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From the Editor

The Children Of Our Community Deserve A Good Halloween

Justin Addison Editor/Publisher
Posted 10/21/20

The time is upon us. I’m writing, of course, of the time-honored celebration of Halloween.

In this time of COVID-19, what is Fayette doing for its children? I don’t mean the City, in …

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From the Editor

The Children Of Our Community Deserve A Good Halloween

Posted

The time is upon us. I’m writing, of course, of the time-honored celebration of Halloween.

In this time of COVID-19, what is Fayette doing for its children? I don’t mean the City, in the sense of the municipality. I mean the soul of Fayette: its people. What are we as residents doing for our children on this most child-loving holiday? An abundance of caution has already canceled the decades-long traditional Halloween Parade presented yearly on the courthouse lawn by the Golden Study Club. And Main Street’s annual Trunk-or-Treat has been pared down to only a drive-thru event.

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our daily lives, as a community we are obligated to not allow yet another principal element of childhood to be torn away. The children of our community have suffered silently as the attentions of adults focus almost entirely on positive case numbers, the economy, and politics. All the while, it is easy to forget that our kids are undergoing a mental health crisis while missing out on important childhood staples. Let us not take away yet another essential piece of their formidable years.

There are few vulgarities less forgivable than the denial of childhood.

This year provides unique opportunities. Not only does Halloween fall on a Saturday, but we will be treated to a full moon, called a blue moon as it will be the second during the month. And if that weren’t enough, Daylight Saving Time officially ends at 2 a.m. on Nov. 1, making Halloween night an hour longer.

“Historically, Halloween has always been a last hurrah before the arrival of the colder season. We’d dress up to ward off ghosts and celebrate the harvest, gathering to fill ourselves with the energy of togetherness before we found ourselves spending more time tucked away from the winter,” wrote Brandon Hardy, a New York-based artist, and longtime contributor to New York’s Village Halloween Parade.

Like most holidays, Halloween in the modern era has boiled down many of its historic customs into the simple act of Trick-or-Treating. This year it is more important than ever to open our community to our costumed youngsters.

“There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch,” wrote author Robert Brault.

In short, this holiday is for our kids.

Area communities such as Glasgow and Boonville have publicly endorsed trick-or-treating. It’s up to individual members of our society to provide our children a bright spot in an increasingly grim year.

And while the Centers for Disease Control suggest that trick-or-treating could foster the further spread of the coronavirus, there are plenty of creative ways to allow for a fun Halloween while taking a prophylactic approach to the custom. Garden City, Mich. resident Matt Thompson this year built a contraption in which a ghost slides down a 30-foot zip line from his porch to a post by the sidewalk to deliver candy to trick-or-treaters. A video of the invention has already been viewed more than 25 million times on social media, inspiring others to take similar actions. Other homeowners around the country have installed large tubes through which treats may be slid down into children’s candy sacks.

There are other ways to be creative while still delivering some semblance of Halloween to our kids. Those with decidedly fewer DIY skills may instead opt for a low-tech approach. Why not just set out a bowl of candy on your porch or front steps to allow children to help themselves, all while staying safe and watching from several feet away?

“Halloween has always been what you make of it, and that doesn’t have to change this year. What changes is how we make the most of it,” wrote Mr. Hardy.

“With an eye for bringing the holiday spirit into our homes and being safe when we leave them, I think we can make Halloween 2020 one for the books.”

Central Methodist is also getting in on the action with a virtual ghost hunt on Wednesday, Oct. 28.

And let’s not forget, Halloween is an economic force, second only to Christmas in the United States. Costumes, candy, and decorations may all be purchased from local businesses here in Howard County. And during a time when our businesses are in peril of closing, celebrating Halloween may be just as noble as it is fun.

Sincerely,

Justin Addison

Editor/Publisher

The Fayette Advertiser

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