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
Happy Halloween, Adults!