Originally Posted by noveltyjunkie
It's sad that Halloween has moved so far from the origins of the festival in Ireland and Scotland. Yes it has always involved the tension between our world and whatever spirits there may be in another world, but it was never all about evil, and certainly not about zombies etc. It was a time when people believed communication with the spirits was possible, but that did not have to be horrible. There was also a lot of fortune telling and divination at that time of year and predictions for the year ahead, as people marked the end of the productive year. Children received gifts of nuts and apples to lessen the anxiety about the lean winter days to come.
I like the genuine Halloween traditions but I cannot abide the ghoulish nonsense (and the sugar laden junk food) that dominate these days.
Yours is a new version of Halloween to me. I had heard that WWAAAAAAYY back( druid times) they believed spirits both good and evil would roam the earth for one night each year. In order to keep the evil spirits from doing harm they dressed up (many times as scary as they could) to confuse and scare away the evil spirits. Goodies were handed out to appease any evil spirits that might have come to their doors. Vampires and zombies have been included for as long as I remember. It really hasn't changed that much in how people celebrate it. I don't think people today celebrate for the same reason as they did centuries and centuries ago but we still carry on for the fun.
Today I think candy is just easy and cheaper to hand out than lots of other things. Parents can't trust home made items anymore because of all the bad people out there. Treats change with the times. My parents mentioned getting caramel apples, popcorn balls, homemade cupcakes, and full sized candy bars. My parents also said though that they didn't have to worry about razor blades, needles and glass in these things either. You should feel free to hand out nuts or apples if you wish. Some people when my boys were small handed out pencils, plastic Halloween type rings and fake spiders along with the candy.