#StationerySundays (10/11/20) – Embracing Halloween’s Lighter Side in a Dark Time

By any account, 2020 has been a truly frightening and horrific year for most people in one respect or another, so at first blush, now would seem like an awkward time to celebrate a holiday that revels in the spooky and macabre — especially since there will be far fewer trick-or-treaters wandering about. However, I would argue that we may need Halloween now more than ever since it also includes elements of fun and levity…and hey, many of us are wearing masks in public as a lifestyle now anyway, so aren’t we most of the way there already?

Halloween offers plenty of entertaining diversions that aren’t at all scary — bright orange pumpkins (many with amusing faces carved into them), myriad varieties of candy, colorful autumn leaves crunching beneath our feet with a full moon overhead — and even supposedly scary traditional characters like monsters, zombies, ghosts, and witches seem almost quaint compared to the real terrors that exist in our world these days.

Plenty of Halloween cards are available, both online and in stores, but one of my favorites that’s a little off the beaten path is the “Good Luck Cat” greeting card (see photo above) from Israeli design studio Compoco. While black cats have made their way into the Halloween mythos due to pervasive superstitions associating them with bad luck, I see Halloween as a time to celebrate their charms and contradict that notion, especially as I fondly remember two black cats of my own.

Tartufo (“Tufo”) and Tiramisu (“Missy”), brother and sister, were incredibly friendly and good-natured but, like many siblings, frequently quarreled with each other. I’ll never forget one of the extremely rare occasions when they both lay quietly side by side on my desk as I wrote a cover letter and resumé for what was my dream job at that point. It was a long shot, but I was going for it, and they sat right next to me in companionable silence for the entire time I prepared my application materials. It turned out that I got the job. Sure, it’s easy to see this as a happy coincidence, but I’ve always preferred to think that they had in fact brought me good luck. So when I saw the Compoco card, it really resonated.

At the 2018 National Stationery Show in New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center, I met a couple of the folks from Compoco, who — as it happened — attributed part of the inspiration for their whimsical, uplifting designs to a much-beloved pet black cat.

We could all use some good luck right now, so this card is great to send not only for Halloween (optionally accompanied by an equally adorable Halloween pumpkin sticker), but also year-round. Compoco also offers other wonderful cards for a variety of occasions on its website.

Who might appreciate a Halloween wish this year? Do you know any kids who would enjoy receiving something festive to mark the occasion? Or an adult who never stopped loving the holiday? Inject a bit of fun into someone’s week!