HALLOWEEN…IS NO LONGER CHILDSPLAY….
(…it’s been hijacked by adults to justify…running wild)

Back in those now very distant Medieval times there was a day set aside at this time of year to remember and pray for the souls of all those who had passed away. They called it All Hallows Eve, or All Souls Day, a day for solemn church-going and prayer, along with family gatherings at cemeteries to share memories, food, and drink, with those who were gone, as a way of maintaining strong connections with these and strengthen family unity.

Over time, however, folk superstitions about ghosts, goblins, and witches, somehow became entangled with those rituals, slowly changing what had been solemn religious observance, into being a night when ghosts, goblins, and witches, had license to make mischief and pull merry pranks of one kind or another; but, to avoid such things, folks soon came up with the idea of placating them with “bribes” so as not to be on the receiving end of such mischief-making or pranks. Thus began the…trick or treat…part of what we now call Halloween.

Further along, over here in America, it then became a special day of the year when children were allowed to spend the evening hours, dressed in strange costumes, to prowl their neighborhoods panhandling for “treats”, “or else”…while fondly beaming adults indulged these childish “extortions with gifts of candies and other goodies (overlooking the fact that, in the process, they were subtly teaching their kids how to conduct the protection rackets). Something teenagers, however, readily understood and took advantage of…by threatening to come up with more extreme pranks just a tad shy of outright vandalism…if their demands weren’t met. Even so, since it was considered a fun-filled folk festival and tradition which everyone could enjoy, grownups generally complied.

Unfortunately Halloween has changed, and not for the better. While the basic aspects of that tradition still hold, it’s now become just another overly commercialized event, and, it’s no longer safe for small children to prowl their neighborhoods in the evening unescorted by adults. Meanwhile, today’s teenagers seem more concerned with using the occasion as an excuse to have illicit binge-outs, rather than just toilet-papering someone’s yard, soaping windows, or other boring mischief.

As for the adults, these have gone even further, by also using the occasion as an excuse to indulge in their own version of the Roman Saturnalia. In short, Halloween is no longer just childsplay, because it’s been hijacked by adults to justify…running wild.

As they say…the times they surely have changed.

CENTURION