How old is too old to dress up for Halloween? Are we, high schoolers, seen as weird running around with candy bags right next to five-year-olds? Are our costumes too silly or too adult? At the end of the day, do we honestly care?
Halloween began as an ancient Celtic festival, called Samhain. This day traditionally marked the end of Summer and the beginning of a cold winter. The Celts typically associated this time with human death, given a dark, harsh winter. They believed that on this night, “the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred,” according to the History Channel. This caused, in their tradition, the ghosts of the dead to walk among the Earth.
Celtic priests, Druids, honored this day with a sacrificial bonfire, in which people sacrificed crops and animals in order to appease the Celtic Deities. During this, they wore animal skins and heads as costumes, beginning the tradition of dressing up for the holiday.
After All Saints’ Day was introduced by Christianity in order to honor Christian Martyrs and the dead, it was dated November 1st. Since All Saints’ Day is also known as All-Hallows, the day before became All-Hallows Eve, later becoming our present day Halloween.
Following the 1800’s, Halloween was introduced to Trick-or-Treaters, and later, Halloween parties. Neighborhoods began to celebrate, believing that rewarding children with treats would prevent tricks. This has since grown into a 10 billion dollar industry, resulting in over a quarter of all candy to be sold the week before Halloween.
44 million children plan to hit the streets tomorrow for Halloween night, while 148 million Americans begin their celebrations. But as we get older, more and more young adults are questioning if they really want to get dressed up and celebrate. This is because the older we get, the less we are encouraged to have fun and participate in celebrations meant for children. But why is this?
Some adults and parents still carry those old teenager stereotypes of egging and toilet papering houses, scaring children, and stealing candy. This, along with the childlike innocence of the holiday, might make parents tell their teens they are “too old.” But does this stop our Halloween plans?
Over 180 West Boca students provided their opinions on the topic, answering the question, are we too old for Halloween?
When asked if you dress up for Halloween, 96 students, or 81.4%, said yes! On the other hand, 22 students, or 18.6%, said they do not. About 59% of all students say they still go trick-or-treating on Halloween night, while 41% do not.
85% of all West Boca students think Halloween is fun. A total of 71% of students think we should never stop dressing up for the holiday night while 59% think we should never stop trick-or-treating. On the other hand, 19% and 25% of students believe we should stop dressing up and trick-or-treating, respectively, by college.
Many students feel that we should continue to celebrate Halloween because it “keeps your inner child alive,” says one student. Another says you should “dress up, go out, eat candy, [and] have fun being yourself.”
Overall, most WBHS students believe we should continue to have fun on Halloween as long as we can, costumes and all. Have a happy and safe Halloween!
