Mothers have a holiday. Fathers do too. Veterans, the United States of America, laborers, pilgrims, grandparents, and Jesus all have holidays. But do the children have one, a day that is all their own? Yes. Yes, they do.
There exists one night each year when the children make the rules, when they use their imaginations to the fullest, when they are given free reign of their worlds, when every door opened offers the opportunity for reward. That night is Halloween.
Halloween is the one day out of the year that truly belongs to the children, the ones ages two to twelve, and the ones ages thirteen to 102 who refuse to grow up. Halloween is the one night of the year when it is alright for each of us to return to the fantastic world of childhood, when we can allow make-believe things to scare us, and when we can dress up, be silly, and be ourselves – just as the children do.
So, here is to the children, both young and old, to the fantasies of youth, and to the one night when imagination knows no boundaries. Here is to our holiday. Here is to Halloween.
The Big Scare 