7 Reasons for Not Celebrating Halloween

DIGITAL ART - FASHION - LIFESTYLE Published On: October 29, 2019

On the surface, Halloween is nothing but harmless fun. It’s all about costumes, parties, and candy. I mean, what’s there to hate, right?Well, it just so happens that there is a much darker aspect to this seemingly innocent holiday.

As most people know, Halloween has its roots in paganism. This means that this holiday is a hot-contested issue in the Christian community. But I won’t be going to that.

Instead, I will be shedding light on some negative elements of this beloved tradition.

Let’s dig in.

1. Trick or Treating Makes Children Selfish

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It shouldn’t come as a surprise that kids knocking on the doors of strangers and giving symbolic threats of ‘tricks’ are prone to develop a sense of entitlement. Let’s face it; this practice is bound to breed selfishness in children.

Beyond that, ‘trick or treating’ teaches an adolescent to beg for things instead of working hard to earn them. Unlike Halloween deals where you get discount on items, trick or treating is all about free stuff. Due to this, many Rabbis discourage a similar tradition on Passover where children pretend to steal dessert and later ask rewards for its return. All said and done, trick or treating is indeed problematic.

2. Some of the Halloween Costumes Are Outright Offensive

Surprise! Native Americans do not appreciate you dressing up as an Indian princess. In fact, they have been calling out this blunt act of cultural appropriation for some time now.

Similarly, whether it’s a geisha dress, Egyptian queen attire, or any other costume you buy with a coupon –are extremely offensive to the people of these cultures. Why? Because you’re treating sentimental items from their culture as mere props. What’s more, these costumes promote stereotypes about their community.

It’s sad that offensive costumes continue to be a part of the Halloween celebration to this day –especially since it’s possible to be witty and funny with your costume without offending anyone.

3. Children Can be Genuinely Frightened by Halloween

While some parents believe they’re helping their younglings overcome fears on Halloween, they’re doing exactly the opposite. Studies have suggested that Halloween can genuinely scar children. In fact, some child psychologists believe kids are unwilling participants in the entire ritual.

Then there is Samhainophobia, a fear of Halloween that may arise from a traumatic incident that might have occurred on in this day. Interestingly, it’s also related to the fear of spiders and webs –which are prominently featured on Halloween decorations. In any case, for many children and adults alike, October 31st is genuinely scary. So may be this Halloween keep it light and dress your children in cool and fun costumes while keeping them away from all the scary stuff.

4. Vandalism

Halloween unleashes the public’s primal urge to wreck things up. So much that property crimes increase by 19% on this day. It’s no surprise why this is the case. On one side, you have adolescents with candy flowing through their veins. While on the other, you have sexually-frustrated adults who are drunk out of their minds.

What follows is broken windows, trees covered in toilet paper, eggs on everything and pumpkin entrails throughout the neighborhood. Safe to say, Halloween brings out the absolute worst in some people.

5. Gruesome and Disturbing Imagery

Without a shred of irony, people who shield their children from gruesome horror movies all year, suddenly expose them to horrifying imagery on Halloween.

On normal days, these parents don’t let their children near the TV screen while watching The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. But on Halloween, they buy horrific costumes for discount that depict everything from severed heads to sickening amputations. Beyond that, one can even see children themselves in disturbing costumes on Halloween.

Obviously, all this has a negative impact on the mental health of kids.

6. Candy is Bad for Health

Besides making children hyperactive and an overall menace to society, candy has tons of downfalls.

It destroys the teeth’s protective enamel
It can leave you with an upset stomach
It causes cavities and tooth decay

When children consume sugar in the form of chocolate and caramel, the natural pathogen in their mouth metabolizes the sugar, separating it into bits. As a result, acid develops that stays in the mouth that destroys the teeth’s protective enamel. This causes children to have weak and yellow teeth.

Similarly, gummy candy doesn’t have fiber which is an important element for digestion. This means that filling a stomach with gummies, Twizzlers and Skittles and leaves kids with a seriously upset stomach.

Finally, Airheads, Laffy Taffy and caramels hang around the mouth for a while as they’re sticky. This means bacteria and acid rots in the teeth and cavities make an appearance. Excessive candy consumption is detrimental for children but sadly, Halloween promotes this practice.

7. Halloween Costumes Are Sexist

Now, I won’t get into the whole empowerment vs. objectification debate. That’s a whole nother thing. But I will simply state the obvious; there are serious double standards when it comes to Halloween costumes.

This event encourages girls to dress in scantily clad outfits while men wear whatever the hell they prefer. One can see “sexy nurses” in Halloween parties but no “hot golfers”.

And let’s not forget that most female costumes tend to objectify women working in different professions. Although everyone has the right to wear what they like, and there’s nothing wrong with some of the Halloween classics- the entire culture surrounding these costumes seems to be titled toward a particular gender.

Conclusion

Long thing short, Halloween promotes unhealthy habits and behavior in children. Give folks the opportunity to vandalize entire neighborhoods. Promotes disturbing imagery, and has many sexist and racist traditions.

That said, we live in a free world and everyone can do whatever they please. But as for me, let’s just say I won’t be carving a pumpkin anytime soon.