Ghouls and Gals Jump Out Of Their Skin With New Trends
Arick Ames
opinion editor
It’s Halloween night and the year is 1960. A few kids sprint by in their homemade monster costumes. One of their cheap, plastic Jack O’ Lantern buckets fall on the ground spilling candy corn and Bazooka bubblegum. There isn’t a care in the world as everyone celebrates the simplicity and candy- filled fun of a holiday that is no longer about guts and gore.Now, it's a day that focuses on getting the cutest, skimpiest outfit before everyone else does and parents checking in on their children to make sure they are getting home safe.
According to USAtoday, it is expected that this year on Halloween, shoppers will spend over $2.8 billion on costumes. Out of the $2.8 billion, at least $1.1 billion will be spent specifically on kids costumes. 54 million will attend some sort of Halloween themed party and 162 million will celebrate the holiday in general.
All of these stats are very different compared to decades ago.
“Halloween wasn’t as big of a holiday then,” Mary Gangwish said. “It was mainly for children.”
Economically, Halloween has changed extremely. Many used to make their own treats and costumes. Now, everyone plans ahead with the best clothes, candy and decorations. It has become a competition just to see who is better than their peers. The statistics show that it’s all about the money and attention than simply celebrating the holiday. One could say currently the holidays have a feeling of unoriginality or a lack of being genuine.
Another reason why this holiday changed so drastically is due to safety. Back then, people were much closer to one another. All the neighbors knew each other and parents wouldn’t have to worry all that much whether their children were in harms way.
Crime rates are higher now and there are more risks today which cause more precautions.
"Back in the 60's and 70's things were more innocent. We used to be able to cover the entire town and our parents wouldn't come with," Ken Adkisson said. "I can remember even with my own kids, they really just went around the neighborhood and my wife went with."
As times change, so do things around us. It’s not necessarily that things happened for the worst, but more of the fact that it’s simply a different era and a different generation. People make fun with what they have and it seems to work fine. One simply gets a feeling of nostalgia when thinking about the world today in comparison to the world in the past.
With that in mind, one has to remember to enjoy the little things when it comes to holidays. Whether that be holding onto old family traditions or just enjoying the days one has with family and friends, it is important to savor the festivities no matter the tendency.
