…I stop to contemplate my past Halloweens as a kid in perspective to me as an adult.
Photo: When you think of how Halloween has become, it’s pretty scary!
I enjoyed Halloween in the U.S. tremendously. My parents always made certain that there were pumpkins to carve and my mother would always give tips or provide help with costumes. Dad always chose appropriate candies for the expected visits of small ghosts and goblins and kept aside sturdy paper bags for us boys. Before we headed out for “trick-or-treat”, both parents would renew warnings about dark places or strangers we didn’t know and to be careful in the dark. Trick-or-treat was in the evening time when I was a boy. Halloween was fun and…innocent.
Now, as I see how Americans must go door-to-door during daytime hours, often accompanied by parents in cars, and hear of vandalism and people being assaulted, and as I see how more kids are only concerned with the amount of candy they get, as they race from one neighbourhood to another to another with sugar as motivation, I question the whole idea of Halloween. How has this happened and Why do we continue with it?
I do know that my father’s last Halloween was not what he expected. No one came to his door. He was all alone, as my mother passed away earlier that year. He was sad, he told me.
I think the worst part of Halloween is the ridiculousness of Sweden having imported the holiday. When my boys were young, it was brand new and, as their parent, I felt it good fun and a cultural initiative to their American background. We had to plan certain houses beforehand to go to for trick-or-treating so they wouldn’t be disappointed with our own enthusiasm.
But, now, I wonder if it was worth it all. Sweden has made Halloween into something entirely commercial. This was the in-between-holiday that Swedish businesses needed to increase sales profits before the big holiday of Christmas came. And many Swedish kids use it as an excuse to create messes or other tomfoolery. Is this what Sweden, or others, really want? Is this how America wants Halloween?
Let’s take time out this holiday weekend and re-consider and look for better alternatives. Find time to enjoy it without the b_s_t that has been artificially created, and forced on us, and think of how nice it is to just be…! Stay safe out there!
For myself- I’m heading towards the mountains in Västerbotten!

Photo: All tour operators must have written permission for commercial outdoor activities from landowners





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