I love Hallowe'en - the costumes, the festive atmosphere, the bonfires and candle-lit jack o'lanterns. It's thrilling and exhilarating. But there is something about October that makes me wonder if everyone has gone completely mad.
What piques my curiosity most as we look forward to donning costumes, flowing like small armies of ants through the streets, calling on neighbours and filling pillowcases with candy, is how adults have forgotten that this part of Hallowe'en - the part where kids get to be kids - isn't theirs.
Where is the common sense of those who decorate their yards with what appear to be actual props from the latest Freddy movie? In the matter of one short block, kids can see axes lodged in oozing skulls, hear amplified blood-curdling screams that sound all too legit, and spot headless "bodies" and torsos swinging from trees.
It's fine and dandy if you want to go all-out for your weekend Hallowe'en party where friends and co-workers come dressed as a sexy version of their childhood career option or favourite superhero. But whatever happened to the scariest part of trick-or-treating being that seldom-seen neighbour gruffly opening the front door and creepily asking you to reach into a cauldron for candy - only to have your hand snapped at from beneath?!
I get that technology allows us to do things bigger and better, but honestly, should we really be bringing that sort of imagery to the mind of school children? Is there not some sort of sacred protection we all feel toward kids that keeps us from showing them the worst of our imaginations?
As a society, we agree that it's practical and appropriate to rate movies and video games, that there are just some things young eyes shouldn't see. Parents are able to make intentional decisions about when their kids are ready to view graphic content, but on Hallowe'en it's suddenly open season.
Perhaps because of the graphic nature of media, many of us have become numb to it. And that's a problem. One can find inappropriate "decorations" in the oddest of places - restaurants, offices, salons, you name it. Never mind the rows of fake bloody heads with rotting flesh found in cheap discount stores, from which some parents struggle to avert the eyes of toddlers. What's wrong with bats and broomsticks and cobwebs?
Can't we make something out of this occasion that brings about a sense of wonder, mystery and magic? Over the past few years when my children were preschool and kindergarten age, we celebrated with friends on candle-lit pumpkin walks with potluck dinners around bonfires and visits to the Woman Of The Woods, who would graciously accept an offering from the forest for a short parable and a treat like a juicy pomegranate or homemade licorice. There was awe in the faces of the children and perhaps a little concern, but never terror.
We've become lazy. We've allowed the lowest common denominator and commerce to dictate how we celebrate what was once a wonderful night of festivity and fun and turned it into a something many parents with younger children are eager to avoid. It's not just the sugar.
Let's focus on putting the thrill back into All Hallow's Eve for kids - while keeping our sanity about it all. And while I'm at it, I would love it if one child - just one - instead of knocking on my door this Hallowe'en simply bellowed TRICK OR TREAT!
Kirsten Andrews offers Simplicity Parenting courses, workshops and private consultations in the corridor. Visit Sea To Sky Simplicity Parenting on Facebook, www.SeaToSkySimplicityParenting.com or email [email protected].
