Halloween falls on a Friday this year, and we’ve got some positively spooky ideas for great fun in Big Bear.
As many of your know, Halloween in Big Bear is a pretty big deal. The entire village pulls out all the stops to make sure that kids and parents alike will have a great time. Dress the kids up as little ghouls or zombies and hit the Village streets from 5pm to 7:30. Many of the merchants will be handing out free candy. Mom and dad will have a great time too enjoying all the fun shops at the Village as you stroll in the cool October evening. We still have some vacancies for that weekend, and you can make a really fun time of it for the entire family. Streets filled with little goblins and zombies, free candy, and a luxury Big Bear cabin rental from Five Star Vacation Rental. Life doesn’t get much better than this.
Most of us get so wrapped up in the fun of Halloween that we neglect to examine the actual roots of this centuries-old event.
There are a number of ideas about how the tradition began. Many say it was started as a Celtic ritual that was meant to mark the end of the harvest season. Some say it was later converted to a Christian celebration of the dead.
Our favorite story was from our old Uncle Murray. He said Halloween was started centuries ago by a guy named Hal who was constantly begging for free food from his neighbors One year in late October the neighbors rebelled at his freeloading and plotted a way to make it stop. They all dressed in scary outfits and decided to scare Hal away. They hid in the bushes one night as Hal made his usual rounds and jumped out while screaming loudly. The plot seemed to work. Hal ran away and did not return. His neighbors celebrated the fact that they had weaned Hal from his continually mooching. Things became unusually quiet around the neighborhood. It was too quiet.
Talk soon started around the neighborhood, and it seemed as though the neighbors actually started missing Hal. “Where has he been?” They asked each other. But they always were reminded, “Hal is weaned.” And they were surprised to discover they actually began to miss the little moocher. They came up with a plan.
Late the next October a group of the neighbors went to visit Hal. He was overjoyed to see them and even happier with their plan. He understood that he imposed upon them with his incessant begging, so he agreed to limit his visits. They said he was welcome to visit as often as he liked, and the neighborhood would celebrate the rekindling of their friendship each October by celebrating a day they called, “Hal is weaned.” Soon all the neighbor kids joined in the yearly celebration recreating the event by going door to door in scary costumes, asking for handouts, and shouting, “Hal is weaned!” As you can see, over the years the name has morphed to a bit simpler, “Halloween.” Or something like that. Did we mention that Uncle Murray was also abducted by aliens once, too?
Check out all of our Big Bear vacation rentals at this link. And if you’re in the mood for a getaway elsewhere, follow these links to view our other properties in Park City, Southern California Beaches, Mammoth Mountain, and Villa la Estancia in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. A well planned weekend away in a Five Star Vacation Rental cabin or estate will recharge your batteries and equip the entire family for the challenges back at home. Call us today at 310-800-5454, and we’ll help you plan the vacation of a lifetime.
