Colourful home-made costumes; bobbing for apples; children smiling sweetly; poems, rhymes and songs - Halloween as it used to be but not any more. .
A number of people have expressed their concerns that Halloween has changed for the worse and that this reflects changes in our society. Nowadays Halloween is just a night to tell ghost stories, get dressed up and go "trick or treating." It is no longer considered to be the family celebration it once was due to changes in society. Instead of the once safe celebration of black cats, magic, spirits walking the earth, which developed from Celtic tradition, we now worry about the 31st of October as it now brings many dangers.
Anti-social behaviour is now a big problem. Vandals now roam the streets doing things such as "bag-snatching" (stealing the bags of "treats" the young children have collected); they also "egg" houses, cars and people as they think this is just a minor practical joke! This kind of anti-social behaviour generally spoils the fun of Halloween.
Another big concern with vandals is that because fireworks are on sale at around this time for Guy Fawkes (this is the following week). This means vandals can easily access them and set them off early, using Halloween as a poor excuse. They can end up being very dangerous when in the wrong hands and make the younger children scared to go out" trick or treating". They also have been known to be thrown at houses and put through letterboxes, this can result in people being seriously hurt.
Due to this kind of anti-social behaviour, people sometimes do not open their doors to "trick or treaters." They prefer not to be involved with the celebration of Halloween. This reflects a more isolated and fragmented community - before every body knew every body else and doors were open.
Parents will also worry about their children being out alone, and going door to door. It seems that every time you look in the paper or listen to the news there will be a story about a child being abducted, or going missing, being found dead or you read about paedophiles.
