I love Cathy O’Neill’s wonderful description of halloween:

For me it’s always been about the way social rules get thrown out the window and there’s a celebration of generosity and neighborliness. Costumes are the excuse to tell each other how amazing they look, and candy is the excuse to symbolically exchange a token of friendship.

She goes on to detail the halloween I have always known. And, yes eating the candy is still a big deal. I always hope that there is some left over!
So, why did she call her post The class warfare of Halloween?
Go read for yourself. Yet another example of the radical changes still needed in world culture.