Can we let kids be kids and celebrate a relatively harmless holiday?
Halloween used to be fun. Enough with the politically correct “fall festivals.” It sounds like kids should be running around in Renaissance costumes eating giant turkey legs.
I know some parents are concerned about some of the pagan symbols, but aren’t we overreacting just a bit?
I was recently guest host with my girl Ramona Holloway and the crew of “The Satisfied Life,” and one of the subjects we discussed was a movement by some religious groups to start “Jesusween.” Really people? How many disciple costumes can you wear without becoming redundant? Would you pass out grape juice boxes and crackers instead of candy? Also, Jesus already has a holiday; it’s called Christmas.
Things were so much simpler back in the day. You could actually go out unescorted without mace, cell phone, GPS or a poison kit. You knew you were close to Halloween when they aired “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”
When I was growing up, you went to Kmart and picked from maybe three boxed costumes -- a ghost, and witch or wolf man. The costumes were made from flimsy material that had to kept away from open flames, and the plastic masks would impeded both your direct and peripheral vision while also blocking appropriate airflow to breathe. Now throw in a cheap pumpkin bucket. We were tossed out the door to scavenge the neighborhood for candy corn…sweating, visually impaired and gasping for air.
A few years ago I spent Halloween with my sister in Atlanta. She is like my Mom and went all out and had the porch done with festive and spooky decorations. We settled in our rocking chairs with candy bowls for what we thought would be a calm night. Not!
The evening started out somewhat subdued as the very young babies came around with their parents in adorable little cow, sheep and lion costumes. Then all of a sudden, guys were organized and focused like Halloween ninjas. They dispensed with any historic rituals or Halloween etiquette. There was no singsong “Trick or Treat.” They just bum rushed your house, trampling grass and plants and stuck out their bags like a gaggle of baby albatross waiting to be fed.
The groups would then flee, screaming to the other Halloween ninjas about what type of candy you were dishing out. Another group would then descend with the same disregard for holiday ritual. Every now and then you would get the “rooters.” These were kids who had the audacity to root around your candy bowl as if they were looking for a Cracker Jack prize. One kid even looked up at me with attitude and asked, “Is this all you got?” I told him there was a ham in the refrigerator and asked if he’d like to come in and make a sandwich? My sarcasm was lost as he fled our porch to offend some other home.
The next group was the older kids who did not dress up but came to your door with a pillowcase. I was like, are they trick or treating or casing the house for electronics? (Side note: If you shave, have a drivers license and pay into a 401K, then you might be too old to be out trick or treating.)
Then you had the drive-by trick or treaters. They would cruise the neighborhood, open the door and dozens of kids would empty out like they were in circus clown car. These were the people who were too lazy to park, get out and walk with their kids. This is why we have so many obese youth. Would it kill you to walk around a bit on a nice fall night with your child for some fun and exercise?
Atlanta is one of those cities where the neighborhoods can go from pricey homes where my sister lived to the hood in just a few blocks. My favorite visitors were the round-the-way moms who would come from the other neighborhood, talk on the phone the entire time, would not speak to you and were escorting their kids in homemade costumes. One poor kid had to suffer the embarrassment of being a ghost in a sheet with tulips on it. I know his pain; I had my share of pitiful costumes growing up…lol.
The night was a whirlwind of kids rushing up and down my sister’s porch and her babbling about a real spider in her hedges that she thought was incredible, but the novelty was lost on the bewildered kids who only looked at her like she was crazy…lol. The night was getting late and the crowds had thinned so we decided to close shop. It had really been one crazy evening. Thank goodness for my girl, Chardonnay, hanging out with us or I may not have gotten through the evening….lol.
We turned off the lights and retired to the den to watch some television and monster movies, but an hour later people were still ringing the doorbell. Why would you walk up to a dark house with no lights and ring the doorbell? It is 11:30 at night. These are no longer Trick or Treaters but most likely candidates for a home invasion.
My sister and I for the rest of the night reminisced about Halloween as kids and laughed at those cherished moments of pretend. So are we being too serious about Halloween? I would like for you to share your Halloween memories, opinions or pet peeves…smile.
