Halloween is a timeless tradition that offers innocent and sometimes mischievous fun for people of all ages. It’s at time where anyone can mask their identity in place of a playful one, dive into buckets of candy, and wake up the next day with a hell of a hangover or stomachache. However, the commercialized Halloween we know and love today began during the Middle Ages as a pagan festival for the harvest, one in which the changing of the season was associated with connecting with the spirits of the dead. Several celebratory traditions emerged that exist in some form today, and others evolved later as the tradition spread in North America. While some people associate the holiday with darker imagery and messaging, it remains a generally secular holiday that can be accessed by people from all cultures and religions. Although Covid put Halloween on a hiatus in 2020, we are hoping that it returns safely and enjoyably now in 2021! Links: https://www.countryliving.com/entertaining/a40250/heres-why-we-really-celebrate-halloween/ https://ababehavioralspecialists.com/halloween-tips/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/forget-poisoned-candy-and-razor-blades-heres-the-real-halloween-horror/ https://www.faithgateway.com/family-doesnt-celebrate-halloween/#.YUYQ67hKjIX https://www.history.com/news/how-americans-became-convinced-their-halloween-candy-was-poisoned https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/30/health/halloween-candy-panic-conversation-wellness/index.html https://religionunplugged.com/news/2020/10/27/why-some-religious-people-still-refuse-to-celebrate-halloween https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/halloween-around-the-world https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-halloween/2014/10/24/b9b60800-5939-11e4-8264-deed989ae9a2_story.html https://www.romper.com/life/halloween-tattoos We are on Reddit! https://www.reddit.com/user/WhyWeDoWhatWeDo Recommendations - Shane: AFI - Black Sails in the Sunset and the All Hallows EP (https://open.spotify.com/album/05vHKNdCinN1q1emA34zNY) - Abraham: Santa Clarita Diet Petition (https://www.change.org/p/netflix-santa-clarita-diet-netflix) - Alan: Jimmy Kimmel post-Halloween prank videos where parents pretend they ate their kids’ candy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YQpbzQ6gzs) - Go visit Salem, Massachusetts during the non-Halloween season. Go in late summer or early fall, it’s gorgeous, great food, overlooks the water, and you can rent bikes for free at the Hawthorne Hotel and pedal around to see some of the filming locations from “Hocus Pocus” or just chill in a record store or lobster festival. (https://www.salem.org/) You can reach us directly at [email protected], through the comments below OR on social via @wwdwwdpodcast or #wwdwwdpodcast.