Look what Halloween has become in area

Dealing with the trick-or-treaters last Saturday night, I got the strong impression that the celebration of Halloween is changing—and in a delightful direction. We live in Mountain Meadows, ground zero of this festivity, where many folks from out in the country bring their children to beg, so I’ve been able to study the customs at close range.

One change in recent years is parents are more fully involved, shepherding their children (and they are often dressed in costumes themselves).

Another is that these parents are bringing very young children, proudly showing off their new toddlers to the neighborhood. And the contacts are more cordial. Dozens of times I heard parents in the background say, “Say ‘thank you.’”

Halfway through the evening at our house we had given out the 300 treats we had laid up, and had to turn to the penny jar. I was apprehensive about giving such a pathetic treat; I’m afraid in my day, as kids we would have shown our disappointment to so stingy a householder. Well, none of these children showed an impolite reaction to the gift of a penny. They understood that this was a ritual act of giving and receiving. I thought when the evening was over, “What a polite bunch of kids!”

In keeping with this more polite approach, the practice of “tricks” seems to be dying out. Not too many years ago, our house would be egged, and yard items knocked over. But not in recent Halloweens.

I don’t know what’s happening elsewhere, but in our Sandpoint area, Halloween has apparently evolved into a celebration of family, friendship and community.

All those folks from the country who make the effort to bring their families to town sense this. They’re saying, we’re part of the community too!

JIM PAYNE

Sandpoint