Halloween

I know I will upset some people with this post.  It's about Halloween, specifically Halloween costumes.  It's about what I think is acceptable and what I don't like. It's my blog, so it's my opinion.  Read on if you dare.

I LOVE to see children dressed in costumes! I remember as a kid having a special suitcase of my mother's old clothes (from when she was a teenager & young adult) and using the outfits to play "dress up" all the time, and using a few of the dresses in it for Halloween.  There was a *perfect* black dress that I think she wore to a college dance with my Dad once.  Somewhere there is a picture of her wearing it.  That dress made the basis of some great costumes.  I think both my sister and I used it to be a gypsy.  We added a bandana, lots of bangles and big earrings.   I don't ever remember spending money to buy a costume, but perhaps when we were really little we were allowed to pick out one from the store.  Remember?  They came in boxes with a piece of cheap cellaphane on top to look in and see the outfit.  It was usually a one-piece costume with a mask.

Growing up I do not ever remember dressing as a witch, or a scary goblin, or a creepy mummy.  Nothing with blood and gore on it. 

Halloween was a time to dress up as cowboys, or princesses, or doctors...  to pretend you were a grown-up! 

So, yes, it bothers me when I see young children wearing goulish costumes.  And, yes, I do know that Halloween started as a time for people to dress up to scare away evil spirits, or to keep bad ghosts from coming around before All Saints Day.   That's the history of it.

But now we live in a world where everything is so real looking - blood dripping, hatchets in heads, eyes popping out.  Children see it early and they think it's funny.   I don't.   I want children to dress up in something that looks cute, and that makes them and me smile.   Daughters 1 and 2 had some great costumes! I was looking at pictures of them just the other day (a very nostalgic moment for me.)  Some of them: a scarecrow, a cheerleader, Minnie Mouse, an angel, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, oh - one was a conehead one year!  No blood - no creepiness.   

Unfortunately, I don't get many trick-or-treaters where I live now, but if the doorbell rings this Halloween I hope I see some children dressed as a fairy or a fireman or a pilot. (No terrorists please.)    They will get lots of candy from me!!

Happy Halloween!