Halloween is a fun time for children. We sometimes forget about the origin of the celebration. November 1st is All Saints Day in the Catholic Church. It used to be called All Hallows (old word for Holies) Day. The night before was All Hallow’s Eve. It ultimately became Hallow’s Eve or Halloween. That is where the current name came from.
The Celtics celebrated it every year and called it the Festival of Samhain. The Celtic New Year was Nov. 1. They would light bonfires and wear costumes. These were to ward off ghosts. So it had a spooky origin as far as the celebration.
One of the traditions was trick or treat. It originated in Scotland and Ireland in the 16th century. Unfortunately, current trick or treat activities sometimes have associated issues.
Some tend not to be so obvious. For example, going from house to house and being distracted by the promise of candy makes children inattentive. Crossing the street can be dangerous if you are distracted. Crossing the street while paying attention to your cell phone makes it a bigger risk.
Bottom line is to make sure children obey traffic rules. Try and stay in well lighted areas. Bright reflective costumes are a good idea. Riskiest hours for traffic accidents on Halloween are between 6 and 9 p.m. That should not be a real surprise.
It is a good idea to not have older children go trick or treating on their own. There should be at least one buddy with them. They should be aware that getting a treat should never involve going into a house. It should never involve getting into a car.
We have long known about making sure only wrapped candy is eaten. It is important to teach the children not to eat any of the treats until they can get them home to get sorted.
Gummy candies have recently become a real issue. An 11 year-old in Utah mistakenly told some THC gummies from home thinking they were just candy. He distributed them to classmates. A group of them became ill with gastrointestinal symptoms.
Another child brought some gummies to school in Virginia. What he didn’t know was that the bag he used had previously contained Fentanyl products. Again children became ill. The best place for gummies obtained on Halloween is the garbage.
We need to allow children to enjoy their Halloween. We just need to make sure it does not harm them in the process.