The leaves are falling, the cool breezes are rolling in, and “something wicked this way comes”…it’s Halloween! This age-old tradition is popular among kids as well as adults, and St. Ambrose University has been waiting in anticipation for the arrival of this spooky holiday. Several SAU students were asked a series of questions about everything from their favorite Halloween candy, to how they plan to spend their October 31st this year.
For starters, a classic way to spend Halloween is by continuing family traditions, and freshman Josie McMeen can attest to this.
“My favorite Halloween tradition is carving pumpkins with my Dad,” McMeen stated.
Dr. Golden Lund, assistant director of the SAU Athletic Bands agrees, “Every year, my sister-in -law comes to visit us to hang out with my kids. She carves pumpkins with them, plays games and goes trick-or-treating with us. My kids love it!”
In addition to spending time with family, significant others and friends are also important to the SAU community when it comes to holidays.
“One of my favorite Halloween memories was when my boyfriend and I had a pumpkin decorating contest last year and my parents judged it.” said Josie McMeen. Sophomore student Maddie Schuh plans on spending Halloween night with a group of her friends.
While they may not be trick-or-treating with their friends this year, during their interviews, SAU students brought up many distinct memories they have of past Halloweens, particularly from when they were children.
Hannah Greif, a freshman, said “When I was younger, I would go trick-or-treating with my cousins and one year, one of my cousins ran through a lady’s house and my uncle had to go into her house and catch him.”
Maddie Schuh tells the story of a big house in her area growing up that was always extremely decked out for Halloween. “They had a little path that would lead to the front stoop, and along the way it was filled with inflatables both scary and not, there would always be skeletons, and usually an animatronic or two that would scare everyone.”
It’s common knowledge that these types of houses give out the best candy at Trick-Or-Treat, and let’s be honest, that’s what Halloween is really about. Students were very mixed in their favorite types of candy, but clear winners included Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, KitKats, and Candy Corn. Josie McMeen went on to say that her mom buys a special candy corn mix that she stores in a painted pumpkin that gets put out every fall.
Halloween isn’t all great, of course, like all things in life it has its downsides. Dr. Lund stated that one of his least favorite things about the holiday is when it’s too cold to Trick-or-Treat and Hannah Greif says that she is not a fan of her Aunt Sandy’s life-sized witch that talks when you walk near it.
Despite life-sized mannequins and the occasional snow on the ground during late October, there are still many reasons to be excited about the spooky season. Whether it be the candy or the traditions that hold up from when you were a kid, Halloween is a time to eat some sugar, hang out with the friends and family you hold dear, and make countless fun and spooky memories.
