In just two weeks, the world will celebrate or observe the age-old traditions that have evolved into what we have come to know as Halloween.

It’s a holiday that has changed in many ways over the decades.

We won’t go into the history of Halloween’s evolution. Instead, we will simply say that it’s not the same as it was 50 years ago, nor is it the same as it was even two years ago (COVID has seen to that).

And it’s because of the pandemic that is still far to prevalent here that we share the opinion door-to-door Halloween should be canceled.

The nearby city of Lumberton recently joined a number of other cities and towns by dissuading residents from participating in door-to-door trick-or-treating for Halloween, and we think it’s a wise decision.

Scotland County is still south of 50% vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. The Delta variant is still out there. Numbers of positive tests might be dwindling slightly, but not enough for area hospitals to give any kind of all-clear. And just recently, the Scotland High football team went dormant for two weeks because of a sudden outbreak of positive COVID tests.

It’s simply still not safe out there.

We could once again trumpet the fact that far too many folks remain hard-headed about getting vaccinated; how most of them continue to use the same old, tired rumors and fake news to defend their poor decision — but it won’t help. They will continue to keep the pandemic alive — until they themselves aren’t.

Instead, we hope the city of Laurinburg, the surrounding incorporated towns and Scotland County make the decision to avoid door-to-door trick-or-treating.

We don’t want to see Halloween canceled. What we hope to see are more church and civic group and school events like drive-thru trunk-or-treating, some kind of Halloween Eve sleep-in or lock-in — or any other kind of activity that keeps children and adults in socially distanced and safe areas.

And to be quite honest, some of those activities might be better if participants were required to show proof of vaccination first. It’s something that has already started in other areas of the state and country. Why not here?

Halloween may never again be the same — not what it was in 1919 or 1969 or 2019. But it can still be a holiday worth looking forward to and enjoyed by all ages.

We hope this year’s is one of them.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Halloween is a day in which some people choose to wear a mask, while others finally feel safe to take theirs off.”