Here we stand, at the edge of summer.
It's that time of year again, when seasonal depression kicks in and the only consolation is the promise of Halloween soon hitting store shelves.
This year, more retailers seem to be getting into the spirit of "Summerween", offering actual spooky themed summer merchandise, particularly bedding. I've seen sheets and pillows from TJMaxx, and blankets from Walmart. It's not a motif that I, personally, can really get into, but I'm happy that it exists. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the normalization of being spooky all year round. I'd like to think that soon it will be commonplace for a sheet ghost or skeleton to pop up on different holiday decor throughout the year. Valloween has already caught on, and Summerween seems to be the new thing, so why not Creepmas, Springoween, etc.? I have always said that for me, personally, Halloween is just my style, and is no different to me than it is for other people that decorate with more traditional themes, like country or woodsy or whatever else might make them happy.
It seems like the laymen may finally be catching on to the fact that, for many of us, Halloween is a lifestyle.
Of course, with all of this excitement comes some backlash, as it does every year.
In addition to the marketing of Summerween as a more mainstream thing, it's also clear that Halloween itself is now starting earlier and earlier with many major retailers. I've seen a few people spot Halloween at At Home already, and Target just did a mini-drop the other day, expanding even more on their Lewis character who I absolutely can not resist. These things have brought me great joy over the last couple of weeks.
Of course there will always be naysayers. There are always the people who think it somehow shortens their summer if other people look forward to, and shop for, Halloween early. Summer Summers Of Summerville will always be loud and obnoxious and no amount of midday margaritas and barbecue food will pacify her. I've learned to laugh it off.
What's harder to deal with, though, is when the cries of "It's too early!!!" come from within the Halloween community itself.
I understand that not everyone is like me. I understand and respect that there are people, even within the Halloween community, who take a more seasonal approach to the holiday and perhaps feel that it's not as "special" if celebrated year round. It's a valid way to feel; I actually was in this camp many, many years ago, when I first started debating leaving Halloween decor up year round in my early teens. I worried that it would somehow lessen my enjoyment of the season itself when it arrived, but when I finally made the decision to live in Halloween all year round, I found that this was the only way I wanted to live for the rest of my life, and I haven't looked back since. I have no issue with other people not feeling the same way, and I'm certainly not one to gatekeep. I'm not going to say you don't deserve to be a part of the Halloween community if you're more of a seasonal celebrator. Halloween is for everyone.
However, hearing people that claim to "love" Halloween, actively rain on our parades when Halloween starts earlier than usual, is incredibly discouraging. If you truly something, even if you prefer to enjoy it differently than some others within the same community do, you should at least be able to understand the excitement and feelings of those that do enjoy it all year round, and not act like we are somehow wrong for embracing it whenever we can.
I saw a few people saying it's going to be hard to maintain anticipation for so many months in a row, and that fully did not compute to me. I have never found it "hard" to anticipate Halloween. Even long before I started surrounding myself with it every day, there were times I'd find a remnant of it here or there in a store, or see decorations patiently waiting in a storage area at a friend or relative's house, and my leapt just as much then, whether it was September or January, as it would a week before Halloween. I exist to anticipate Halloween. It's as natural to me as breathing.
Again, I know that not everyone may feel this way, but just as Halloween doesn't have to be year-round, it also doesn't have to be seasonal, and for many of us, it isn't.
I guess what I'm ultimately trying to say is, we get enough backlash from those outside the Halloween community. There are already enough people seeking us out to troll us for "rushing the seasons" because they passed a plastic pumpkin on their way to pick up pool cleaner. There is absolutely no need for there to be discord within the community as to how early is too early.
Because if you truly love Halloween and hold it in your heart, then you know that there is no too early.
Stay spooky, my friends.
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