Survey: Halloween Habits
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.25.07
It is that time of year when the neighbourhood kids are particularly monstrous and greedy, hands, claws and buckets held out for treats or watch out. Pandering to this extortion racket are the big candy manufacturers, filling their shelves with crap. (For a real scare, see John's post on the stuff that is legal to put into food in America)
In the UK where Halloween is a recent import, they make it easy to say no, giving out posters for people to put up saying "No Trick, No Treat, No Thanks" but a recent study found that 58 percent of homeowners said they had hidden in their darkened houses on Halloween.
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Its my birthday on the 31st so I'm usually out partying grown-up style.
Is giving out candy contributing to obesity and diabetes epidemics?
Making your own food treats is a waste of time, as they are likely thrown out as soon as they are spotted by the parents.
We make our own gift-bags, and fill them with things like pencils, erasers, stickers, and little toys from the dollar store. The kids truly love them, even the older ones always say "wow, cool" or simlar.
The first year we let them pick their own, but some would take ages deciding so we started bagging them, one type for each: small boys, small girls, older boys, older girls.
Halloween grinches should be put on an island somewhere. We can't go around denying our kids the fun that we and our parents enjoyed. Half my candy was stolen by bullies and older brothers anyway. No risk of obesity there!
One day a year of candy goodness is perfectly acceptable. It's the other 364 days a year we should worry.
And home-made treats are unacceptable these days, although I useta LOVE popcorn balls.
It's a odd racial issue in our neighborhood. For the most part the White and Asian folks throw Halloween parties for their kids and the African-American kids actually do the door-to-door trick or treating. So for us white folks to decline to give out candy on Halloween would make us like Scrooge times ten.
"Pandering to this extortion racket are the big candy manufacturers, filling their shelves with crap."
Sounds about the same as all the ads I see filling this page... different reason and different target market but essentially the same, no?
LA: no, we don't cause cavities.
I'm bothered by the the excessive consumerism, not the eating of candy, so much. All the riduculous inflatable and animated yard decorations (using electricity), all the plastic costumes and masks from half way around the world, and yes, all the wrappers from individually packaged GMO corn syrup nuggets. That's a lot of garbage just to "have fun." It all ends up in the land fill. It's too bad kids aren't given the opportunity to create their own halloween, instead of just buying a disposable one off the shelf. That goes for all holidays and birthdays alike. Kids are learning to repeat the same mistakes we've been making, and it's fun! Might as well pass out candy cigarettes to the kids.
The fact that it is ritualized and a special event drive home the lesson that it is NOT the proper food to eat and taught my generation (in my community, at least) the lesson of moderation and managing temptation.
Halloween traditions that I grew up with engendered good habits while supporting early feelings of independence. Developing these values are what brought me to environmentalism.
There are few secular rituals of youth as valuable and formative as Halloween was; In fact, right now I can't think of any... has it changed? Maybe the version that crossed the pond did not translate well?