Halloween Traditions

from Volume 17, Issue 2

by Tiger Topics: Fishers Tiger Times

Serial Killers

‘Tis the spooky season

Fishers students, sta share their Halloween plans

Lainey Akins akinslai000@hsestudents.org

With Halloween fast approaching, numerous students “All the decorations and stu gives you something to raise your morale a little bit,” Jud and faculty engage in new or traditional activities. In the Halloween season, the weather starts to shi into a chillier atmosphere. With the colorful leaves and crisp weather many people enjoy the overall atmosphere of Halloween, including senior Ava Knight. “I think [Halloween is] one of my favorite holidays aside from Christmas because the weather’s nice and cold,” Knight said. “I just like all the decorations and I love the actual event of Halloween. According to math teacher John Jud, he did not do much for Halloween as a kid. But as he got older and stepped into a new stage of life, his Halloween spirit rose. “What got me into Halloween was my wife,” Jud said. “It’s her favorite holiday, so we decorate our house like crazy.” Jud has an assortment of Halloween decorations in his classroom and spooky spider webbing resides in one of the corners. Along with this, he has many other cutouts of Halloween characters, like skeletons, witches and mummies. said. “ at’s one of the reasons I decorate in the classroom. I just like something to distract me a little bit and be able to come in and look at the decorations and the lights.” Along with decorating, trick or trick or treating is also a popular Halloween activity. Knight is excited to prepare her costume and go trick or treating with her friends. “I think everybody should be able to trick or treat no matter what age [they] are,” Knight said. “We’re going to go out for one last time before college and I’m really excited for it.” Halloween began from ancient Celtic traditions. According to the New York Public Library, in ancient Celtic times a bon re would be lit and people would wear costumes to ward o evil spirits. Today, many people still carry on this tradition, including freshman Kassie Ferris. “I’m going to have a huge Halloween party [where I will] have a bunch of people over and a big bon re,” Ferris said. From Indy Scream Park to Conner Prairie’s Headless Horseman ride, residents have a plethora of Halloween options to choose from. Even with these new advancements, Jud believes the basis of Halloween has remained the same. “I don’t think it’s a whole lot di erent,” Jud said. “I think people got dressed up. When you’re a kid, you always had something you wanted to dress up as. You can dress something [di erent] from your personality for a night and be somebody di erent for a day.” Knight, however, believes that Halloween has changed in terms of how teenagers participate in the holiday. “Now a lot of teenagers feel like they can’t go out to trick or treat or have fun just because they’re getting older,” Knight said. Jud says that even if students are not going to a Halloween party or trick or treating, they can still enjoy the holiday by dressing in costume. “Be somebody di erent for a day,” Jud said. “[Even] if you’re not [doing anything huge], dress up as something and pass out candy. I think it’s kind of neat to be something a little bit di erent for one day.”