9 Reasons We Love Halloween
This house on 18th street in Oklahoma City's historic Mesta Park is a favorite on the Trick-or-Treating route. Last year, the owner handed out thousands of pieces of candy to children - two-thirds of whom belong to Gen Xers.
Have you heard, 40 is the new 20 Halloween is the new Christmas? Below are nine reasons why Generation X (by broadest definition those folks born between 1961 and 1981) has reclaimed Halloween over the last 10 years.
1. There are no presents to wrap and no silver to polish. Part of what makes Christmas and Thanksgiving stressful for everyone is the production. Since the Great Recession hit, Gen X has reduced spending more than any other generation. This is compounded by the fact that today nearly 75 percent of kids under 18 are parented by a Gen Xer. The production involved in making costumes or getting dressed up for Halloween can actually be pretty enjoyable compared to what goes into getting ready for Christmas.
2. It’s not religious I love observing religious holidays, especially Easter, which is my favorite holiday of all. But, the commercialization of religious holidays, especially Christmas, also stresses me out. So does having to celebrate holy days with family who out oppose church and God. Halloween may have roots in religion, but today, it is not a religious holiday. Generation X, more than any other generation, has rejected their parents’ faith. That is not to say Gen X is a godless generation, only that they’ve become disenchanted with church. Thus, a holiday absent of religious pressures and overtones makes Halloween a more enjoyable holiday experience.
By the way, satanic overtones continue to bug me, and I don’t do gross and gore. I expel all that, which brings me to my next point.
3. You Can take a Sledge Hammer (and Sickle) to Your Fears. Generation X came of age with the Cold War and the constant looming threat of being nuked. At precisely the same time most of us were starting to either have sex or think about it, we had to contend with AIDS and the notion that sex could kill you. Moreover, we presently live in the culture of terror and based on terrorism (they tell us), we’re fighting not one, but two wars.
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