Royce Shook

8 years ago · 1 minutes of reading · ~10 ·

Blogging
>
Royce blog
>
Halloween

Halloween

When did Halloween become like Christmas?  By that, I mean more commercialized than it should be or it used to be. When I was young, Halloween was a small event for adults, but a big event for us kids. We dressed up and went out and tried to get as much candy as we could from neigbours who made us sing for our food or dance or do something, in exchange for the candy.

When my kids were young all of the parents on the block would divide the task of going out with the kids, one parent would stay at home and the other would circulate with the children. At the end of about an hour and a half, we would all meet and set up fireworks on the street and have hot chocolate for the children and hot brandy or mulled wine for the adults.

As my children grew older we allowed them to go further afield for their trick or treating, and we always checked their candy before they were allowed to eat it. Some adults were starting to have parties if Halloween was on a Friday or a Saturday. Eventually, the malls started to get in on the act and parents started to take their children to the malls for their candy. It was seen to be safer and the children loved it because they got more candy.

About five or six years ago, I started to notice that a few homes were being decorated as Halloween Spook houses, but these were few and far between. I never thought anything about this trend, but this year, I noticed in our local paper a listing of all of the "ghoulish homes" in our community and when they would be open for inspection. There must have been about twenty or more. I was surprised because even at Xmas we don't have many more houses that are showcased for their Xmas light shows. I also started to look at the retail stores and realized that the costumes that were being promoted were not for children so much as they were for adults. Halloween is big business, and I missed the change. 

I am not sure why this change happened, maybe because our world is so frightening that we need to have an escape and Halloween is the perfect time to dress up and have some fun. Enjoy yourself on the 31st, at your parties, I will be at home greeting the little ones that live in my block and handing out some nice treats to children who dress up and try to scare me. 

BOO!


d64ceefb.jpg

Comments

Royce Shook

8 years ago#2

#1
Pascal, I am glad to hear that it may be only us in Canada and the US that are going overboard on the Halloween train

Pascal Derrien

8 years ago#1

what you described about past Halloweens is still very much the case in Ireland, we are going to have a few friends from my children over because their housing estate is quiet it will be done and dusted by 9 max after they will have ransomed 30 or 40 neighbouring houses , now I remember being in New Jersey the week leading to Halloween a couple of years ago and it as an altogether different experience if I judge by the houses decoration which to me were on a complete different scale I thought it was Disney Land serious :-)

Articles from Royce Shook

View blog
1 month ago · 3 minutes of reading

Let’s take the best of Christmas, the kindness, the laughter, the love, into the New Year. · By the ...

1 month ago · 3 minutes of reading

A December Baby’s Window of Wonder · I’ve always believed those of us born in late December or early ...

13 hours ago · 1 minutes of reading

So, you have to wonder what about baby boomers makes them want to start new careers late in life ove ...

Related professionals

You may be interested in these jobs

  • FreelanceJobs

    I'm looking for a fun fab person to create a hot dog costume for a pilot for a kids TV show. · ...

  • Spencer's Mississauga

    The Assistant Store Manager is responsible for establishing and maintaining Guest Services. · The Assistant Manager is responsible for supporting the Store Manager in the various tasks involved in the overall operation of a store, · ensuring maximum sales and profitability by dev ...

  • Spencer's Halifax

    The Senior Assistant Store Manager is responsible for establishing and maintaining Guest Services. · SUPPORTING THE STORE MANAGER IN VARIOUS TASKS INVOLVED IN THE OVERALL OPERATION OF A STORE. · DEVELOPING STAFF, CONTROLLING EXPENSES AND SHRINKAGE AS WELL AS ALL ASPECTS OF MERCHA ...