Happy Halloween!
What are your memories of this day as a kid, good or bad?
I am interested to know if Halloween has been all but driven out of town where you live. Participation in trick or treating has been dropping for years here, thanks to scares over razor blades and poison in candy, as well as some interest groups advertising the holiday as 'evil.'
Not to open a can of worms, but this is FYM!
Let me explain. When I was a kid in the 70's, Halloween was a big thing. Almost all kids went out and almost all houses were lit up. There was fun and happiness and good cheer.
Then came the 80's and the calls of Halloween being Satanic or something. In 1980, a church in our town actually had a haunted house in its basement with vampires, mummies and shrunken heads. By the end of the 80's, the church was preaching against Halloween, telling its members to bring their kids to a church party dressed as Biblical characters and to distribute anti- Halloween literature warning of Hell and damnation for trick or treaters. Since then, I have seen fewer trick or treaters and more porch lights out each Halloween. I think this is sad because no kid ever thinks about saluting evil spirits, it's only 'what are you going as' and 'what kind of candy did you get.' Generations of children had fun on Halloween without ever knowing anything about its distant past or what its roots may have originally come from and it never mattered. I hate to see such a fun and honestly innocently playful part of childhood spoiled by something taken too seriously and too far by some. What do you think?
I would like to know:
When were you a kid, how was Halloween for you and how is it now compared to then? I'm interested to see the views of different eras of trick or treaters and the effect of pre- and post "Halloween is evil" propaganda.
Is this just my area or has this anti-Halloween attitude spread everywhere?
Do you really think someone dragging up some ancient rituals kids never heard of and do not participate in should ruin the fun of dressing up and getting candy? Why or why not?
Do you believe the old 'razor blade or poison in the candy' myths? Those have been around since I was a kid. There was a rumor about 1977 that a kid had gotten cocaine in his Milky Way. I don't believe this since most drug addicts are too selfish with their stash to do such a thing. I only recently found out that a lot of the stories I had grown up thinking were matter of fact reality were actually just urban legends, and one case of an evi stepfather using the Halloween tampering rumor to poison his stepkids. Opinions?
The church parties and malls are no replacement for going door to door in your neighborhood, unless you live in a very dangerous crime ridden area, and that is another topic to consider. Have the recent rash of child abductions, molestations and snipers scare some kids or parents out of trick or treating?
What are your memories of this day as a kid, good or bad?
I am interested to know if Halloween has been all but driven out of town where you live. Participation in trick or treating has been dropping for years here, thanks to scares over razor blades and poison in candy, as well as some interest groups advertising the holiday as 'evil.'
Not to open a can of worms, but this is FYM!
Let me explain. When I was a kid in the 70's, Halloween was a big thing. Almost all kids went out and almost all houses were lit up. There was fun and happiness and good cheer.
Then came the 80's and the calls of Halloween being Satanic or something. In 1980, a church in our town actually had a haunted house in its basement with vampires, mummies and shrunken heads. By the end of the 80's, the church was preaching against Halloween, telling its members to bring their kids to a church party dressed as Biblical characters and to distribute anti- Halloween literature warning of Hell and damnation for trick or treaters. Since then, I have seen fewer trick or treaters and more porch lights out each Halloween. I think this is sad because no kid ever thinks about saluting evil spirits, it's only 'what are you going as' and 'what kind of candy did you get.' Generations of children had fun on Halloween without ever knowing anything about its distant past or what its roots may have originally come from and it never mattered. I hate to see such a fun and honestly innocently playful part of childhood spoiled by something taken too seriously and too far by some. What do you think?
I would like to know:
When were you a kid, how was Halloween for you and how is it now compared to then? I'm interested to see the views of different eras of trick or treaters and the effect of pre- and post "Halloween is evil" propaganda.
Is this just my area or has this anti-Halloween attitude spread everywhere?
Do you really think someone dragging up some ancient rituals kids never heard of and do not participate in should ruin the fun of dressing up and getting candy? Why or why not?
Do you believe the old 'razor blade or poison in the candy' myths? Those have been around since I was a kid. There was a rumor about 1977 that a kid had gotten cocaine in his Milky Way. I don't believe this since most drug addicts are too selfish with their stash to do such a thing. I only recently found out that a lot of the stories I had grown up thinking were matter of fact reality were actually just urban legends, and one case of an evi stepfather using the Halloween tampering rumor to poison his stepkids. Opinions?
The church parties and malls are no replacement for going door to door in your neighborhood, unless you live in a very dangerous crime ridden area, and that is another topic to consider. Have the recent rash of child abductions, molestations and snipers scare some kids or parents out of trick or treating?
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