By Juan Feliciano
The month of October marks the beginning of two things: the fall season and the holiday season. The holiday season has Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, all of them coming after the month of October.
But the holiday that kicks it all off and is the one that millennials wait for anxiously for the whole month is Halloween. According to Business Wire, it’s the holiday that millennials enjoy the most, but why is this the case and not classic holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas? Most of the reasons are quite simple, while others are more rooted in the way this generation thinks and acts.
The biggest reason is the creativity that Halloween allows to those who celebrate. It’s the costumes, the decorating and the parties with a twist. These things are what makes those with a creative spark enjoy Halloween so much. As said by student Alexander Wind, “It gives people who participate courage to dress up and be someone or something that they’ve always wanted to be.” For Wind, Halloween is not just a fun night, it’s a family tradition. In his case they are more united during Halloween than Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Interestingly, Thanksgiving is another holiday liked by millennials, but the reasons are sometimes quite vain: food, sweet homemade food. Students like going back to their house, being with their family and keeping a small tradition. But people like Halloween for very similar reasons, such as the traditions they do, but in this case the tradition are more individual than familial.
“There’s nothing that feels like an obligation on Halloween,” said Frankie Pacheco “It’s all freedom and you can do whatever you can think of.” An individual can give however much importance they want to the holiday because its not tailored to be shared so much in family than with friends. Fredderica Krehbiel described it as “a kid’s holiday,” when talking about the fun of Halloween.
Other students like Halloween’s aesthetic. The season goes great with the themes of the holiday, like the dying and wilting of the trees, coupled with the gothic and sometimes even morbid themes that make it a very pleasing holiday to the eyes. This bring up the last point of why millennials like this holiday so much and it is because this is a non-traditional holiday. It is a different and strange event, and it allows those who do not celebrate the more traditional holidays to enjoy themselves with friends.
Tyler Young for example, is of Native American descent, so holidays with religious connotation are not celebrated in his family. Young was able to attribute the meaning of unity and fun to the holiday because of the its flexibility. The fact that Halloween is such a malleable holiday, that it can fit people in many ways. Also, there is free candy, and that is a very big plus.