I'm going to offend a lot of people, but I think Halloween is a stupid holiday. I don't hate it for religious reasons, I just think it's stupid.
LOL, it is my adult daughter's favorite holiday. I was not sure what type of traffic we were to expect last night. On the "more traffic side", it was a Friday night and the rain had stopped in the morning. On the "less traffic side", it was very windy, kind of cold, and there is a new trend called "Trunk or Treat" where parents and kids meet in parking lots to exchange candies prior to Halloween. We give out full size candy bars (always a big hit with the kids who typically just get the fun size treats) and had stocked up with 120 pieces. There have been Halloweens where we ran out with that number. This year, however, we had 38 left, so only 82 kids showed up at the door. Kind of slow for us, but not a complete washout.
We didn't put any candy out, and our lights were off. I noticed that our neighbors across the road and beside us did the same. No traffic. I feel like people in our neighborhood don't want any of that anymore. All in all, I had the best Halloween so far. Glad you had fun, @jrbiz , although for the life of me I don't understand why... LOL.
I put out my fake skeletons, witches, scarecrows, lighted pumpkins and phony cobwebs. I even had an orange strobe light. Every year it's less and less kids on my street. I live on a mountain and it's a 15 minute drive from town to the bottom of the ski hill where my neighborhood is located. The parents just don't want to burn the gas. Most of the Texan, Australian, and German multi millionaires don't live in the houses up here unti ski season, so hardly any local kids. I got a grand total of 3 kids show up at my door...3.....Never again, I am now officially retired from Halloweening.
When we first moved to the neighborhood, we had young kids ourselves who would go around to the neighbors' houses, so we had to reciprocate/participate, as well. The "tradition" has continued ever since, despite it being 12+ years since one of our kids was young enough to want to go trick or treating. I suppose that it is a bit of fun when you see the kids' faces lighting up at the sight of a variety of full size candy bars that they can choose from (actually, full size Skittles are the most popular selection); we even had a couple of exuberant boys yell across the street to their compatriots: "These guys are giving out full size candy bars!" So, their excitement is real. But mostly, I suppose that we do it to continue to be good neighbors; we recently had a number of young families move in and they all have young kids excited by the prospect of trick or treating.
In NZ, it's not a holiday - school and work continue as usual. Some families take part, and young adults use it as an excuse to party. We don't have the cultural history here so it's really just promoted by the big stores that want to sell cheap decorations. It's also at the start of daylight saving so it's safer because it's daylight, but the decorations don't work as well as if it was dark. I rode past a big stadium today and the traffic was crazy - the event? Diwali! I think generally we see it as a wholesome alternative with real cultural roots. There are infinitely more Indians in NZ than Americans.
It is not an official holiday here in the U.S., either. School, work, etc., are normal days here, too. It's roots do go back to religion (All Hallows Eve) and especially in Mexico or other Spanish countries (Day of the Dead.)
Which is why we (NZers) don't have the cultural history. I find it odd that in the US people dress up in outfits that have nothing to do with Halloween - but not my culture so it doesn't matter. The Mexicans stick to the theme and it seems a more joyous celebration.
A lot of people love the tradition, the costumes, and the excuse to eat candy, but it makes sense that it might feel pointless or overhyped if you're not into those specific activities. You're definitely not alone in thinking some of the "big" holidays are a bit silly or exhausting. It just means you have one less thing to worry about on October 31st!
You needed AI to write a post about Halloween? I'd understand if you'd used Google Translate; I couldn't write that in Spanish, but the use of bold text is a bit of a giveaway.
Yes, haha, I told Gemini to translate what I was writing; I usually use it more than Google Translate directly. But when I finished, I didn't notice the use of bold letters, and also that she gave an opinion I didn't ask for.