Published: October 28, 2009 04:52 pm      

Trick or treat — 10/29.09

Economy impacting nation’s celebration of this Halloween

Tiny goblins, witches, ghosts and other not-so-scary creatures will be roaming the streets throughout Ashland, Boyd County and most other area communities tonight as young children celebrate Halloween by going trick-or-treating.

As we prepare for this annual event, we offer a few words of caution:

--Drivers need to use extra care as they travel through neighborhoods during the early evening hours. In their eagerness to get a treat from the next house, kids can thoughtlessly dart out into the street without bothering to look for oncoming traffic.

--Kids should carry flashlights and wear reflective clothing when roaming the neighborhoods.

--It is wise for children to only visit the homes of neighbors they know.

--Treats that are not wrapped should be discarded.

--Older children should leave trick or treating to the small fries. It is not an activity for children over the age of 12.

--If you are worried about keeping your children safe, take them to one of the community Halloween parties planned in area cities. Our bet is not only will the kids have fun, but so will you.

Some of us can remember when Beggars Night was just about the only activity surrounding the relatively minor “holiday” of Halloween but those days are gone.

Declarations used to be little more than a single jack ’o’ lantern on the front porch, but now Americans spend some $500 million a year on Halloween decorations for their homes.

Children’s costumes were once about the only apparel sold for Halloween, but now scores of adults — particularly women — have sweaters, hats, jewelry, ties and other items to wear in the days leading up to Halloween.

And while the children will be enjoying the candy they collect tonight in the next few days, one can be sure many adults will be going to Halloween parties this weekend, particularly since the actual day is on a Saturday. And many people who are too old for trick-or-treat will be donning costumes for those parties.

However, the economy is having a negative impact on this Halloween. Surveys report that there will be fewer parties, fewer haunted houses, less candy, fewer decorations and more handmade and reused costumes. The celebration will be especially subdued among those who traditionally party the hardest on Halloween, the 18-to-24-year-old crowd. The National Retail Federation says their individual spending will fall from $86.59 last year to $68.56 this year.

One of the best Halloween tradition in the Tri-State is the “pumpkin house” in Kenova. Since 1978, pharmacist Ric Griffith, who is the town’s mayor, has annually decorated his century-old house with hundreds of carved pumpkins. Each year, scores of area residents flock to the home to see all those pumpkins. We lack the skill to adequately describe this house. You have to see it to fully appreciate it. This is the Griffith families annual gift to their community and to the entire region.

Sociologists may fret about what our growing fascination with what originally was a pagan holiday that emphasized the gruesome and macabre, but maybe all it says is that we Americans like to enjoy ourselves. While the economy may have caused us to cut back on our Halloween spending this year, tough times add to our need to have a little harmless fun.

Happy Halloween. Be safe and have fun. May there be lots of treats and few tricks.