The shops are filling up with costumes both delightful and ghoulish to fill the gap between winter sales and the Christmas promotions.
It must mean that October is on the calendar and Halloween is not far away. How is it that an American annual event became so embedded in the New Zealand culture?
I suspect that if it weren't for this commercial opportunity to fill the lull of events and the ready availability of American television series that incorporate an episode featuring it, would we bother with something so irrelevant to our New Zealand culture?
When our local tangata whenua can't get much traction with Matariki recognition and celebration, one must consider the commercial drivers as being the main motivations around the prominence Halloween enjoys.
Let's look at what it offers. The once a year opportunity for children, accompanied or not, to ask for treats in quantities that promote tooth decay, or if they are not produced, verbally abusing the potential donor for not doing so. I see the formation of undesirable attitudes here and adults promote it as a fun thing to do and completely harmless! I wish.
And what happened to the warning we give children – ' Never accept lollies from strangers”? Mixed messages here too.

M Hudson, Tauranga.