As October comes to an end, neighbors start decorating their front porch, hanging up ghouly decorations, and carving pumpkins. Supermarkets start filling aisles with bags of sweets, and candy sales skyrocket. Children pick out accessories and unleash their creative side. This can only mean one thing: The spooky season is here, and with it comes a frightful holiday: Halloween. 

Halloween is a national holiday here in the United States. It’s celebrated annually on the 31st of October. Halloween originates from the Celtic festival of Samhain in ancient Ireland and Britain. At present, Halloween is a day filled with multiple events. The most popular is “trick-or-treating”. Families and friends go door to door asking for a “treat” such as candy and chocolate. Apart from trick or treating, costume parties also take place. From witches to princesses, friends gather at costume parties to dance, eat, and engage in activities like apple bobbing, carving pumpkins, and telling scary stories. 

Naturally, younger children are more attracted to trick-or-treating. It’s a day where they get to dress up as fun characters, hang out with friends, and get free candy. It sounds like the perfect holiday. However, as fun as trick-or-treating can be, there can be many dangerous aspects. 

For one, children are eager to cross the street to get their sweets. Crossing the street carelessly on Halloween may cause injuries and accidents. The risk of car accidents is higher on Halloween than on regular days. To prevent such accidents on Halloween, children should look both ways before crossing the street. They should also make sure there is some sort of light in the area so they can see incoming vehicles. 

Most people trick or treat at night and it can be dangerous if children are not safe. Since trick or treating is just knocking on people’s doors and getting candy, it can be risky if children are not cautious. Halloween is a holiday where it is easy for strangers to follow vulnerable children. Children should keep in mind to be more aware of their surroundings when trick or treating.

Children are ready to eat their candy as soon as they finish their adventurous night of trick-or-treating. Before eating any of the sweets they receive, children should make sure the candy is safe. The main thing to look out for is any allergies to the candy. Common ingredients in candy that children may be allergic to are nuts like peanuts, hazelnuts, cashews, etc.  It is best to avoid any candy that seems to be unwrapped or damaged. It may have been tampered with. Also, if a candy’s packaging looks different than usual or if homemade treats are being distributed, children should be cautious.

Even though Halloween can be a fun holiday for families and friends, it is extremely crucial to make sure everyone is safe. Halloween can have many safety concerns due to the variety of events occurring in the day. It’s important to make Halloween memorable for the family in a positive way. If these basic guidelines are followed, it can ensure that Halloween 2024 will be a night to remember.