For as long as anyone can remember, Halloween has been the holiday every child has looked forward to for the entire year. It’s an excuse to dress up as your favorite character, go out with your friends and enter a sugar coma from all the candy you’ve collected. I know for me personally, I looked forward to it. It doesn’t help that I’m an October baby myself.
Halloween has been changing in scope for what I believe is years now. I remember having conversations in middle school in which even for people’s young siblings, it was becoming “uncool” to go trick or treating after school. Not to mention if you come from an area where you have to contend with the weather as well, the day morphs into deciding on staying warm or making sure your costume is able to be seen.
When it comes to what Halloween means for the older generation and ages, it has morphed into what is now the “standard Halloween” that many people know; typically going to or throwing a Halloween party where copious amounts of liquor are involved.
Media in recent years has focused its change in depictions of Halloween parties such as the 2012 film Fun Sized and in more recent years, Netflix’s 2020 film Hubie Halloween. It’s no longer cool, regardless of age to just celebrate Halloween. I think it’s wrong to show and tell people that to love and celebrate Halloween as a young child is immature past a certain age, and in order to celebrate it as someone who’s older, you have to be inebriated to some extent.
As a student worker here on campus, we come to fear Halloween weekend because it tends to be one of our busiest and most stressful weekends all year. I have no problem if you want to celebrate your Halloween by going to a party and having fun with your friends. I have a problem with putting on the front that in order to have fun at Halloween, you have to do these things.
It’s also worth mentioning that Halloween is actually one of the most dangerous holidays for children as twice as many children are struck and killed by a motor vehicles on Halloween night than any other night. There’s also an increased number of incidents involving alcohol poisoning and child abduction.
Things are bound to change and morph overtime, as we can’t expect something to stay the same. Halloween, specifically Halloween night, is one of those instances. With its increasingly focused attention on glamorizing, or making an excuse to go to a party and start drinking, it’s becoming dangerous to celebrate.
I love Halloween, and I always will because of my childhood. However, I think, in this instance, we need to hang Halloween’s cape up as the premier fall Holiday.