Here's to a happy 'Fright Night'
No designated time for trick-or-treating
By Jamie Paige
jpaige@news-press.com
Originally posted on October 31, 2006
Safety Tips
To h
elp ensure a safe Halloween, the Lee County Sheriff's Office has suggested reviewing these safety tips with your family before trick-or-treating:
• Use makeup instead of a mask so you can see.
• Wear light-colored clothing or costumes. Carry a flashlight or light stick.
• Make a map of your trick-or-treat route. Parents can check public Web sites or other information sources as a precaution, such as familywatchdog.us.
• Stay in your own neighborhood.
• Keep a safe distance between you and moving cars. Use sidewalks or walk facing traffic.
• Be respectful of other people and their property.
• Stop only at well-lit houses. Don't go inside a stranger's house, no matter what anyone says.
• Screen all treats before you eat them. Don't accept and, especially, don't eat anything not commercially wrapped.
• Start early, end early.
• Walk, don't run. Don't carry sharp instruments. And never carry a lighted torch or candles.
• Don't go between parked cars or crisscross back and forth across streets or into traffic.
• Trick-or-treaters should always be in groups; parents should accompany young children.
Parents who want information should contact the Sheriff's Office Crime Prevention Unit at 477-1400.
Trick or treating
There is no designated time for trick-or-treating in Lee County. "I would recommend trying to get younger kids in before dark, or shortly after," said Assistant County Manager Pete Winton. "We don't promulgate a time for it, but just use your common sense."
The city of Bonita Springs is not limiting hours of trick-or-treating.
"Just advising people to use caution and safety and if they are going to have the kids out after the sun goes down to make sure that everybody carries a flashlight," Assistant City Manager Barbara Barnes-Buchanan said.
While Cape Coral doesn't have a designated night to unleash ghosts and goblins, city spokeswoman Connie Barron said residents usually head out Halloween night for trick-or-treat.
"We leave that up to the parents," Baron said. "But we do anticipate it will be (today)."
Holiday history
Observance of Halloween dates back to Celtic rituals thousands of years ago. In the United States, the first official citywide Halloween celebration was in Anoka, Minn., in 1921.
About 2,000 years ago, the Celts, who lived in what is now the United Kingdom, Ireland and northern France, celebrated their new year Nov. 1. It marked the end of harvest and summer and beginning of winter, a time that was often associated with human death.
On Oct. 31, they observed Samhain, when it was believed ghosts of the dead returned to earth, according to history.com. Celts believed presence of spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future.
The Druids would build large bonfires, and people would burn crops and animals as sacrifices to Celtic deities. They wore costumes, typically animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.
Black cat ban
A black cat is less likely to cross your path this Halloween in Lee County.
Like many shelters across the country, the Gulf Coast Humane Society in Lee County is prohibiting black cat adoptions until Nov. 3, fearing the animals could be mistreated in Halloween pranks — or worse, sacrificed in a satanic ritual.
It's not clear how many shelters still seasonally ban black cat adoptions, said Kim Intino, director of animal sheltering issues for the Humane Society of the United States. But Intino said the trend seems to be fading — along with the once-common bans on bunny adoptions around Easter or puppy adoptions as Christmas gifts.
Spooky numbers
According to the U.S. Census Bureau:
•36.1 million: Estimated number of potential "trick-or-treaters" in 2005 — 5- to 13-year-olds — across the United States, which declined by 284,000 from 2004.
•108 million: Number of occupied housing units across the nation — all potential stops for trick-or-treaters.
•1.1 billion pounds: Total production of major U.S. pumpkin-producing states in 2005. Illinois led by producing 497 million pounds of the vined orange gourd. Pumpkin patches in California, Ohio and Pennsylvania also provided lots of pumpkins: Each state produced at least 100 million pounds.
•1,241: Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2004, employing 43,322 people and shipping $12.5 billion worth of goods.
•515: Number of U.S. establishments that manufactured non-chocolate confectionary products in 2004.
•26 pounds: Per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2005; it is believed a large portion is consumed around Halloween.
•2,497: Number of formal-wear and costume-rental establishments across the nation in 2004.
No designated time for trick-or-treating
By Jamie Paige
jpaige@news-press.com
Originally posted on October 31, 2006
Safety Tips
To h
elp ensure a safe Halloween, the Lee County Sheriff's Office has suggested reviewing these safety tips with your family before trick-or-treating:• Use makeup instead of a mask so you can see.
• Wear light-colored clothing or costumes. Carry a flashlight or light stick.
• Make a map of your trick-or-treat route. Parents can check public Web sites or other information sources as a precaution, such as familywatchdog.us.
• Stay in your own neighborhood.
• Keep a safe distance between you and moving cars. Use sidewalks or walk facing traffic.
• Be respectful of other people and their property.
• Stop only at well-lit houses. Don't go inside a stranger's house, no matter what anyone says.
• Screen all treats before you eat them. Don't accept and, especially, don't eat anything not commercially wrapped.
• Start early, end early.
• Walk, don't run. Don't carry sharp instruments. And never carry a lighted torch or candles.
• Don't go between parked cars or crisscross back and forth across streets or into traffic.
• Trick-or-treaters should always be in groups; parents should accompany young children.
Parents who want information should contact the Sheriff's Office Crime Prevention Unit at 477-1400.
Trick or treating
There is no designated time for trick-or-treating in Lee County. "I would recommend trying to get younger kids in before dark, or shortly after," said Assistant County Manager Pete Winton. "We don't promulgate a time for it, but just use your common sense."
The city of Bonita Springs is not limiting hours of trick-or-treating.
"Just advising people to use caution and safety and if they are going to have the kids out after the sun goes down to make sure that everybody carries a flashlight," Assistant City Manager Barbara Barnes-Buchanan said.
While Cape Coral doesn't have a designated night to unleash ghosts and goblins, city spokeswoman Connie Barron said residents usually head out Halloween night for trick-or-treat.
"We leave that up to the parents," Baron said. "But we do anticipate it will be (today)."
Holiday history
Observance of Halloween dates back to Celtic rituals thousands of years ago. In the United States, the first official citywide Halloween celebration was in Anoka, Minn., in 1921.
About 2,000 years ago, the Celts, who lived in what is now the United Kingdom, Ireland and northern France, celebrated their new year Nov. 1. It marked the end of harvest and summer and beginning of winter, a time that was often associated with human death.
On Oct. 31, they observed Samhain, when it was believed ghosts of the dead returned to earth, according to history.com. Celts believed presence of spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future.
The Druids would build large bonfires, and people would burn crops and animals as sacrifices to Celtic deities. They wore costumes, typically animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.
Black cat ban
A black cat is less likely to cross your path this Halloween in Lee County.
Like many shelters across the country, the Gulf Coast Humane Society in Lee County is prohibiting black cat adoptions until Nov. 3, fearing the animals could be mistreated in Halloween pranks — or worse, sacrificed in a satanic ritual.
It's not clear how many shelters still seasonally ban black cat adoptions, said Kim Intino, director of animal sheltering issues for the Humane Society of the United States. But Intino said the trend seems to be fading — along with the once-common bans on bunny adoptions around Easter or puppy adoptions as Christmas gifts.
Spooky numbers
According to the U.S. Census Bureau:
•36.1 million: Estimated number of potential "trick-or-treaters" in 2005 — 5- to 13-year-olds — across the United States, which declined by 284,000 from 2004.
•108 million: Number of occupied housing units across the nation — all potential stops for trick-or-treaters.
•1.1 billion pounds: Total production of major U.S. pumpkin-producing states in 2005. Illinois led by producing 497 million pounds of the vined orange gourd. Pumpkin patches in California, Ohio and Pennsylvania also provided lots of pumpkins: Each state produced at least 100 million pounds.
•1,241: Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2004, employing 43,322 people and shipping $12.5 billion worth of goods.
•515: Number of U.S. establishments that manufactured non-chocolate confectionary products in 2004.
•26 pounds: Per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2005; it is believed a large portion is consumed around Halloween.
•2,497: Number of formal-wear and costume-rental establishments across the nation in 2004.
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