When I think of Halloween, the first few things that come to mind are trick-or-treaters running around the dark streets in their costumes, jack-o’-lanterns with their orange glow and candy at every house on the block. This vision of Halloween has been a staple in America, and has been depicted in many forms of media for decades.
Many children have grown up with this version of Halloween, like myself. This Halloween is something every child of America should be able to experience. It’s something so amazing and unique that brings everyone in every community together. It’s something just as important as other American holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter.
It’s been like this for years and years but now it’s been on the decline. With fear from parents of potential danger and the rise of trunk-or-treats, Halloween has been declining in popularity with fewer people on the streets knocking on doors. There is an easy solution to this problem, just take a look at other holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving. These holidays are national holidays, which means they are protected by law and are celebrated nationally. This is what Halloween needs.
Parents have their reasons for not letting their children out on the streets at night during Halloween. They believe the streets are filled with potentially dangerous people that could harm their child. A common fear is that their children could be given tainted candy, however that’s far from the truth. Studies have shown that there is only one known case of death from halloween candy and it was from Halloween of 1984. Halloween candy is relatively safe, if you don’t consider the fact that it’s unhealthy.
This myth of tainted candy has sprouted the idea that Halloween needs to be safer and more controlled, which is where trunk-or-treats came from. Trunk-or-treats were likely made as a response to the dangers of Halloween for children. People were afraid of the mature decorations and costumes on Halloween with gore.
I do believe trunk-or-treats are good ideas, but only for young children who are frightened easily. Trunk-or-treats are useful tools for parents, but shouldn’t be the replacement for classic Halloween trick-or-treating. Children should still be able to get that amazing Halloween experience. I think it’s still a cool experience, decorated cars in safe areas. I think the cars can really bring out the creative side in people and can be really cool looking, but trunk-or-treating just doesn’t have that feeling trick-or-treating does.
Trick-or-treating brings communities together and builds friendships among neighborhoods. It’s not just a chance for kids to eat unhealthy for a night, but a chance to really build communities. Trunk-or-treats are built off already existing communities like churches and schools. It makes sense for public places like those to host trunk-or-treats, but to outright replace them? It’s just not enough.
A recent online Rampage poll shows that 94% (17 people) of our viewers believe that everyone should be able to trick-or-treat regardless of age and circumstance, showing that our own community believes Halloween should be available for everyone, not just children.
So if the old ways of trick-or-treating are dying out, how do we solve this? How do we bring back and revive this old piece of Americana? There is a pretty simple solution to all of this.
Halloween should become a national holiday. By doing this, we are making sure Halloween will stay in its traditional way. This could also make more opportunities for new celebrations during the day as America will have this whole day off. With no school or work on Halloween, people will have more time to make plans with friends and family on a holiday that deserves to be celebrated.
To be an actual national holiday, the day has to have actual significance to American history. While it may not be a day of an important event or a figure’s birthday, it is a very important day that’s been celebrated across America. It’s been so important to so many Americans like me and it’s a huge staple of Americana culture. It should be celebrated among every citizen and be protected by federal law.
As Halloween comes around this year, let’s think about the possibilities and what could be for a new Halloween. A Halloween where kids can go to their neighbors home asking for candy, and parents wouldn’t have to worry about them being hurt. A Halloween where no one has to worry about tainted candy, and just celebrate our culture as Americans. If we manage to make the image of Halloween better, then we could manage to bring back Halloween to this great former glory that it once was.
