Looking at the 14-day forecast as I write this, it looks like we will be slipping from fall to freeze-up as the temperature slips below freezing. Ice-on-the-water-bucket weather sort of thing. It also looks like we might get a little snow before Halloween. We almost always have a white Halloween and some years it has been darned cold and snowy.

So, if you and the kids plan to go out SA国际影视传媒渢rick or treatingSA国际影视传媒� then bundle up and watch out for the slippery patches. Also try to wear clothes that drivers can spot easily. In the bush, it doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 matter what you wear but in the city, it is a different situation because a lot of people drive around and they are less likely to run into you if they can clearly see you. It should almost be a rule or bylaw that when the nights are dark, you carry a light or wear some reflective tape on your clothes.

Now speaking of Halloween, as a kid, the whole SA国际影视传媒渢rick or treatSA国际影视传媒� thing confused me. The full expression is apparently, SA国际影视传媒淚 will give you a trick if you donSA国际影视传媒檛 give me a treat.SA国际影视传媒� That sounds like a form of extortion and probably against the law.

One night while out collecting treats, some guy at a house said, SA国际影视传媒淥k, letSA国际影视传媒檚 see your trick before I give you a treat.SA国际影视传媒� I wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 prepared for that. I literally didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have any tricks up my sleeve. My mind was racing. I could throw a brick through his window, but I vetoed that idea because it seemed a little extreme and he was bigger than me and might not have a sense of humour. I could soap his windows but I didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have a bar of soap handy. So, I did a little jig instead and got some candy.

However, I remained a little confused about what kind of tricks I was threatening people with. Now if you thought Halloween and trick or treating was a little weird, when I went looking for its origins, one site suggests it may come from a custom in the Middle Ages between 500 and 1500 A D. People would go door-to-door offering prayers in exchange for food or money. It was known as souling, probably because people thought it was a way of saving souls. I am not sure how souling got turned into trick or treating, but when you are dealing with folk lore, superstition and cultural oddities, things often get even more confusing.

Here is another example: if you spill salt on the table, that is supposed to be a bad omen. To protect yourself, you are supposed to take a pinch of salt and throw it over your right shoulder. If you happen to be left-handed, presumably you can throw it over your left shoulder. Now you have spilled salt on the table and the floor. The folklore is that youSA国际影视传媒檙e throwing salt into the devilSA国际影视传媒檚 face because he is always lurking behind you and he doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 like getting salt in his eyes.

To explain Halloween to someone from far away from Yellowknife, it marks the start of the cold and snow. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 why we give out candy to keep the kids warm and active until Christmas. It is also a neighbourhood celebration as kids and adults go door-to-door with good cheer and greetings to their neighbours. You might not get together again until spring. Sure, there is a lot of folklore and symbolism involved but in a way, it is the last big outdoor get together and holiday until gardening and lawn cutting season comes again. It lets you greet and meet your neighbours both young and old.

A holiday may have a long history stretching back centuries but what is even more important is what it has become now. Personally, I find most of the decorations I have at the dump, so I consider it a recycling and reusing festival as well.

So, lots to celebrate on this hallowed beginning of the snow season in the North.