It’s not news that adults have stolen Halloween; the holiday has been rapidly coming of age for years now.
To be fair, the origins of All Hallows’ Eve never seemed all that child-friendly to begin with. What started as a sacred holiday has transformed multiple times: from sacred to spooky, spooky to silly, silly to secular, and finally, secular to sexy. Every element of Halloween has grown up:
Pumpkins
When I think of Halloween, the first symbol I think of is pumpkins. While carving orange squash with kitchen knives into jack-o-lanterns has always arguably been an adult undertaking, the new norm of pumpkin carving as an art form is clearly a grownup’s game. What used to be primarily a medium for crooked-teeth and triangle-eyed faces has made way for amazing artistic creations covering the entire art landscape.
Costumes
I’ll spare you the typical “adultification of Halloween costumes” diatribe; the sheer number of get-ups for grown-ups has gone up. With fewer schools allowing kids to wear costumes to class, and more offices encouraging employees to participate in an easily justified culture-building activity, it’s no wonder the sale of adult costumes has eclipsed the kids costume market.
Décor
Justify your growing collection of over 40 inflatable motorcycle-riding ghouls and goblins as “for the kids” all you want, we won’t judge. Halloween is poised to steal the crown from Christmas (sorry Easter, you never had a chance) as the biggest decorating holiday.
Halloween Treats
I’m a sucker for free candy. But I (and my kids) don’t have to dress up for an annual visit to the neighbors (the only time we ever knock on their door, I might add) in hopes of getting a peanut butter cup rather than a tootsie roll. Anyone who thinks the taste buds of Halloween haven’t matured should visit Starbucks for a pumpkin spice Latte’.
Pranks
Halloween Treats AND Tricks have grown up. Ok, so the nature of the tricks may still be fairly juvenile, but the perpetrators have definitely aged. As with costumes, disguising gross food and startling your peers seems to be much more acceptable at the office than in schools. And if I’m honest with myself, I’m looking forward to another installment of Jimmy Kimmel’s “I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy” YouTube competition this year.
Happy Halloween, Adults!
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