Halloween 2021 is the one we’ve all been waiting for: after a year of having to sit indoors and watch spooky movies all alone to maintain social distancing (and maybe some of us ate an entire bag of fun-size Mars bars, but there will be no judgment here), it’s time to get back out into the streets in your cut-up sheets for a fright night like no other.
Halloween represents a great opportunity to reconnect, as well as indulge in some of our favourite spooky media. It’s also a great opportunity to get crafty, and maybe carve into a pumpkin or two to truly get seasonally spooky – who doesn’t love wandering home on a chilly October night to see a street of glowing pumpkins shimmering out into the distance? And whilst we’re excited for the huge range of costumes and dress-up opportunities out there (“Wow, you came as Captain America! Very original, I definitely haven’t seen six of you already-“), there are a couple that we need to watch out for this year, thanks to a dedicated mom from the US.
When Trick-or-Treating, it’s customary to carry around a bucket for all of your candy gains. Most people also tend to use a pumpkin on their doorstep to signify that they’re up for Trick-or-Treaters to pop by – but instead of the classic orange jack-o’-lantern this year, some people are turning theirs blue!
Alicia Plumer from Louisiana wrote on the social media site Facebook "Trick or Treat... The BLUE BUCKET. If you see someone who appears to be an adult dressed up to trick or treat this year carrying this blue bucket, he’s our son!
"His name is BJ and he is autistic. While he has the body of a 21-year-old, he loves Halloween. Please help us keep his spirit alive and happy. "So when you see the blue bucket share a piece of candy. Spread awareness! These precious people are not “too big” to trick or treat."
People have gotten behind the blue pumpkins movement in a big way this year, with many people taking to social media to show their support. Some are using blue buckets and pumpkins to signify that the person carrying them is autistic and might not respond to social or emotional cues in the expected way; and some people are simply using them as a way of indicating that the person carrying the bucket is neurodiverse and may need more consideration or a little longer when choosing a piece of candy, such as people who have ADHD or anxiety.
And people all over the US and the UK are using blue pumpkins on their doorstep to indicate that they’re all set up and ready for neurodiverse Trick-or-Treaters, and show their support. You can simply find a traditional orange or green pumpkin and paint it with acrylic or poster paint, or there are even some varieties of pumpkin that grow in shades of blue and teal! They’re fairly rare and therefore kind of tricky to get hold of though, so you might want to start looking into growing your own for Halloween 2022 if you’re committed.
It isn’t that new of an idea- the blue pumpkin movement has slowly been gaining traction for a couple of years now in the US, and it’s beginning to gain steam over here in the UK too. So if you are heading out for Halloween, make sure to stay safe, stick to your locality’s Covid-secure regulations, and look out for blue or teal pumpkins as you’re getting spooky with your friends.
Happy Halloween! 🎃 💙