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As day quickly becomes night and a fog rolls into communities across this land, ghosts, ghouls, and goblins descend upon our mortal plane for a once-a-year festival celebrating all that is spooky.
Halloween Origins
Halloween, or Samhain as it was originally known, dates back 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic period, where humans largely celebrated it to ward off roaming spirits by lighting bonfires and dressing up. During the centuries that have followed, different cultures have brought it to every land around the globe, along with their versions of it.
Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Celts, for their part, believed that between October 31 and November 1, the lines between our mortal plane and the spiritual realm are most blurred, and therefore spirits of those who came and went before us are allowed to cross over and roam.
What we know as Halloween today is largely due to Irish immigrants bringing their traditions of Halloween to North America during the 19th century. It wasn't always celebrated with candy, costumes, haunted houses, and pumpkin carving.
Although, during the Middle Ages, the poor did go door to door singing or saying prayers in exchange for soul cakes—a practice known as "souling," which was basically baked goods such as biscuits or spiced cakes, sometimes adorned with crosses or religious symbols. This practice has mostly faded over time.
Bups Costumes
I knew pretty much from the end of Halloween last year that I wanted to do costumes for the Bups this year. All year long, I have been planning for this one day in 2025. And yet, despite all the concepts and elaborate planning, the day is finally here, and I have very little to show for it.
Planning for something and then putting that plan into action is almost always different from paper. In this case, it wasn't so much a lack of action or too much procrastination but rather forgetting that each Bup has a totally unique personality—and that one size does not fit all.
I should have kept it simple from the start and been more flexible. Unfortunately, I'm cursed with a perfectionist mindset, and this manifests in various ways. I mean, sure, the Bups would have looked adorable, but they don't all need to dress up—not every single one.
Ghosts to Ghostly Victorian Avengers
Moe Moe and Teddy were supposed to be ghosts. I didn't have any white sheets, nor did I want to destroy any by cutting them up. So, I took an old mattress topper and cut it into pieces. Of course, that was the easy part. Moe Moe and Teddy, besides being small guys, aren't exactly suitable for most fitted costumes due to their dimensions.
Ultimately, I decided to make them capes with the material instead of simply tossing a sheet over them with cutouts for eyes. This way, they both can see and be seen while emphasizing that they are wearing capes. Not entirely sure what I was aiming for here, but it came out decently.
Last Bupoween vs. This Bupoween
As you can see, not much really changed, although this year the pumpkin in question received a botched reconstructive surgery by my hand. Thankfully, it can't take me to court and sue me for damages—cause, if it could, I’m pretty sure it would win!
Seriously though, I have never been good at carving pumpkins—not even okay or decent, in my opinion.
My renditions are quite subpar, which seems to track since my drawing skills are just as atrocious. Not even a Sharpie marker could help save the day. In hindsight, though, I probably should have marked it first before carving. Oh well—live and learn.
Final Thought
Bupoween 2025 ended up looking a lot like Bupoween 2024, although Moe Moe and Teddy had capes on. There were costumes for some of the other Bups, such as clothing, full-body costumes, jewelry, witches' hats, and more. But in the end, it was less about dressing up and more about everyone being together for Halloween.
As we head into November, Thanksgiving will be here before we know it, as will Christmas and the new year.
There will be plenty of opportunities for our Bups to get into the holiday spirit. Who knows—maybe I can even persuade them to model the outfits they didn’t wear tonight. 🤔
All in all, Bupoween 2025 was all about being together as a family unit and gathering around the most hideous—and not at all fierce-looking—pumpkin.