All Hallows Eve
November 20, 2008 • written by Blake Murray
Halloween is always loved by children because of the fun costumes and the yummy candy. Children probably don’t even know we celebrate Halloween.
All Hallows Eve, Halloween as it is now called, was a day on the Celtic calendar over 2000 years ago. It was a holiday when people honored the dead. The Celts believed that on this day, souls of the deceased roamed the streets and the villages at night. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left outside to pacify evil and to ensure that the next year brought plenty of crops. This custom evolved into modern day trick-or-treating. Also on this night, celebrations would occur. Several large bonfires would be started and the Celts would wear costumes of animal heads and skins (which most likely evolved into our modern day costumes).
When I was in elementary school about four or five years ago, the older kids would watch as the younger children showed us their Halloween costumes. As an ex-kindergartener myself, I remember dressing up in my costume and walking around to the different classrooms. Halloween to me was merely a day where I could dress up, go to school, and not get into trouble for doing so (not to mention the class activities and candy).
This year, things were changed for the children. The younger children were not allowed to dress up in their Halloween costumes, at least not in Crestview. Some people got together to discuss the option of letting the kids dress up and come to school. I heard several different points of view.
One reason that the kids weren’t allowed to wear their costumes was the fact that it would offend the people who don’t believe in celebrating Halloween.
Another reason I uncovered was that the teachers did not want them to dress up. The kids were welcome to wear orange and black, and participate in the teacher’s planned classroom activities, but no costumes were to be worn.
Were the Halloween costumes an issue because of the religious background, because teachers did not want to deal with the distractions that would surely occur with costumes, or was it because of the possibility that someone would be offended by them? There are a lot of possible reasons as to why costumes were not to be worn on Halloween day, and it might even be a combination of reasons. I wanted to know what you readers thought about the matter.
When asked, one teenage girl made a good comment, “Why wouldn’t the children be allowed to wear costumes? Little kids don’t understand why they are dressed up, they don’t understand why they are getting candy, and they don’t understand the meaning of Halloween. All they know is that there is free candy to eat, and fun costumes to wear for a night.”
What do you think about this issue? Do you think that children should be able to wear Halloween costumes to school on Halloween day, or do you think that they should not be worn?
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