October has been my favorite month of the year as long as I can remember. When I was a child, growing up on the West Coast of the United States, October signified the beginning of Fall. It was when the leaves changed and when I'd first notice a nip in the air. Summer gave way to Fall, and Winter was around the corner. And October was the month of Halloween, my favorite holiday.
October doesn't hold quite the same magic today. There is no Fall season here in Mississippi. Summer turns to "Winter" rather abruptly. There are only a handful of trees where the leaves change colors. The oppressive humidity does subside but not until late in the month. Halloween is frowned upon by the legions of Southern Baptists who occupy this state (some of which seem to prefer JesusWeen). I watch more horror movies during October than usual, but that is about it.
What I remember most about October from my childhood was that it was a time of transition. Summer clothes were put away as the weather changed. Most of the plants that drove me crazy with allergies during the disappeared. I could breathe again! Time seemed to move more quickly. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and even Christmas gave me things to anticipate. There was always a sense of excitement in the air.
And how I used to love Halloween! Even when I was too old for the door-to-door candy begging ritual and no longer believed in ghosts, monsters, or gods, Halloween was still special. It was about mischief. It was about hiding behind the mask of anonymity. It was about pushing oneself to take risks. It was the one night when we would cause trouble for no reason other than the date. I did plenty of stupid things on Halloweens past. While I wouldn't do most of them now, I remember most of them fondly.
October always was about possibility. With the various markers of transition and change, new possibilities were on the horizon. Things might be different. They might be different in exciting ways. Maybe that is what I most miss today. That buzz in the air I recall from the Octobers of my youth is something I have not been able to re-capture.
This post originally appeared on Atheist Revolution in 2009. It has been edited a few times since then to fix broken links.
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
