being offended.  Trick or Treating was done outside, door to door while wearing a variety of reflective safety decals and often without a parent (once we got to a certain age at least) and fun was had by all.

Now, in schools, you may dress up-but only in non offending, non scary costumes.  We call it "Dress Up Day" or "Black and Orange Day" (*gag*).  Trick or Treating is often done at the mall (a total nightmare!). There is also a new fad called Trunk or Treating, where parents pull into a parking lot and you go from car to car with your kids.  Are we not going a bit overboard with the safety and non offending terms?  (FYI-I am taking my girls to the Trunk or Treat thing but only because it is 2 days BEFORE Halloween, they'll reap the rewards of some extra candy...some of which I WILL eat...and we never really get any trick or treaters at our house.  We are NOT going because I want to ensure my children aren't over run by the demons in the night, my girls can hold their own!)

Christmas is a whole other topic so for now I won't touch on that one today (but stay tuned for that rant another day!) other than to say if they start calling it "Red and Green Day"  I might lose my mind.

I just can't wrap my mind around this whole 'we can't offend anyone' mindset Canadians seem to have adopted over the last 20 some years.  We are supposed to be a multi-cultural mosaic of a nation and we are getting so hung up on keeping everyone else's traditions intact that we are forgetting our own.  I am all in favour for someone celebrating what they want and only want the same respect in return.  Recently a situation came up at a certain board meeting I was a part of: we were discussing whether or not the kids would be allowed to wear their costumes to school.  "What about the children that don't celebrate this holiday?" someone asked.  "What about the children that do?"  I replied.

Growing up I lived next door to a family that was Jehovah's Witness.  Jessica was the same age as me and when there was holiday stuff at school (Valentines, Halloween, Christmas concert etc.) she either didn't participate and was given something else to work on or she didn't come to school that day.  Simple.  Right? To the best of my knowledge, her parents never made a stink about being the minority and never ruined everyone else's good time.  They stayed true to their beliefs and didn't infringe on anyone else's.

In the end, I guess all I can do is vent, regroup and play nice.  And for the record I refuse, RE-FUSE, to call it 'Black and Orange Day!'