Follow along with the transcript below for episode: Why Halloween Makes Us Happy with Casey Johnson and Paula Felps
[INTRODUCTION]
[0:00:02] PF: Thank you for joining us for Episode 492 of Live Happy Now. In just a couple of days, we’re going to celebrate Halloween, but here at Live Happy, the festivities are already underway.
I’m your host, Paula Felps, and this week I’m joined by our social media marketing manager, Casey Johnson, who, like myself, is a big fan of this holiday. This year, we decided to dive into the science behind Halloween traditions and rituals to find out why they make us happy and even what they can do for us. So, take a break from the truly scary things out there like news and listen as we learn what makes the spooky season so good for us.
[EPISODE]
[0:00:44] PF: Casey, thank you for sitting down with me today.
[0:00:47] CJ: Thank you for having me. It’s always good to be here.
[0:00:49] PF: It’s our favorite holiday of all time.
[0:00:52] CJ: Yes, Halloween.
[0:00:56] PF: Yes, yes. I know that we may not be in the majority, but we are certainly not alone in our affinity for this holiday. I think it’s something that you and I have been talking about for several years now, like how much we both love Halloween and really how much joy we get out of it. Just so our listeners know, the reason we’re sitting down is we thought as much joy as it brings to us, there’s got to be some psychology behind all of this, and so Casey and I are not scientists. We are not psychologists but we do know how to read and we know how to Google.
[0:01:31] CJ: Yes. We’re Halloween enthusiasts. That’s who we are.
[0:01:35] PF: Yes, we are. We found out a lot of really cool stuff about how good Halloween really is for us. So, that’s what we wanted to do is sit down and share a little bit with that. With that being said, Casey, I wanted to get a little backstory on you for Halloween. What did you like best about when you were a kid?
[0:01:55] CJ: That’s a great question. I loved Halloween growing up. I’m glad we’re talking about this because the older I’ve gotten, the more I actually love Halloween, which I didn’t think was possible. But yes, growing up the way we would celebrate Halloween and what I loved most was obviously the candy and trick or treating. I loved trick or treating in my neighborhood like with my parents and neighbors. I mean, now I feel like most people don’t really know their neighbors, but back then we did. So, it was just really nice to like have that connection. We had to be done trick or treating by 9pm. So, everyone was like on the same page and it just, it was nice. It was simpler times, it felt like.
[0:02:36] PF: Yes. It was a really fun time, because I grew up in a rural area, so trick or treating was a little bit more challenging, but it sounds like you were more of the treat kid and I was more of the trick kid.
[0:02:50] CJ: We’d make a good team.
[0:02:51] PF: Yes, we would. Because I wasn’t so much in it for the candy, but I got to say, I did some pretty impressive toilet paper decorating back in my day.
[0:03:01] CJ: Toilet paper decorating. Got it.
[0:03:05] PF: So, that was always what was fun for me. I mean, it was mischievous, it wasn’t vandalous. But it was. That was always my part of it. I really had a lot of fun doing that. We had a small community. People would know, actually had at one point, people told me, it’s like, “Hey, you did some really nice work on the LaBerts house this year.” I was like –
[0:03:24] CJ: They knew it was you every year.
[0:03:27] PF: They did.
[0:03:29] CJ: That’s amazing. It’s just toilet paper.
[0:03:33] PF: I was a toilet paper artist before my time. I love just the whole idea of sitting down and thinking about Halloween because it always did bring me joy even before I discovered the trick part of it. But yes, just the idea of being able to dress up in costume and go out and be part of this group. The whole ritual of that was something that just really appealed to me. So, as we talk about Halloween and as we look at it, obviously there’s like Christmas carols and things like that. Do you have a favorite Halloween song?
[0:03:59] CJ: Oh, man. I got to think about this one. Do you?
[0:04:04] PF: I actually do. So, I love anything from the Twins’ Night Before Christmas, and that song, “This is Halloween.” It just makes me smile. I think that should be our song of the week this week.
[0:04:17] CJ: Yes, let’s do it. It’s funny you say that because I was with my niece the other day and she’s actually born on Halloween. So yes, amazing. That is her favorite song right now. She’s five and “This is Halloween” is her favorite song. Very on brand for her.
[0:04:32] PF: That’s so cute. So, I love that. When you look at it as an adult, what is it that you like about Halloween now?
[0:04:40] CJ: Yes. I mean, I still love the candy and costumes, but I really love the togetherness that it creates. Kind of like a ritual almost we celebrate it every year and people talk about like what they’re going to dress up as. I mean, at least the people in my circle do. We always look forward to that. But, yes, I would say it’s the togetherness that comes with Halloween.
[0:05:04] PF: Well, it’s funny you should mention that because that’s one of the things that, as I was diving into the research about it, that is one of the things that’s so healthy about it that adds to our well-being. It’s that lens of the ritual aspect because rituals, they bring us together and especially right now, right before this election in a very divided time, it’s so great to be able to drop that, put on a costume, and just enjoy the day or the night at face value, and really nothing else matters. You can create social connections and find similarities with people that you might not even see again. People you may not agree with outside of this arena, but it’s a moment that you share and really nothing else matters. You’re not going to sit there and talk, hopefully, not going to talk politics or religion or anything else that we’re divided about. You’re just going to enjoy that moment.
[0:05:54] CJ: I agree. The mindfulness, it’s something that we all can agree on. Halloween is fun. It’s playful. We’re laughing. It’s not so serious. I love all that.
[0:06:08] PF: Yes. I think too, for me. I love seeing my friends in a different context. Because we see our friends, or coworkers, colleagues, whatever, and we all have our little masks that we have to wear to work and we have to have out in the public. I love seeing how my different friends approach it differently. It’s fun, especially when you have friends that you’ve had for several years, to see what they come up with every year, to see how it progresses and how things change. There’s a real joy to that.
[0:06:37] CJ: I agree. I like how you said like we wear these masks to work and then we put on these masks for Halloween, kind of like and maybe this is getting too deep, but like in a way for Halloween. We’re putting masks on for Halloween, but I feel like when we put that mask on, we become silly, and in a way, we’re kind of taking the mask off and being our true selves.
[0:07:01] PF: I would say so. I think the idea of costumes, really let’s you kind of live out what you want to be. What kind of costumes do you like? Do you go silly? Do you go serious? What kind of costumes do you go for?
[0:07:13] CJ: It depends on the year, but I like to go silly. I like to do a good pun or some good pop culture. But this year I’m going as a witch, so not so silly, but normally I go the silly route.
[0:07:26] PF: Yes, I like that.
[0:07:27] CJ: What about you?
[0:07:28] PF: I like to go badass.
[0:07:33] CJ: Sounds about right.
[0:07:35] PF: This year we’re going as Neo and Trinity from the Matrix.
[0:07:39] CJ: I love that.
[0:07:40] PF: Yes. So, there’s something for me that I really love about being able to, just for a night, being able to be, like I said, this total warrior person that gets out there and gets things done. That’s the kind of character I kind of gravitate toward.
[0:07:57] CJ: It’s so you.
[0:08:00] PF: Thank you, I think.
[0:08:01] CJ: Yes. It was a compliment. For sure. You’re our warrior. Our Live Happy Now warrior.
[0:08:06] PF: We should make little Live Happy warrior costumes. Little Viking hats.
[0:08:10] CJ: We should. Next year.
[0:08:12] PF: Next year. I feel it.
[0:08:13] CJ: It’s happening.
[0:08:14] PF: Yes. So, how about haunted houses? Do you like the haunted house thing and the scary movies?
[0:08:21] CJ: This is a tricky question for me. I used to love haunted houses as a kid and maybe it’s because I’d go with a large group of friends and maybe I felt safer because I’m
like, “Well, there’s a lot of us. They can’t get me.” But I don’t know, now as an adult, I’m kind of a scaredy cat when it comes to the haunted houses, but I love a good scary movie. We add a bunch of scary movies throughout the year to like our list, and then we always come back to them in October.
[0:08:47] PF: Oh, really?
[0:08:47] CJ: So, we are just like – yes. Because I like watching scary movies during this time of year. I just feel like it’s what you do, I guess. I feel like they are more fun to watch when it’s Halloween versus like, if I’m watching it in the summertime or whenever.
[0:09:04] PF: Yes. Oh, that makes total sense. The reason I wanted to find that out is because that’s one of the studies that I found. Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University did this great talk about how we actually enjoy stress if it’s like a scary movie or a roller coaster. Okay, not the kind of stress like when your relatives come to visit for Christmas, not that.
[0:09:25] CJ: That’s different.
[0:09:26] PF: Yes, that’s a total different. But we like it. It fits in a set timeframe. We know it’s going to end. It’s not going to last for days, like a haunted house or a movie. We know there’s an ending and it’s happening in a context where we know we’re safe. It’s actually something that’s fun and good for us. I was really surprised to find that out. But yes, getting scared can actually bring us a little bit of joy when we know that we’re safe.
[0:09:52] CJ: That’s really interesting. It’s kind of like a manageable amount of stress.
[0:09:56] PF: Right. Yes. So, I thought that was really cool because I’m like you, I used to love going to haunted houses. Again, we would do it in groups. I actually got in trouble one time because something came at me and I threw the person in front of me at whatever was coming at me and made a run for it.
[0:10:13] CJ: “Take them, not me.”
[0:10:15] PF: Apparently, you’re not supposed to do that. That’s the thing too, like we look so much at that time of death, skeletons, and all the images of death, the cemetery that goes with it. And it was really interesting as well, because a few weeks ago we had Jodi Wellman on the show. She wrote the book, You Only Die Once.
[0:10:37] CJ: Yes, I remember that.
[0:10:38] PF: Yes.
[0:10:39] CJ: It’s a great episode.
[0:10:40] PF: Such a huge impact on me because she takes that approach of acknowledging that we all have an expiration date, so we should make the most of the time that we have left. So, she has a lot of research that supports her work that shows us that thinking about death makes us more grateful. I wonder sometimes if Halloween is a way to look at death and some of those things that scare us and maybe loosen our grip on those fears just a little. It lets us kind of get close to it without being dead.
[0:11:10] CJ: Yes, for sure. I feel like death is a topic that people are afraid to talk about and I think Halloween kind of, it’s a reminder that life is short, and we need to live into the fullest. We all die. We all have an expiration date, like Jodi said.
[0:11:28] PF: We get to kind of like get close to it, talk about it, look at it in a non-threatening kind of way.
[0:11:34] CJ: Yes, exactly, in a non-threatening way.
[0:11:36] PF: So, in a super non-threatening way, you and I had talked about this. We came across it. We thought it was super cool and that was the Halloween-themed positive affirmations. You can say, “Well, that’s kind of cheesy.” You could make it cheesy, but it is also something that you could really use to kind of trick your critic into having fun with positive affirmations.
So, I thought that these could be particularly cool to do with kids because it’s hard to teach kids how to use positive affirmations. But something that we found was talking about like, take whatever costume they chose and whatever costume they’re wearing and use it to reinforce some of their positive attributes, like I’m as brave as a ninja or whatever superhero they are. It’s a great way to get kids thinking about what they like about their character, what they want to be, like how they want to be like that.
[0:12:31] CJ: I love that, especially like using it in a way to help kids understand positive affirmations. I always have an affirmation. I mean, my affirmations, they change over time, but I always have something that I use just to help keep me in this positive mindset. I just think it’s a great way to help kids specifically reframe those fears or anxieties in a playful way.
[0:12:56] PF: I really like that as a way to work with kids because it really is a playful way to get them to learn about personal development without letting them know they’re learning something, and think how powerful that would be if they can kind of learn how to do that and start leveraging that in their daily lives when they’re like you know six, eight years old, what a difference that makes.
We, as adults, can use that same kind of approach. Even though it might feel a little cheeky or a little awkward at first to be doing that, it’s almost like it’s too cheesy or something. But the research shows that both play and fun are staples of our happiness. If we can do that more playful approach to personal development and give us these positive affirmations that are linked to Halloween, I think that’s a great way to do it.
[0:13:42] CJ: Me too. I’m all about the personal growth and self-improvement, especially making it more accessible. I think that’s amazing.
[0:13:49] PF: If you had a positive Halloween affirmation, I’m going to put you on a spot. What would it be?
[0:13:54] CJ: I love that question and I’m not going to lie, I’m prepared, I have one.
[0:13:57] PF: Oh, you’re always prepared, Casey. That’s why I love –
[0:14:01] CJ: Yes. I love Halloween and I love positive affirmations, so you know you have one ready to go. Okay, so my context right now in this just kind of chapter up my life. I’m trying to be very mindful of who I spend my time with. I tend to absorb other people’s problems or negative energy, and right now I’m trying to observe and just be very intentional of who I spend my time with. So, my affirmation is like a spider’s web, I weave connections that support and lift me.
[0:14:35] PF: Oh, my God, that’s so good. I love that.
[0:14:38] CJ: Thank you.
[0:14:40] PF: We should make little Live Happy positive affirmation Halloween cards and that should be one of them.
[0:14:46] CJ: Yes, I’m making a note for next year. It’s happening.
[0:14:49] PF: Wow. I love that. I love that a lot. So, that is why you are the queen of Halloween Happy Acts because you come up with stuff like that. Let’s talk about that a little bit. We have it going on again this year and I love that you came up with this. I love being able to implement Halloween and Happy Acts all together.
[0:15:09] CJ: Well, thank you. And I also love the Queen of Happy Acts, that has a nice ring to it.
[0:15:14] PF: I think there’s a tiara coming your way.
[0:15:17] CJ: Oh, good. It’s going to be black and orange.
[0:15:21] PF: Yes.
[0:15:22] CJ: Amazing. But yes, Halloween Happy Acts. So, we started this a couple of years ago and I feel like we’ve all had so much fun with it. I think it’s such a simple and effective campaign. Halloween, it’s known to be spooky and scary, but I like how we kind of shifted it into this time for kindness and compassion and community building. This month we’re launching our Halloween Happy Acts campaign once again, and we would love for everyone to join us in making this a season of just celebrating joy and connections.
The way I see it, this is kind of the real Halloween spirit, if you will. So, yes. If you don’t like the ones that we shared or it’s not accessible to you, feel free to make your own. Tag us in your stories or your post so we can see your Halloween Happy Acts. It’s so much fun and we want as many people to participate if they can.
[0:16:22] PF: That sounds great. Where can they go to learn more about them?
[0:16:25] CJ: Follow us on social media and you can see the Halloween Happy Acts we’ve shared so far and then you can also sign up for the newsletter.
[0:16:31] PF: Okay. That’s perfect. It’s only a couple of days until Halloween. What are a couple of examples of the Halloween Happy Acts that they can do?
[0:16:40] CJ: So, one that they can do is create a compliment cauldron for your office or your classroom and you can make it as simple or extravagant as you’d like. But basically, what that is, it’s just a little bowl, I should say, where people can drop positive notes for each other. It’s just a little spooky pick-me-up if you will.
[0:16:59] PF: That is such a cool thing to do in an office. They should get like a little black witch’s cauldron and just fill it up.
[0:17:06] CJ: Exactly. Get like some orange-coasted notes.
[0:17:10] PF: Yes. So, we’ve got the compliment cauldron, what else we got going on?
[0:17:14] CJ: We are obviously encouraging people to drop off Halloween-themed goodies, whether it’s candy or a boo bag at your local fire station, hospital, or school. We want to show appreciation to our local heroes, of course. Another good thing to do, I mean, I know it’s leading up to Halloween, but this is a good one to do afterwards. Donate your gently used costumes to your local shelter for families who need costumes, whether it’s this year, they have a late Halloween party, or they can reuse them the following year, because costumes can get expensive, especially if you have multiple kids.
[0:17:50] PF: Yes, that’s great. Because another thing, like what I did last year, I realized I had a lot more Halloween decorations than I was putting out. So, I saved them until this year and waited until like the very beginning of October and then donated them just so that it’d be more relevant, I guess, to people. So, that was something that I did to kind of help share the Halloween spirit.
[0:18:16] CJ: I love that. That inspires me to do the same because I have a lot of overflow of decorations that just don’t really fit our space anymore, but they’re still in good condition. I feel like they need a good home. So, I’m going to do that as well.
[0:18:29] PF: Rehome those Halloween decorations. I love it.
[0:18:33] CJ: Yes.
[0:18:33] PF: All right. Well, Casey, it’s always fun to sit down and talk with you. Again, I’m glad we finally got to sit down and talk about Halloween and how good it is for us and realize that we don’t just love it for no reason. It actually is helping us out.
[0:18:49] CJ: Yes, I love that now there’s psychology behind our love for Halloween. It all makes sense now.
[0:18:55] PF: It does. Casey, thank you for all you do. Thank you for the Halloween Happy Acts and happy Halloween.
[0:19:02] CJ: Thank you, happy Halloween to you.
[OUTRO]
[0:19:09] PF: That was Casey Johnson talking with me about our favorite holiday, Halloween. If you’d like to learn more about our Halloween Happy Acts or sign up for our weekly newsletter, just visit us at livehappy.com and click on this podcast episode.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Live Happy Now and if you aren’t already receiving us every week, we invite you to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re there, feel free to drop us a review and let us know what you think.
That is all we have time for today. We’ll meet you back here again next week for an all-new episode. Until then, this is Paula Felps, reminding you to make every day a happy one.
