Feature
October
27
Safety a Priority Halloween Night
by Terry Trahan Jr.
For two hours each year, kids and the young at heart get their chance to dress up as anyone they choose to be, walk from door to door along the streets of their neighborhoods and issue a friendly ultimatum.
Trick ... or treat.
AN AMERICAN TRADITION
While the threat of the trick is typically there to honor tradition, the treat is what most kids care about. Tootsie Rolls, lollipops and other assorted candies conveniently prepackaged in wrappers and boxes get deposited into trick-or-treaters’ bags, where they are stored until the booty gets one final tally after the festivities wrap up at 8 p.m.
That’s when the crinkling of wrappers and the chomping of teeth can be heard in living rooms and around bonfires across the U.S. In 2009, 36 million pumpkins, fairies, superheroes and other creative kids in costumes turned U.S. streets into sugar interstates, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. With all that traffic, local police officials urge parents and trick-or-treaters to keep safety a priority as they walk from house to house.
KEEPING IT SAFE
The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office encourages walkers to stay visible by wearing brightly colored costumes with reflective material. Also, flashlights should be carried by parents and their children to increase visibility.
When it comes to personal safety, the TPSO recommends that costumes be checked to ensure they fit well to prevent slipping. Flame-resistant costumes should also be preferred. In addition, kids tend to be safer when they travel in groups. Together, the groups should cross at the corners of streets and hold hands while doing so.
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois said about 30-40 extra police units patrol the parish’s streets on Halloween night, but he encourages parents to be smart about where they allow their children to go. That starts with checking the local sex offenders list posted on the office’s website, www.tpso.net, and keeping an eye on the children as they walk from house to house.
“We want parents to make sure they know where their kids are,” Bourgeois said.
At the end of the night, kids look forward to combing through their goody bags and seeking out their favorite treats. But the TPSO warns against hastily enjoying what neighbors have placed in the bags. The office suggests that parents inspect the bags to make sure wrappers are still on the candy and that the candy hasn’t been opened or tampered with.
Collected fruit should also be examined and washed before biting into it.
AN ANCIENT TRADITION
As the number of trick-or-treaters and candy consumption in October continues to rise in the U.S., most participate in the tradition without considering what led them to walk around dressed in something they typically would never wear in public while asking for a piece of candy from a stranger.
It all goes back two millennia to ancient Celtic festivals that marked the end of summer and celebrated the beginning of the bleak winter. Every Oct. 31, European Celts would attend the Samhain, a festival they believed would draw the ghosts of the dead back to Earth. The locals dressed in costumes and priests lit bonfires to ward off the evil spirits through the long winter months.
Around 43 A.D., the Roman Empire conquered the Celts, and festivals from the two cultures began to blend. About six centuries later, Pope Boniface IV established All Martyrs’ Day, and Pope Gregory III followed that decree by expanding the celebration to include all saints as well. The Roman Catholic Church later reserved Nov. 2 for All Souls’ Day, which resembled the Celtic Samhain.
As these traditions continued, All Martyrs’ Day, celebrated on Nov. 1, became known as All Saints’ Day; eventually, the night before it gained recognition as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween
Colonists carried the tradition to North America, where they met Native Americans and celebrated the harvest together by sharing stories of the dead, dancing and singing. Initially, many colonists chose not to celebrate Halloween because of its association with spirits, but that sentiment changed later in the 19th century as new European immigrants settled on the continent.
These colonists, many of whom came from Ireland, continued the ancient customs of wearing costumes and traveling from house to house to ask for food or money. This activity has evolved to become what kids know today as trick or treating. As the 20th century progressed, Halloween lost much of its religious significance; instead, the focus switched to neighborhoods and bringing communities together to enjoy fellowship.
And that’s what America’s second-largest holiday is all about today. At 6 p.m., neighborhood children roam familiar streets, gather their treasure and enjoy the temporary sugar rush. It’s all part of the fun, as long as parents and trick-or-treaters keep safety at the top of their priorities list.
