It’s that time of the year again — the most wonderful time of the year to be exact.
Before you ask, I am not talking about Christmas, so take your candy canes and jingle bells and wait for December.
The holiday I am referring to is none other than Halloween.
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and I am not ashamed to say that. It is truly the best night of the year, but society deems that after a certain age, Halloween becomes a holiday for children, meaning it’s no longer appropriate for adults to participate in Halloween traditions.
I’m sorry, but who made this a rule?
Some aspects of Halloween honestly should not be for children, such as haunted houses. Personally, I don’t understand the concept of paying for people to chase you and/or scream in your face. However, haunted houses have always been a part of the Halloween experience. They allow people to find the fun in being scared, overriding the fear by the overall experience of going out with friends and doing something out of the ordinary.
Along with haunted houses, horror movies also fall under this category because even though you are not physically there, it is the same reaction. People yell and scream when they watch horror movies, but they enjoy it at the same time because it’s the idea of looking fear in the eye and acknowledging it’s a story rather than reality.
Now, when younger children go through haunted houses and/or watch a horror movie, it is a completely different situation because this type of experience can actually be traumatizing. When you scare people above the age of 12, it’s all fun and games, but when you scare kids under 12, you’re the psychopath that lives down the street that loves to terrorize children.
Another beloved Halloween tradition is dressing up in costumes. It allows people to be creative, think outside of the box and even show the world another side of their personality. However, there is a double standard with costumes because when children dress up in costumes, it is seen as either adorable or funny, but when adults dress up, it’s met with “Aren’t you a little old to be doing that?”
Somehow, age is dictating what people should or should not do during the “spooky season.” At the end of the day, who cares how old you are? It should not matter if you’re in your 20s or in your 80s, dressing up is meant to be fun for everyone and should be embraced rather than shunned.
I think this is something that we can all agree on: Halloween is the time to party.
Unfortunately, there is still a misconception on the reasoning behind this type of celebration. Many people believe that adults celebrate Halloween so they have an excuse to get drunk and stay out all night. This misconception also includes events such as St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo, especially in the U.S. Yet, in reality, the reasoning behind it is much more than just drinking — it is about celebrating life and just being able to be with each other, especially after 2020.
We should not be judged for wanting to have fun, go a little crazy and celebrate with loved ones because we all need that in our lives. Otherwise, we are just staying alive rather than actually living.
Having this holiday reminds us what life is truly about.
Halloween was never just for kids (and don’t let anybody tell you differently).
Meghan Ellis is a senior studying rhetoric, writing and Spanish.
