Beware October 31st !

Beware October 31^st!

As certain shopkeepers and others are already salivating about the profits they will surely make with their overpriced offerings on Hallowe'en, this holiday, or whatever it really is, needs some demythification. In recent generations, we have turned it into a night for children to get things free- or else. For some years, in many neighborhoods, parents accompany their offspring, not merely to insure their safety, but to mark down what they get (or do not get) from neighbors and friends. This night has become a three-weeks forecast of what they can expect to receive on Christmas, the official day for giving gifts.

I have no problem with costumes and bobbing for apples, or imbibing in cider and cookies. What bothers me, and I hope I don't appear as some sort of superannuated grouch, is that it gives children the wrong message. They expect something for nothing, on the threat of providing "tricks" to non-givers. The little tykes are basically taught that, being children, they have a right to get something for nothing. It is not until their hormones grow and voices change that they learn the hard way that there is no free lunch and that there is really nothing that is free. We are forced, by tradition or angry stares from adults to "give" doorbell ringers something because they're kids and innocent and deserve gifts. Wrong message! And giving already obese kids candy is making the night even worse. But, what little round-belly wants raw carrots as a treat?

Still, trick or treating is a better option for spending the evening than those rightwing Evangelicals who see Hallowe'en as non-Christian. So what? Like it or not, America is not a Christian nation, and the world is not dominated by Christians. If some religions want to follow the example of those Three Wise Men who came to the stable offering gifts on Christmas, I cannot object. But, where is the precedent for having to give begging kids something for nothing, even if it is only a package of Reese's Pieces? There is so little safe and warm for kids of all ages, genders or ethnic background these days. Giving them false hope this one night is more dangerous than frivolous.