There are less knights and literary characters and more cartoonish pimps and hoes ... and even modern day heroes of law enforcement and other rescue services , tend to illustrate more the lack of the iconic uniforms then the dignity that it represents . On the contrary , I was always impressed by the dashing gentleman whose attire would harmonise with the one worn by their female companions , all the Mark Antonys to their Cleopatras , the Arthurs to their Guineveres and all the Romeos to theirs Juliets . One of my personal favourite was a costume I fashioned of ' Woland ', a fictional character from Bulgakov ’ s 1967 novel “ Master and Margarita ”. I was accompanied to that event by a friend dressed as Behemoth , a sarcastic black cat who was a member of Woland ’ s entourage . It was a long time ago ; I was probably in my late teens or early twenties . It was indeed an evening to remember . Looking back , I guess I always more engrossed by benevolent demons then by revengeful Gods .
Not only that it celebrates the death of a ruthless ruler Haman , in a less then let ’ s forgive and forget matter and more in a “ The king is dead and thank G-d for that ”, it also teaches the children to give rather than to take or beg for sweets , as most ‘ Jewish mothers ’, more so as a concept then as a parenting style , would rather die themselves then allow their kids go around knocking on the neighbours doors demanding treats .. oy vey ist mir ! ( 2 )
Another important aspect of being a gentleman is having a role model , and as more and more adults join in the fun of fancy dress and flamboyant consume parties , myself included , I always found it fascinating to see what alter egos would emerge after dark , as man and women chose to dress up ... or frankly to ‘ undress up ’, in to less than honourable members of the polite society .
There is another aspect that I found to stand it sharp contrast to the moral fibre of Halloween . Besides his traditions , manners and convictions , the making of a true gentleman would never be complete without him knowing how to treat a woman , be it his sister , his mother or his wife . Queen Esther , for example , being the leading female character of Purim , is both worshiped and admired as a heroine till this day . Just like the Crone , who ruled the Celtic New Year ' s Eve , celebrated on October 31 , symbolising the embodiment of three Goddesses ; the Maiden , the Mother and the Crone . Hecate , as she was known in ancient Greece , was worshiped as a ruler of death and regeneration , her healing powers and her wisdom and admired as the guardian of occult sciences . In the contemporary version , the only female figure is depicted as a witch . Deprived of her wisdom and her healing powers , she is nothing more than a conniving hag . As with every tradition , there must be an educational underling . So what is a young gentleman to learn from this celebration of life and death , candy and creepy decorations ?
2- A phrase expressing dismay or exasperation- Yiddish
INTERNATIONAL GENTLEMAN 19