Halloween is my least favorite holiday of the year. I don't like the greediness and sugar consumption of it. Although it was fun to help my young sons be creative in making their own costumes years ago, I never could stand the sugar high that they and my elementary students were on for days. I always tried to give out nutritious treats like apples or popcorn but the kids would rather have wrapped candy. Of course as a kid, I loved to trick or treat!
In the last few years, I've made it a habit to hide out on Halloween night and not be at home to avoid giving out treats. Sometimes we've gone out to eat or to a movie or to visit the grandkids and share in their excitement. So what are your feelings about Halloween?
I also think it's a great opportunity for people to do mischief like bullying little ones or damaging property etc. I just don't like it or see much benefit in it except for creative expression. I admire those mothers who try to make a family halloween party for their kids at home or do some service that is needed. We tend to spend too much money and forget what the holiday was originally all about All Saints Day on Nov 1st to honor our departed ancestor spirits-now that I could really celebrate. Check out Sandys post on All Soul's Day as celebrated by the Episcopalians.
I hope you survive the day OK! I feel the other way about Halloween, perhaps because my daughter's birthday is Oct. 29 and we make the most of the fun of make believe. It always amuses me when the candy goes stale from disinterest. I think the real excitement for us is the pretend and the carved pumpkins.
ReplyDeleteOur church honors All Souls Day in a big way, and it really is a beautiful symbiosis between the two events.
I never was into Halloween but husband insisted he buy candy for the few kids who come to our door., SO he does it and I watch!
ReplyDeleteI love Halloween. When I was young I loved dressing up and going door to door. Then, as I got older, I spent that evening with my grandmother playing with jigsaw puzzles and answering the door for her trick or treaters. As a young mom, I loved getting my girls ready to go out. Now, I love opening the door to the surprised faces of some of my students who can't believe they came upon my house. I think it's just a fun holiday.
ReplyDeleteI dislike Halloween too, Lin. It's a rather hard thing to admit, since many people seem to get right into it, spending lots of money on costumes and, now, garish lawn ornaments. "Graveyards" on front lawns are now the fad. I noticed at Sam's Club recently that each of the fake headstones costs $20. I can't imagine wasting my money on stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteWe've lived in our current home eleven years and have not yet had a single trick-or-treater. I hope it stays that way. Our area is too rural for kids to bother with, I guess.
I'm not into Hallowe'en either, but we hand out candy to the kids, as hubby enjoys doing that.
ReplyDeleteI am not fond of Halloween, either. It is so different from the 50's and 60's when I was growing up and our costumes were homemade. There were not as many gory outfits. It's time to let it go, and have kid parties instead of going door to door.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were kids we made our own costumes and it was a fun time for us all to get together and walk around in the dark visiting neighbors who were all so friendly and happy to see us.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher I saw parents buying very extravagant costumes for their children and needy children feeling rather left out. That was very sad to see. Thank goodness our PTA provided stand-by costumes for those children who came to school without one. I'm not for all the candy either. In this day and age, private children's parties might be more the thing to do.
The only thing which shocked me and Chandan was the amount of candies and chocolates consumed by the kids on HAlloween....but the rest was fun.There is no Halloween celebration out here in India.
ReplyDeleteI too am not a big fan of Halloween. I did enjoy very much my children's eagerness to come up with a spectacular Halloween costume. I would only allow my kids to visit the grandparents and the aunts and uncles homes. We never have had trick or treaters here as we are six miles away from town. I also think of the money spent on ugly looking Halloween decorations, fake headstones, big witches hanging from trees, etc.,etc. Its almost made out to be a national holiday for pete's sakes! The candy companies love it!
ReplyDeleteI can understand your feelings and it isn't my favorite holiday either. We have treats to the younger children in our neighborhood and then turned off the light by 7:30...
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