Halloween My How It Has Changed

As a kid growing up I always looked forward to the days before and the day of Halloween. Since my birthday was a few days before I always felt a little like it was a week of celebrating. The class parties and then the big night of going out and getting candy. I was in it more for the treats than the tricks and the truth be told I actually went out very few times trick or treating. I always seemed to catch a cold right before my birthday and would usually be sick and my parents wouldn't let me go out. When I did go out I was usually Cinderella or some non-spooky character. As I got a little older I remember dressing up in some of my grandmas old clothes and a friend and I went out as old ladies. The fun of putting together the special bags my grandma would have was always special. 3-4 pieces always nicely stapled into a wax paper sack. Ah the memories.

Of course things have changed in these times no more hand-made packaging or home made goodies, trust is a four letter word because society has changed so much. You may not hear as much about the razor blades in the candy, or the over-the-top tricks done today but oh how I miss the fun it used to be.

Case in point, this past Friday-Halloween I bought a couple bags of candy, closer to the day so that I wouldn't eat it. The past few years the crowds of kids have dwindled due to park and community events. I miss the groups of kids we had when I was in CA (we would get over 100 in just a matter of hours). As the first group of children came up the walk with the parents close behind they rang the bell and said nothing. I stood there waiting for the "Trick or Treat" when finally I said, "What do we say?". The young man of probably 6 said "thank you". I chuckled "No before thank we say "trick or treat". He obviously had not been pre-coached to the protocol of Halloween.

As the night wore on it became obvious Halloween has truly changed, one group came and almost literally knocked down my door to get to the candy I had in my hand. Others were barely costumed but they had a Wal-mart bag for the goodies. Where is the imagination of thinking up a costume on there own?

Well I guess there is no doubt that times have changed, so sad, yes so sad... I may rethink what the plan is for next Halloween

Each single or pair of children that came, it got worse. With the 37 kids I got that night, barely half actually uttered the words "Trick or Treat". Some were rude, some acted as though they were scarred to death. What has happened? The one bit of fun that kids still can really experience has been turned into something else because of societies desire to focus on all the negative aspects of the event. Let the kids dress up, get candy and let it be....