For decades, Halloween has been called a dangerous, immoral and unnecessary holiday by parents and other adults.
They argue that kids shouldn’t be consuming so much candy, that people may drug the candy before giving it to kids and that dressing as monsters and ghosts is sacrilegious.
While these are understandable concerns for parents, I believe that Halloween provides kids with many valuable gifts, like exercise, outlets for creativity and a chance to grow closer with friends.
First, to address concerns of people giving kids candy full of razor blades or drugs: This is a myth fabricated by worried parents. According to Joel Best, author of Halloween Sadism: The Evidence, there has yet to be a single reported case of anyone dying or even receiving poisoned candy.
Aside from those perceived risks, parents also feel that having kids eat so much candy is unhealthy. This may be true, but the effects of one night of eating mountains of candy are negligible compared to a diet consumed the other 364 days of the year.
Not only that, but kids spend the night walking from house to house, burning hundreds of calories. If the desire for healthy living is that strong, then one day of candy should mean little.
If it’s not the candy that people find issue with, it’s the costumes.
People of faith tend to view children dressing as horrifying monsters or characters and running around the neighborhood as conspicuous.
What they fail to see is the rare opportunity for self expression without the fear of judgment this gives kids.
They can become anything they want, and they don’t even have to buy a costume. I’ve seen amazing things kids have made by themselves, from a hand knitted Spider Man costume to a Transformer made of cardboard. The amount of work put in to something that only matters one night of the year is astounding, and it’s that kind of passion that we should always encourage in kids because it will take them to wondrous heights someday.
So if you ever find yourself questioning Halloween, just remember all the good it can do for kids, and you may change your mind.
Kevin Bradley is a Contributing Writer for The Bona Venture.
His email is
bradlekp14@bonaventure.edu
