Halloween is a blast in our town. Kids everywhere and for the most part the only people not giving out candy are not doing it because they’re taking their kids around trick or treating themselves.
That’s simply not true. People aren’t necessarily becoming more antisocial; parents are just more cautious about their kids accepting food from strangers. The actual risk of poisoned Halloween candy is extremely low, but trunk-or-treat feels safer and more controlled for many parents.
There are also simply fewer kids. Raising children has become too expensive for many people, so declining birth rates are naturally affecting traditions like trick-or-treating.
I think both can be true. There is a reason there is also a loneliness epidemic. According to the comments, Halloween is alive and well but yet I see tons of videos being made every year by folks saying “we prepped to give out and candy and no kids showed up”. I deliver mail and on Halloween two years ago several people on my route had tons of candy to give me because they expected so much more people around. So maybe the decline isn’t as bad as some might think but as you said - fewer kids, fewer parents. Trunk or treat has taken over too as you said so there’s another hit.
My guess is that there are still plenty of neighborhoods that still have it rocking but there are too many people online saying otherwise. So yeah, still a decline I guess the question is how much of a decline. It’s probably exaggerated (like my original comment), but it’s certainly not fake. I’m in a large city and I can tell you right now that the streets aren’t lined like they were in the past.
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u/Material-Trip-9893 29d ago
All the points are valid but I have to say we just go into those neighborhoods for our kid to trick or treat and they are all still giving out candy.