As many of the northern states are facing snow or mild-to-frigid weather at this point, I am amused by my coworkers who are all wearing jackets because it is below eighty degrees outside.
People are also discussing their Halloween costumes and doing last-minutes shopping for their various parties and trick-or-treat outings. Floridians, however, will never understand the struggles northerners face when preparing for Halloween.
The Weather vs. The Costume.
The costumes down here in Florida vary drastically from the ones up North. When you live in a place where the weather is either always perfect or “it’s-so-hot-kill-me-know” (which apparently isn’t that bad for locals, but I almost melt every time the weather goes over 95 degrees for an extended period of time), you can pretty much have any costume you want. If a kid wants to be a princess, they can be a princess; if they want to be a Power Ranger, they can be a Power Ranger. If you want to be a mouse like Karen:
you can be a mouse, because the weather outside is made for costumes like this. “Duh.” Unless you are one of the people who are currently trying to convince me that it’s cold out (seriously, people are wearing boots), then you might claim you’re freezing.
If you live in any northern state, you know that a costume like this will end in you losing various extremities if you spend any time outside. In states like Connecticut, where I’m from, you have to plan your costume around the weather. When I was a young kid, our most popular costumes were firemen, M&M’s, or various animals (I was once a cat because it was thirty degrees out—my costume was made entirely of fleece) because they provided the most warmth. Princesses and Power Rangers were forced to wear jackets which kills the whole Halloween feeling. Instead of a Power Ranger trick-or-treating, you are an Eskimo along with everyone else. My parents had to invest in a faux pink leather jacket when I insisted on being Sandy from Grease for Halloween, because I would freeze if I tried to wear a white t-shirt. The poodle skirt did provide a lot of much-needed warmth, but the itchy wool material was not ideal.
As you got older, you were forced to be more like Cady:
Or, you stopped participating in Halloween because you came to your senses and realized that not freezing to death was better than any costume. Or that you could just buy candy at the store or eat all the leftovers from your house when no kids showed up because it was twenty degrees out.
Halloween Can (and Will Be) Canceled.
While it’s not common, state governments will sometimes cancel Halloween due to extreme conditions. Some neighborhoods will delay the holiday until November 1st or 2nd, but this is not always the case.
If this:
Is what it looks like outside on Halloween (which it did for me in October 2011—this is an actual image from the Halloween Nor’Easter that caused wide range power outages, people to be trapped in their homes, and people to live without heat in Connecticut), then:
Halloween would never be rescheduled and you would be eating candy like a bear going into hibernation because you were so cold.
Be thankful for your below eighty weather, Floridians, because you will always be able to enjoy Halloween without ruining your costume or freezing to death.
Photo credit:
http://logoscreative.co/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/soupnazi.jpg
http://coolspotters.com/files/photos/599566/lacey-chabert-and-mean-girls…
http://cdn2.thegloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/3-hole-punch-jim.jpg
http://www.dailyiso.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/halloween-costumes-Im…
http://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2011/10/30/a9faa216-a643-11e2-a3f…