The scariest thing about Halloween is that it could be slowly dying away. Recent rumors about terrorist attacks on Halloween isn’t helping much. Some of my friends admit that they usually lock the door and turn out the lights on Halloween night, rather than give out treats. For them it’s not a religious objection; it’s more of them being grumpy. Apathy and relgious objections could ultimately kill Halloween as we know it. In some aspects Halloween as we once knew it died a long time ago. Growing up in my neighborhood we could virtually go to all the houses on the block with a few exceptions. Everyone knew their neighbors and no one would think twice about not eating their trick or treat candy. At some point people became too busy to get to know their neighbors. And then there were the razor blades in the trick or treat bags. Halloween as we know it was changed forever.
Now in our sanitized world we send our kids to well-lit malls in hopes of making Halloween safer. For me there was a great deal of fun going house to house in the twilight of the moon. Sure sometimes it was cold and you had to wear a stupid looking coat over your costume. Malls just aren’t the same. Halloween is meant for kids to trick or treat.
Halloween is on Wednesday night this year which makes it even more difficult to trick or treat. Many churchgoers attend church services on Wednesday nights, leaving many houses empty during the prime time for trick or treating. I remember a while back when Halloween fell on a Sunday. On that year there was a great deal of controversy about whether trick or treating should go on a Sunday, being a Christian holy day. For me it doesn’t matter. A day is a day is a day. Sunday just happens to be the day that I worship God in an organized manner at church.