Honeycombed Hallows Eve

"You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing!"

How I do enjoy this time of year when little children are transformed into little ghouls and goblins, continuing a tradition passed down to them of a holiday that celebrates the dark side of life... a chance to be just a little bit devilish and a little bit deceptive... a day filled with the symbols of death and rebirth. It fits my personality and fills my visual appetite. 

Halloween, which originated in an annual Pagan celebration which marked the harvest (hence the pumpkin), the changing of the seasons (corn husks and scarecrows) and a celebration of the dead (skeletons anyone?) was called Samhain, a Gaelic word for "summers end". It was believed that this time of the year, a thinner veil between the living and the dead allowed us to communicate with each other. Pagan's would welcome their ancestors to large feasts but warded away mischievous souls (bats, cats and witches!) by disguising themselves.

Mexico's transformation of All Saint's Day into Dia Los Muertos or Day of the Dead, is a colorful affair that can trace it's origins back to Aztec mythology. It was the celebration of the Goddess Mictecacihuatl, Lady of the Dead, the Queen of the underworld and afterlife. She is now depicted as a Catrina, the symbol of death in Mexico. An etching by the printmaker and cartoonist Jose Guadealupe Posada  back in 1910 established the visual characteristics of La Calavera Catrina in the Mexican psyche. But it was Diego Rivera's 50 foot fresco "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park"1948 that established her name and place in Mexican folklore.

But enough with the History lesson! For me, the symbology of Halloween is less about death and more about the graphic use of two of my favorite colors: black and orange! This visual world I delight in is drenched in these darker hues. All of the pumpkins, bats, owls, witches and cats are pleasantly wrapped up in tissue papered honeycomb that delight me every time I bring them out for display. 

With my chilling, thrilling sounds of The Haunted House playing LOUDLY in the background, I dig into my bag of Halloween tricks and pull out my collection of honeycomb tissue papered items I have been collecting over the years. I have a vast collection I will be sharing later this year of my honeycomb ornaments for Christmas, seen in the shape of snowmen, santas and soldiers but Halloween decorations are not as prevalent and therefore harder to find.

Since Halloween used to be the least mass marketed holiday of all, there are fewer vintage items that were created. It gave us all a chance to craft and create our own costumes and decorations. This once DIY holiday only had a smattering of die cut images to hang on the wall. The Beistle Company out of Pennsylvania certainly is the forerunner in manufacturing Halloween decorations. They partnered with the Paper Novelty Company back in 1921 and created their first line of holiday honeycomb decorations. 

They have recently revived manufacturing items made back in the 1920 through the 1950's under the Vintage Beistle name. But unfortunately, I don't see their action dancers yet! You know, the decorations of scarecrows, witches and skeletons where their hands and feet dangle from honeycombed tissue paper... Perhaps when they decide to reissue those items I may consider purchasing a reproduction. Until then, I'm still a die hard Hallmark Plans-A-Party collector!

I'm still in love with the gentler side of Hallmarks designs, where little children can foray into the dark side of Halloween without being to frightened by the visuals they encounter.

Their simplistic shapes and solid colors harken back to an era that emphasized spooky more than scary imagery. These pumpkin centerpieces have never been punched out and create an interesting layout in and of itself!

Of course their Party Ideas and Check-List on the back of every package is priceless for any busy Hostess. Who doesn't have the time to create life size decorations?

"Witches, ghosts and scarecrows are easy to make and add to the fun. Nail sticks or boards together to form a body (!). Drape fabric over the rough boards. Paint a fce on the styrofoam head or us a Hallmark mask. Use straw or yarn for hair on the scarecrow and witch." 

Voilá! Instant party atmosphere, just watch out for those rough boards and nails...

"Every Halloween party should have a witch's brew (I agree!). For a dark, murky punch, mix grape and orange fruit juices. Float pealed grapes on top and call it Cats Eye Tea or Eyeball Brew" 

You just know Martha and her minions have been scavenging these magical tid bits off the back of Hallmark packaging for years and making them into a modern version for their Living readership!

A perfect counterpoint to the large and lovely orange honeycomb of the pumpkins are these deep, dark and mysterious owls perching on their die cut wood log. One looks serious, while the other balances out his partner by being just a little bit concerned with the witch flying close behind them!

When my little Edith Ann sees these owls this Halloween, she will be less frightened by their presence and more intrigued with the fact that they are made out of paper. As her birthday is very close to Halloween, I'm thinking of combining the two next year and throwing a birthday/costume party for her. 

I'll have to start digging for additional items to match. So far, I've only uncovered the table cover shown below. I have seen some coasters but invitations, plates, cups and nut cups will be hard to come by. Place mats, napkins, a bridge cover (!?!), Bib (...) and plastic owl favors will be like looking for hens teeth. If you happen upon them, please let me know!

I have to admit, this year I purchased an item that WASN'T made out of Honeycomb. I couldn't help myself. The packaging was perfect NOS and the imagery was right up my alley. The die cut and posable owl and cat as you can see on the left is just adorable. I'm a sucker for fabric backgrounds, balsa wood fences and twigs. The juxtaposition between the real twig and the textural wood, fabric and paper FLOAT MY BOAT! Hallmark called them Home Decorations and I will be hunting for them at every turn. 

Will all the little ghouls and goblins running around our house high on candy, I'm hoping these decorations will last the night and live to see another Halloween. I'm not precious with paper (or glass for that matter) and if they do happen to tear or become a sticky decoration glued to a tinker bell or transformer, I'm OK with that. It means they were loved and were sacrificed at the alter of Halloween...

Bwwwaahhhhahahaha!

Julie Pavlowski Green

Saturday, October 19, 2013