The evening's festivities are over, and my wife and I are settling in for our annual Ghost Hunters live event. I don't know if it was the drizzle and rain or something else, but this year's Halloween was disappointing. Not many kids stopped by in their costumes. We have too much candy left over. And even the costume creativity seems to have taken a nosedive. I'm just not that impressed.
I used to look forward to Halloween as a kid. It was a night to go out after dark, explore, get candy, and goof around. I looked forward to seeing what others would wear and, in case I forgot to mention it, getting candy.
This year it was a Saturday night. I expected more children, not fewer. Are people afraid to let their children roam a neighborhood?
Now that I'm a father, I look forward to taking my girls around the neighborhood. I think I might even enjoy dressing up to give people a little scare as well. Forget the associations with paganism and satanism that some people place on this celebration of individuality, Halloween is Mardi Gras for children. It should be cherished and enjoyed.
6 comments:
I wonder if Halloween activities are determined by location. We visited a friend in Chelsea and the streets buzzed with goblins, fairies and even Klingons. These beings mingled with residents on stoops almost hidden by cobwebs. Yet in Queens, the streets were tame and costumes showed only the fad formulas.
Another item could be the economy that limits people in buying costumes. In the past, that would not affect creativity because people would have time to generate playful ideas for their wear. But time today is affected by the economy. People don't have time to be creative or to even walk around because they are using a Saturday nite to finish a freelance gig.
Let e know what you think,
Tom
In our town, the kids have a parade in the late morning, then begin to trick-or-treat. They are costumed, ringing doorbells soon after lunch time. There was a lot of activity until dinner time. Can't vouch for the number of visitors after that point. Fortunately, mischief night issues are almost nonexistent in our town. I think for the most part, parents are much more cautious then when we grew up. Most of the kids up til dinner time were accompanied by parents. Those slightly older traveled in reasonably sized packs.
Come on out to Watchung next year for Halloween. We go in the Valleyview Middle School neighborhood, and there are so many kids out in costume trick-or-treating that cars barely come up the streets! Parents walk around w/ adult beverages and candy bowls to pass out to the kids. It is an excellent time!!
Sounds like a blast, John!
Those kids in the ghost costumes surely looked cute!
Thanks for your comment, Serge. I really appreciate it, especially since I hadn't seen this post in quite a while.
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