Halloween is one of those rather strange events that people either engage in or they do not. When I was a young lad, Halloween was a rather low-key affair that mostly involved local families staying in and dunking apples. Several apples were chucked into a bucket, and then the hapless soul playing the game would attempt to pluck one out of said bucket just using their teeth. Their hands were cast behind them, and they got very wet very quickly. All good wholesome fun and quite low key. Interestingly, I also recall that back then people were much more religious, and there were certain sections of society that would have nothing at all to do with it; it was the devil’s work and all that, and it should all be left well alone. Certainly not the case in today’s consumer-obsessed world.
I am not quite sure when the American tradition of trick-or-treating finally arrived on these shores, but there is absolutely no doubt that it has entered the nation’s psyche with a vengeance. Just check out the supermarket aisles with row after row of cheap costumes, high-energy sweets, and pumpkins everywhere. So just what did we do at uTrack to celebrate Halloween where it is thought that the souls of the dead returned to their homes?
Well, the CEO of uTrack, Eamonn Hughes, has always been a huge fan of Halloween and has traditionally made great efforts to decorate the office and encourage staff to enter into the spirit of the event, by dressing up in whatever they feel comfortable in and arriving in fancy dress to ward off potential ghosts or, indeed, the tax man should he or she want to pop in for a quick audit, God forbid! In the past, some efforts have been very original, but I have to say this year, the guys really went to town. So, in appreciation of Eamonn’s love for all things Halloween, they all dressed up as Eamonn, complete with very realistic Eamonn masks and suitable fashionable designer clothing.
To be fair to Eamonn, when he arrived at the office, all he could see were mini-me’s of himself. It was all very abstract and, in fairness, very funny, and he really appreciated it. He himself arrived dressed as a bishop and, as a result, looked very unlike himself, but always good to see him leading from the front. In my own personal experience, you can tell a lot about a company’s culture by how staff join in such celebrations. Not a single person in the office in Birmingham did not wear an Eamonn mask and make the effort.
After all, we spend more time at work in the office than we do at home (or we did before the pandemic). So surely, it’s worth getting involved and having fun. After all, life is about balance, and one thing that uTrack does very well is celebrating the workforce and organizing some really great social events where the guys from Dublin will fly over, we will have a town hall meeting, and then go and play darts or laser games, enjoy a great meal and a few drinks, maybe a karaoke, and generally create great memories. And yes, Halloween, like bonfire night, etc., is a chance to dress up, make an effort, and have fun while remembering that its traditions go right back in time to the two pagan celebrations that mark the changing of the seasons.
