Holiday spirit

With Halloween barely in the rear view mirror, I can’t help but wonder what ever happened to the first part of the mantra “trick or treat.” We spend so much time focusing on the treat, what with the proliferation of candy and candy-esque treats, we forget what is supposed to be an essential part of the holiday.

Personally, I don’t particularly care for holidays. Our culture’s over-saturation of them leaves me barely enough time to scrub the ickyness off me before the next one begins. But all the same, Halloween is one of the few holidays that is supposed to have a dark vibe to it, which I can appreciate.

Nowadays however, any hard edges the holiday once had have all but dissolved in a sea of high fructose corn syrup, overly stiff drinks with dry ice billowing fake smoke and girls gallivanting around in tart getups like a Victoria Secrets catalogue exploded.

When I was in middle school, I concerned myself more with pranking people than with candy, parties and how I looked in my costume. How sad is it that middle schoolers are leading the way on holiday spirit? Are we content to let 12-and-13-year-olds upstage us? Because that is what they are doing. Look in the mirror people, and try to remember that if you are going to celebrate holidays (a sickness I advise against) try to respect what they commemorate.

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