Halloween—that autumnal equivalent to the pagan rite of spring—is just getting underway in the parts of Vancouver I tend to haunt.

As of Tuesday (October 15) there were, as yet, only a scattering of pumpkins and other yard and balcony displays to be seen in the Fairview neighbourhood (not to mention Mount Pleasant).

In truth, it was still a week too early for the majority of Vancouver residents to be thinking about scaring up Halloween decorations.

All the same, I like to give a scream shout-out to some of the early adopters.

Leaf your troubles behind and party like it’s 1999 BCE

Halloween, like Christmas, has deep, pre-Christian roots.

But unlike Christmas, stripped a millennia ago of its associations with the winter solstice, Halloween happily continues to be haunted by the spirit of pagan harvest festivals of yore.

At the same time, Halloween is a hugely popular party time with kids and adults alike—in no small part because it is joyously free of any of the emotional baggage that can cramp the simple enjoyment of both Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties.

As observed in Vancouver, Halloween makes its first tentative appearance in the first weeks of October, with the actual start time varying wildly by neighbourhood, by block and often by house and apartment building.

I generally expect the creative yard and balcony displays to slowly grow in number in the second week and then multiply exponentially in the third week of the month—especially in those areas of the city rich in single family homes.

Finally, of course, everything wraps up at the end of the month with door-to-door trick-or-treating for lucky kids and varying degrees of wild partying for adults.

Given that October 31 occurs on a Friday this year, the culmination of this All Hallows’ Eve will almost certainly extend two days into the weekend that begins November.

As for when it ends, Halloween always lasts as long as the last pumpkin on the last porch.