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That video is from last Friday’s Today Show where the hosts all dressed up for Halloween as various Star Wars characters. The video is a little long but toward the end the Ewoks, who were allegedly drunk, begin acting out and confirm what Return of the Jedi told us: Ewoks know how to party.
Partying really does seem to be the focus of Halloween these days. I remember when I was younger and the focus for everyone seemed to be on children dressing up and going trick or treating. Now it seems that the focus is on finding the best party to which people can wear their skimpiest and most revealing costume. Obviously I’m no longer a child and I don’t yet have children, so it’s possible that I no longer see the trick or treating aspect because I’m not a part of that world. But, from talking to a number of people, trick or treating seems to be down across the board and adults seem to be claiming Halloween as their own more and more every year.
Really, my disdain for the current trend in Halloween has nothing to do with parties or adults dressing up or women thinking that lingerie is an acceptable costume. When it comes down to it, I just don’t like Halloween that much. I used to really like dressing up and going trick or treating; it was always fun in elementary school to dress up and see what everyone else in the class was dressed up as. That childhood affinity for Halloween has faded as I’ve gotten older though, and now I only look forward to Halloween so I can see it give way to real holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I feel like the Ebenezer Scrooge of Halloween but I don’t think any ghosts will visit me because Halloween doesn’t have that many redeemable qualities of which I need to be reminded.
I’m actually very excited for Halloween when I have children of my own. I think it will be a lot of fun to get them dressed up and either take them trick or treating or to some harvest festival at a local church. Until that point, though, I’m happy to ignore Halloween like I did this year and treat it as any other day. I’m an adult and Halloween isn’t for me. And if you’re an adult, it’s not really for you either. Give it back to the kids. Bah humbug.
said perfectly. Only once you become a parent, and you are a Halloween scrooge, then it really becomes complicated. Talk about being shunned (by other parents) if you say you don't want to participate in Halloween....So then you do, moderately, having your kids in age (and theme) appropriate costumes...only to find that the rest of the world thinks 4 years olds are cute when dressed like chuckie. We've redeemed it by using it as a time to hang with our neighbors...and that has become the best part of it...
ReplyDeleteCousin,
ReplyDeleteI've never thought about the pressure from other parents to celebrate Halloween. I suppose it will be worthwhile to only surround Alycia and I with like-minded parents; we can have our own homogeneous community. I do like the thought of working toward redeeming something that is quickly losing its redeeming qualities.