Display at the Grier Musser Museum
At first, Martine and I liked visiting the Grier Musser Museum because of the of the interesting holiday related displays. We still like the displays, but in the meantime, we have become friends with the owners, Rey and Susan Tejada. Re-visiting the museum and chatting with the Tejadas has become part of the fun surrounding holidays.
Speaking of holidays, it is becoming ever clearer to me that celebrating Halloween is becoming more of a thing, and that celebrating Christmas is becoming less of a thing. Perhaps because it is so associated with guilt trips: so many things that have to be done, some many unrealized goals that remain unrealized, so much expenditure of cash and effort.
Halloween, on the other hand, is cheaper and more fun. And it is not tinged with guilt. It involves pretending that you’re a ghastly monster (no difficulty for most people), attending fun events, and eating a ton of candy.
So even if we don’t get any trick-or-treaters this year (they don’t like climbing stairs), Martine and I feel good about Halloween. Martine got her annual pumpkin pie from Marie Callender’s, we stockpiled candy in case some trick-or-treaters do ascend the stairs, and I’ve read some good scary books this month.
Of course, coming up is my least favorite holiday. I really dislike Thanksgiving. And I’m not overly fond of the traditional food items associated with it.
Tarnmoor 
Agree that Halloween now seems more popular than the Nativity — especially for adults — but could that be the work of Ol’ Scratch himself? Not to lay on the guilt too thickly, but consider perhaps that the message of Halloween is memento mori.
As a spokesman for our generation says in Gotta Serve Somebody:
Well, it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
I think it’s a bit simplistic to identify Halloween with the devil, or even most of what Christmas has become with God. I think the whole potlatch, Xmas card, blinking light thing is as much the devil’s work as God’s.