Planning Fun & Creative Halloween Activities
Although Halloween has become a huge holiday commercially, and celebrations are still very popular throughout the modern world, especially in Ireland and the United States, certain concerns related to traditional Halloween activities have developed in more recent years and have thus caused some traditions to change.
Many traditions that the whole community used to participate in happily during the Halloween season have slowly buy surely faded away. Having a large community bonfire was once a common part of Halloween celebrations in England, but is now more commonly associated with the festivities of Guy Fawke’s Day, which is celebrated on November 5 in that country. Even this is less frequent now because of modern concerns about damage that can be caused to the environment.
Health concerns expressed about games like bobbing for apples are a sign of modern attitudes; but the alternative forms of entertainment now available, such as watching horror movies on DVD at home, have probably had a much greater influence on the decline. With such changes, the purpose of the door-to-door collection has long shifted from gathering fruit and other items to use in the community fun activities, to collections of sweets, candy and money for personal gain.
Some modern adults find the begging connotation uncomfortable, especially the suggestion of stand over tactics by threatening a trick if gifts are not given. On the other hand, some home owners go out of their way to make the collection a fun event for the children in their community. They will decorate their homes, stock up on sweets and small change, and even play along with the Halloween theme with sound effects and other ways to create a scary atmosphere. There is no denying that many children love the fun of dressing up and the “loot” they gather.
Both local authorities and parents of trick-or-treating children have become reasonably concerned because of possible dangers related to visiting the homes of strangers and eating unwrapped candies on Halloween night. In some areas, this has made local law enforcement agencies establish controlled areas where kids can collect candy and other goodies safely, making parents feel more comfortable and much less worried about their children being hurt somehow.
The increase in safety concerns associated with Halloween activities has led to the decrease in charitable fund raising related to Halloween. UNICEF, which had been raising money using a Halloween related scheme, has limited such efforts since 2006.
Sad to say, trick-or-treating has led to outright vandalism in many areas, thus making people associate negative images of vandalized property with Halloween.
For these reasons, the fresh arrival of Halloween as a pop culture fad has been unwelcome in some communities that have not previously shared in the tradition.
