Today our family went to the Los Angeles Zoo for their annual kids’ Halloween celebration. It seems like the zoo’s most popular event, with the ticket queues full of people throughout the day and the parking lots (usually no more than half-full) completely full by around noon. Back when we lived in Glendale (before we had kids), I remember seeing the I-5 exit for Zoo Drive with a mile-long line of cars waiting to exit, and checking the events calendar to see what was going on.If I were to guess why it is so popular, it would be 1) it is a long-running event at a city-run facility, 2) children are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes, and most people consider the zoo fairly safe, 3) corporate sponsorship provides good candy for the trick or treat stations, as well as music and entertainment.
In fact, after having to wait almost an hour last year to buy tickets, the Halloween event was the main reason why we decided to become members of the zoo earlier this year (members can walk right in by showing their cards and ID’s). We also planned our October calendar around our plans to attend the zoo event.
Last year, our daughter had no problems with any Halloween activities (of course, they were all age-appropriate). But this year, at three years old, she is actively avoiding any of the scary aspects of the holiday—Halloween paraphernalia like skeletons, ghosts, and witches. She got spooked by a zoo employee with a rubber monster arm, and refused to go through the trick or treat line. And she didn’t last long at a Halloween concert with ‘scary music’ in Griffith Park a few weeks ago.
When I was growing up in Los Angeles, Halloween was probably my favorite holiday of the year. And back in the 70s, celebrating Halloween was still for kids. Halloween meant deciding on a costume, carving jack-o-lanterns, trick or treating in the neighborhood, and having lots of candy to last for a few days. For me, what was most fun was that social order was turned upside down for one night. Adults pretended to be scared by your costume. You could go house-to-house and get candy from complete strangers.
When I got to college in the mid 1980s, I hadn’t celebrated Halloween for about ten years. But I soon realized that Halloween was an important event for most college-aged kids as well, and that people of all ages were starting to celebrate the holiday.
Halloween has grown into such a large social event for all ages and economic juggernaut, with gory horror films released each year in time for Halloween, and re-themed amusement parks with attractions designed to shock and scare adults.
I miss the innocence of Halloween when I was growing up, and hope that my daughter and son can still enjoy the holiday I did, without the blood and horror that are so pervasive today.
