Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by the Collegian or its editorial board.
We’re well into the spooky season, and many of us are celebrating Halloween this weekend. That means it’s time to reassert what the practical point of Halloween really is for our modern-day society — it’s a fun day for kids to dress up and get candy.
That, of course, doesn’t mean that us older folks can’t participate or enjoy the holiday in equal measure. However, it does mean that the focus of the day is not on you or any of the events you plan to attend.
The origins of Halloween find themselves in ancient Celtic festivals and early Roman Catholic holidays. Now, and for the last 100 years or so, the main focus of the holiday has been trick-or-treating. It’s a chance for kids to dress up as witches, ghosts and their favorite heroes and get enough candy to last them the next few winter months.
It’s important that we as members of the Fort Collins community make this holiday as special for these kids as strangers did for us when we were growing up.”
Most of us remember having this experience as kids and loving it.
That experience can get taken away from them when their neighborhood routes take them past front-yard beer pong and rows of houses with their lights off. I’m not asking that Colorado State University students don’t celebrate Halloween or even that they celebrate it in different ways. I’m just saying that they shouldn’t ruin it for the kids.
Far less of this article applies to those of us who are celebrating this weekend or already celebrated last weekend. I would encourage most of us to avoid celebrating directly on Halloween and aim for a different night, or spend Halloween in a space that typically doesn’t have kids trick-or-treating.
The majority of this article is directly speaking to those of us who plan on partying on All Hallow’s Eve itself.
For tonight, it would be for the best if all outside celebrations could wait until around 9-10 p.m. for all trick-or-treaters to be home. It would also make these kids’ nights a lot better if more CSU student-filled homes and apartments turned on their porch lights and offered candy.
Elementary schools like Harris and Bennett are right near CSU and are surrounded by both family homes and student housing. It makes trick-or-treating that much harder when only one out of every six houses is giving candy.
It’s important that we as members of the Fort Collins community make this holiday as special for these kids as strangers did for us when we were growing up. So when they get to college, they still have the same love for Halloween we all do, and they too will wait to play beer pong until after 10 p.m. and give out candy in the meantime.
So please, on this Halloween, remember to make it a good holiday for the kids and celebrate responsibly.
Fynn Bailey can be reached at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @FynnBailey.
