Picture this: back in the days before your teens, before the weight of responsibility and duty were present, or at least not in the limelight as it is now. Around this time of year, maybe you would be excited; trying on new costumes,planning out routes that will bring you the most candy, maybe carving pumpkins into scary or silly faces, or all of the above. Now a days holidays and celebrations don’t have it’s effect it once had. Even though Halloween, along with other holidays, might be considered too childish to be celebrated as an adult, I believe that celebrating holidays like Halloween still have a positive impact on all of us who aren’t technically young but still young at heart.

Being an adult is a stressful experience, usually filled with minatunus tasks with little reward and a laundry list of problems that never seem to shorten. But remembering a time that was more positive and less stressful time can help tremendously with lowering one’s stress and help prevent mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. A study on rats done by scientists at the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics emphasized a key element of treatment to the rats who had depression was having positive thoughts.Even though a rat’s brain isn’t the same as a human’s, humans have a lot in common with animals in terms of brain functions and has also shown on countless times in history that positive thoughts or memories can help get people through rough times.

Another argument that I have for celebrating holidays is its social benefits. Humans are social creatures and it’s a part of our DNA to connect with other living beings. Holidays are a great way to have a positive social experience without the pressure to perform outweighing the benefits of seeing old friends, or loved family members or even meeting new people. An article done by educoglobal.com says that there are 3 major benefits to having social events: development of emotional empathy, breaks from stressors and menotiny, and relationship building. Having a chat with a group of friends or family members can help make or retain relationships and maybe even lighten up the mood by making light of a rough situation.

Some naysayers might say that celebrating holidays is childish and a waste of money. But is still keeping your mind and spirit young and high a bad thing? Not really. It helps keep moral and motives up so you can continue with the grind of everyday life. And if it’s a waste of money, that’s ultimately up to the person. Some people hate spending money or just can’t afford to celebrate, and that’s ok, I’m not telling you to blow your whole paycheck on one night, just to do something to celebrate and keep morale high. But if you have money to spend and being shamed for buying a halloween costume or buying a few horror movies, if you’re spending it for a good time, then it’s not really a waste. Most people consider going out to drink every weekend as a proper way to spend their time and money, it keeps them happy, and it’s the same here.

At the end of the day, holidays are a celebration of human’s happy times and interests and should be celebrated. Shaming other people for spending too much time or money on one day or one night shouldn’t get to you and you should remember that all this “wasted” time and money keeps your mental health and social skills sharp. So go spend time on that Psyduck costume! Go to the costume party! Spend some time carving the ultimate jack-o-lantern!