I’m sure you have all seen them. They come out every year around this time. You know, the fake witches attached to a tree making it look as though she flew into it. Yeah that plastic carnage of a witch can only mean one thing; it’s time for Halloween.

Now, I have three favorite holidays: Christmas, my birthday and good old Halloween. And before I get into my favorite things about this day, I felt it to be of the utmost importance that I actually learn some of the history of this holiday I enjoy so much.

So of course, the first place I went was the History Channel website. I figure if they can show me “True Crime” and “Quest for Dragons,” then surely they should know a thing or two about Halloween.

Here’s what I learned: Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Now these old guys and gals lived about 2,000 years ago in what is now Europe.

They celebrated their new year on Nov. 1, which makes me wonder how we started New Years in January. Fear not, I may just touch on that come late December. Anyway, this day marked the end of summer harvest and the beginning of winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death.

These crazy kids believed that on the night before the new year, that’s Oct. 31 if you’re following along, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.Now how this date became a time of crazy, sugar-high little kids and the Exotic Zone Ball, would take a whole lot more research and frankly, I’d rather just waste my time on MySpace. Now that I’ve covered the history, let’s get to the good stuff: why I love Halloween so much.

First off, let’s talk about the little kiddies. How cute is it to see a little girl dressed up like The Little Mermaid or a little guy as The Hulk? So cute, right? Go ahead and think back to when you were little.

Halloween totally kicked ass! We got to dress up like our favorite Power Ranger (mine was the Pink one!) and go to school. At my school, we had a Halloween parade to show off our costumes.

Plus, it made recess only that much more fun because we didn’t have to pretend. The monkey bars no longer existed; they were the spider webs we shot out of our wrists because on that day, we really were Spiderman. Then there were the cupcakes. Oh yeah, forget the candy. Those chocolate cupcakes with the white frosting that had been aerosol-sprayed orange and had sprinkles shaped like bats- now that stuff was the bomb!And then came the depression years of Halloween. Too old to go trick-or-treating, too young to party. Halloween just lost its gusto. It’s flavor, if you will. But fear not, oh lovers of Halloween. The rejuvenation of the holiday comes along at this point because we decide to combine alcohol with the joys that a costume can bring. And this is the No. 1 reason why I love Halloween- because for one night you can be someone else. For the fellas, you can be a cop, a fireman or a doctor.

For the ladies, just add the word “sexy” before all the previously mentioned costumes and you’ll be set! Or for just $19.95 you can be a lame college student! Costume comes with a full course load, a full-time job and a limited income (energy drink and unmanageable stress sold separately). No, that’s not cool. Halloween means for one night you don’t have to be you.

Now I know that since we’ve grown up, we often substitute too much alcohol for too much candy on Halloween and all I ask is that you all be safe out there. But enjoy the night and remember, if you see me out at some Halloween party- just for that night, I’m not Nicki; I’m a “sexy sailor.”

Nicki Croly can be reached at [email protected]