It's that time of year again, when pumpkin spice has infiltrated everywhere, candy wrappers will litter the streets, and children desperately will await candy on their neighbor’s doorsteps. Yup, it's Halloween, a time of sugar overdoses and sometimes unwanted surprises.
The holiday has changed gradually with every decade, but began 2,000 years ago--before the spread of Christianity to Ireland. The Celts celebrated it as the festival of Samhain. It was believed that on this day, the dead returned to Earth. Bonfires were lit and sacrifices were made for the dead. Basically, this may be what you’re seeing depicted in horror movies today.
After centuries, the concept of trick-or-treating became very popular in the United States. While the concept had been developing since the arrival of Irish settlers in the 1840s, in the 1930s, “tricks” became more popular because of the poverty stricken state of the American economy. In the 1950s, trick-or-treating had come around, and became a positive and fun activity for children, and the focus of Halloween in America.
And there you have it, a dark, sometimes sinister holiday, turned into a bright and light-hearted affair for children. But lately, not so much. Instead, we are infested with psychotic clowns (two of whom appear to be running for president--yes, I went there) and the mainstream media is constantly reporting terrifying activity as a subject of interest. Has Halloween gone too far? Let’s keep with tradition, pumpkin everything, too much candy that you don’t know what to do with, and creative costumes that represent our favorite things (like the very popular Starbuck’s--pumpkin spice anything, of course). There’s plenty of other intense events occurring in the world, let’s at least enjoy a safe and happy Halloween.