Why Should We Celebrate Halloween?!

Halloween, a celebrated day in America where we are able to dress up in costumes, have scary nights, and can give out candy, all while celebrating with strangers. This seems like a positive holiday to celebrate, yet,there are people who are not so convinced on the concept of Halloween. Halloween should be celebrated as it fosters community and allows people to celebrate a culturally significant day.

Halloween started off as a Celtic tradition where the Celts celebrated Samhain around November 1st, which they believed was the start of the new year and the winter period. The Celts believed that the spirits of the dead would return to visit their homes on Samhain, blurring the boundary between the living and dead. The origins of this day are meant to represent how the dead spirits would visit us in the mortal world, so these are tell-tale signs that Halloween has very interesting origins, and some say that the holiday should not be taken lightly as a result since we are celebrating the dead.

If the origins are not enough to convince you that we should celebrate Halloween as a fun holiday for all, you should look further on to more evidence regarding how we actually celebrate the holiday. While yes this may be true, Americans have adapted it into our own cultural day that allows us to express our remembrance for the dead, but also our creativity and imagination focused on a more scary theme within our community. It allows us to create a sense of unity as human beings which is what a day of celebration should do.

For many families, decorating their homes becomes an annual tradition that brings them together and adds to the neighborhood’s festive spirit. Some communities even hold Halloween decoration contests, where houses are judged on creativity, scare factor, or theme. These displays not only make neighborhoods feel more connected but also give people an opportunity to express themselves in fun and imaginative ways. In this sense, Halloween transforms streets and homes into works of art that the entire community can enjoy. Trick or treating involves primarily kids dressing up in costumes and going door to door for candy, involving everyone in the community and honoring the holiday with this celebration. I believe that this is an integral part of why we should celebrate, as the bonds between humans are what makes us successful.

Unlike Halloween poisonings, cases of tampered candy involving the insertion of pins, needles, or razor blades have been documented. Professor Joel Best, a Sociologist from University of Delaware who focuses on this, reported about 80 cases of sharp object incidents since 1959, and almost all were hoaxes. Only 10 resulted in even minor injury, and in the worst case, a woman required a few stitches. Further, as Best and Horiuchi (authors of the Razor Blade) note, more than 75 percent of reported cases involved no injury, and detailed follow ups in 1972 and 1982 concluded that virtually all the reports were hoaxes concocted by the children or parents.

In addition, Data from 2022, the latest available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, show 39% of fatal car crashes on the holiday involved impaired drivers. Studies also show pedestrian deaths increase by 43% on Halloween compared to other nights, with children ages 4 to 8 years old at particularly high risk. Stacey Stewart said deaths caused by impaired driving are 100% preventable. As long as we use common sense and take extra precaution, Halloween should be a fun day to celebrate for all.

It baffles me how people seem to think Halloween we shouldn’t celebrate because of the dangers, but it is a unique holiday that allows for community and unity among people with activities such as trick-or-treating, and a cultural holiday all over America that is celebrated towards the scary. It is also  overall a fun time, especially for children. No matter your take on the issue, this is undeniable reasoning as to why we should continue to celebrate the spooky season, known as Halloween