Published: October 30, 2009 12:40 am      

Don’t forget safety while having fun on Halloween

With origins that date back more than 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain to the current trend of dressing like H1N1 (swine) flu to go trick-or-treating, the traditions that have helped shape Halloween span multiple centuries and cultures.

But for children, the highlight of the holiday most likely is trick-or-treating, when they dress up in their scariest, prettiest or bloodiest costumes and go door to door asking for chocolates and sweets.

The idea of wearing costumes to celebrate the day is not a new one. Even the Celts wore costumes — although theirs were typically made from animal heads and skins — during celebrations thousands of years ago.

But costumes now are much more elaborate, whether homemade or bought at a local store, and children often base their costumes on their favorite celebrity or a character from a movie or book. Zombies, ghosts and goblins are also annual favorites.

It should be no surprise that Halloween is a booming business in terms of retail sales — some market researchers have even said they expect 2009 sales for costumes and decor to rise 3 percent to $3.8 billion this year compared to last year — so it’s safe to say that many local people will be participating in some sort of holiday event this weekend.

Trick-or-treat is scheduled in 16 parts of the county Saturday, with the annual event scheduled to fall sometime between 5:30 and 8 p.m. in various communities.

And while it’s easy to get caught up in all the Halloween hype, we must remember that safety is a top priority to keeping trick-or-treaters safe this holiday weekend. With reports suggesting that four times as many children between the ages of 5 and 14 are killed while walking on Halloween when compared to other evenings of the year, it’s easy to see why safety is so important.

So parents should make sure children’s costumes are flame resistant and that their masks don’t obstruct their sight. Reflective tape also helps them be more visible to passing motorists. In addition, kids should only go to well-lit houses when seeking candy, and they should have a flashlight handy to help light the path between homes.

Safety should be practiced by adults, too, and if they aren’t accompanying their children, parents should make sure to know the route their children plan to take while trick-or-treating. Designating a set time to be home also helps cut down on problems.

As Gil Campbell, acting Fairmont police chief, pointed out, safety is especially important on this night of tricks and treats. He said parents should go with their children in order to provide adult supervision when kids are making their rounds through the community.

“Please drive a little slower because children go from house to house with only one thing on their mind — candy,” he said.

And once they get home with all those sugary treats? All candy should be inspected by parents, and anything that isn’t sealed by a manufacturer or appears to be tampered with should be discarded immediately.

After all, a few extra minutes to ensure safety can prevent local children from becoming another statistic. It will also help make Halloween a night of more treats than tricks.