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| 300,000 tons of candy is a lot of tooth decay, obesity and diabetes. |
As a matter of fact, I would not be upset if we, as a society, decided to kill Halloween. Is that too scary? Are we horrifying blood-drenched buzz kills? Or party-pooping people promoting the destruction of our culture's "values"?
I don't think so.
What, exactly, are the values being supported on Halloween? Greed? Gluttony? Deception, as in pretending to be something we are not? How about competitiveness, as in who has the best costume? Or wastefulness, as represented by individually plastic wrapped candy pieces?
And it is a big pile of candy that goes down this time of year.
The average mainstream American is slated to spend $185.50 on Halloween candy in 2018. Most likely that is $92.75 to buy candy, then another $92.75 to replace it after it is eaten up before the 31st.
Collectively, that is 300,000 tons of candy, and the spending amounts to almost 3 Billion dollars. On candy. Sugar. Just for Halloween.
Maybe killing Halloween outright is a bit much (or maybe not), but we definitely think it is time to say NO to all that candy. Now is the time to also say no to the associated health hazards of heavy sugar consumption such as obesity, tooth decay, and diabetes.
It may not be mainstream yet, but rethinking all that sugar consumption is probably a good thing to do. Don't be afraid to reject it altogether, or if it happens to invade your life, feel free to throw it out - giving it away just passes the problems on to someone else.
Perhaps we could keep the fun parts of Halloween while promoting some more appropriate values, such as thrift, self-control, and rational thinking. Or is that just a sweet idea that is too fringe for mainstream ghosts and goblins?
Boo Hiss, Grinch, Okay so my kids have never had a store bought costume. I made them and reused them for years. Also I have only bought two bags of candy money spent $5.00. Did the kids trick or treat? You bet they did hey free candy. I like free. Love your blog so I have to give you crap....
ReplyDeleteYou fit my Bible verse for today which begins: Be not conformed to this world... I spent $10 for candy this year. I only have to look across the street to see crazy excess in Halloween decor. Another holiday that is crazy here is 4th of July. I spend $0 on fireworks.
ReplyDeleteA very good, thought-provoking post...
ReplyDeleteOur household also doesn't consume candy, or processed sugar. It makes us feel ill - who needs it?
I just watched a TED talk about how obesity is an American national security threat. This prompted my partner and I to talk about the "body positivity" movement. YES, everyone is beautiful as a child of the Universe. But a grossly under- or over-weight body is not healthy and normal. It's not beautiful, but ill. Sick bodies are crying out for help and support, not an ad campaign to normalize them (though this plays well for the soap/lingerie/whatever companies who drive these campaigns).
A "love your pancreas and liver" day instead of Halloween would be awesome!
But perhaps the insane sugar consumption we see around us supports the ghoulish nature of the holiday. Those fake coffins in people's front yards take on a sad meaning when you know what people are doing to themselves in the name of "fun!"
I say...apples for everyone! :)
Wow, don't take this the wrong way, but . . .this is sure a killjoy GGrinch post. While I agree that there is way too much candy consumption at Halloween, candy is not the devil incarnate and responsible parents can set limits for their child's consumption at this (or any other) time. I have many happy memories of Halloween as a child; my family lived in the country and my mother would drive my sisters and me to our neighbors' houses where everyone could admire our (homemade) costumes and catch up on some gossip while we kiddos got treats. When my children were small, we all went to my sister and brother-in-law's development where my kids could walk from house to house with other children and everyone could admire the Halloween decorations. These were not over-elaborate; many of them were made by the kids themselves at school. Sure, some people went overboard with the lights and skeletons, but the majority of houses kept things pretty modest. The last year my kids and I did this, I stayed at home with my brother-in-law and handed out candy to the witches, princesses, Stormtroopers ninja turtles and pirates. My brother-in-law died the following September of a brain tumor, and this brings us to the real reason for Halloween: it is a festival of the dead and our remembering them. For me, Halloween is not candy and dressing up, it is the memory of that last October I spent on the front porch stoop with my brother-in-law, laughing and talking with the little kids and teenagers and parents, never knowing that this would be the last time we would do this. So don't try to take away the fun, goofiness and excess of Halloween, because we the living need this holiday as much as we need our memories of the dead - and as much as they need us to remember them on this night.
ReplyDeleteReally happy to not live in a country that celebrates Halloween... Although it's slowly seeping in unfortunately. Most people here don't take part, at best thinking it's a harmless American holiday and at worst that it's weird and kind of rude to ask random people for lollies. But hey horses for courses! Either way it's pretty wasteful if people are using individually wrapped lollies and buying cheap costumes that are worn once and thrown away. I solve potential issues by making a whopping big sign on a peice of cardboard for our fence saying no trick or treaters. Stops the one person in a ten km radius who can be bothered knocking on doors lol
ReplyDeleteHalloween has only recently been celebrated in Australia. My country has the unfortunate tendency to take the worst American habits and adopt them. My kids were brought up in a sugar-free home. Doctor visits for actual illness, just one for my son and three for my daughter (they did go for stitches and broken arms however!)
ReplyDeleteFor any young parents reading, you really are not depriving your kids of anything if you don't give them lollies and partake in these festivities. Bake something healthy at home with your kids or take them on a picnic- they will remember that when they are older.
Gregg my eyes nearly watered when I read the amount spent on Halloween per household. When you think how many people have consumer debt and live pay cheque to pay cheque that is a really sad figure.
Erin, I agree about the body positivity movement, we shouldn't be normalising obesity or underweight. It is strange to think that just one generation ago the obese or overweight person was the exception where I grew up, not the norm. I don't know what the answer is. I do invite people into my home and teach them to cook if they express an interest in it - good health starts in the kitchen for sure, and in this age of the celebrity chef many don't know how to cook the basics.
Madeleine
Thank you Gregg for this post. I am just now getting to read it. The theme is aligned with what most of us who read this blog are aspiring to. So much money is spent on things that damage people and the environment. I'm terribly sad to hear that Halloween now is becoming "a thing" in other countries where it wasn't a thing before. I guess if marketers see something works in the U.S. they give it a try in other countries. Sad that it catches on.
ReplyDelete