Like many other holidays, Halloween is a day full of tradition. From trick-or-treating to haunted houses to horror movies, there are a number of ways that people of all ages can add a bit of thrill to their night on Oct. 31.
However, in some cases, these traditions can be lost as we grow older. Nights spent running through neighborhoods with friends in costumes slowly become new traditions. Junior Joaquin Gonzalez Layton is a BVN student who experienced one of these changes.
“I always had this group of friends, and we’d all get together and watch a Halloween movie and make arts and crafts,” Gonzalez Layton said. “Then we’d get into our costumes and vote for who was the best. Then we’d get Papa John’s, and we’d all go out trick-or-treating. Then, of course, we’d come back and trade candy.”
Parker Walsh also recalls similar memories of Halloween from when he was younger.
“Growing up, I’d go trick-or-treating. I would get dressed up in a costume and go with my friends. And then, at the end of the night, we’d go back home and trade candy,” Walsh said.
Junior Lucia Noll also has memories of dressing up for Halloween. In fact, one of her favorite Halloween memories was from when she was 3rd grade, spending time with her older siblings.
“It was when all four of my siblings still lived at home,” Noll said. “I was in third grade, and my siblings were all in middle school, but they all went trick-or-treating with me. It was a really fun memory I have with my siblings, especially with them being so much older than me.”
Like many traditions, things people do for Halloween are subject to change over time. Gonzalez Layton started to see these changes around his freshman year of high school.
“We don’t trick-or-treat anymore. My friends will get together and go watch a movie, and then we visit haunted houses. We still buy ourselves candy but we don’t dress up unless we’re going to a party,” Gonzalez Layton said.
Walsh has also made some new traditions in recent years.
“Now, I go to the store and buy some snacks. Then, my friends and I rotate who’s house we go to each year, and we bring our food, and we watch a bunch of horror movies,” Walsh said.
This year, Noll has plans for a more laid-back Halloween.
“This year, I will probably either stay home and pass out candy with my parents and siblings or go to a party,” Noll said.
Students may change their Halloween traditions for a number of reasons. For some, there is a sense of pressure to change traditions to “fit in.”
“I definitely felt a little bit of pressure going into high school,” Gonzalez Layton said. “I didn’t know what other people did [for Halloween] because everyone’s different, so I definitely felt pressured to stop trick-or-treating.”
Noll had a similar experience.
“I feel like there’s a stigma around [trick-or-treating],” Noll said. “It’s like when you reach a certain age, either the people whose houses you’re knocking on are like ‘this person is too old,’ or your friends are like ‘what are you doing?’”
For Walsh, traditions from his childhood simply got boring.
“I got my first job and I realized I could buy my own candy, and it kind of lost a little bit of its charm,” Walsh said. “And [trick-or-treating] wasn’t frowned upon. You just get to an age where it’s just getting a little old.”
