After Halloween celebrations, photos of entrances and doors stained with paint, eggs, or dirt reappeared on Latvian social media. Such 'jokes' by teenagers have become an annual problem.
Every year, residents of the country face the situation where a joyful holiday unexpectedly turns into an act of vandalism, writes Otkrito.lv.
A resident of Līvāni shared a photo of her door, which shows traces of white paint left, according to her, by children unhappy that they were not given candy. The woman wrote: "Halloween is fun, but this is not fun. Dear parents, teach your children that this behavior is unacceptable."
Similar incidents are recorded in various regions of the country — from Riga to Daugavpils. People complain that instead of harmless pranks and fun costumes, the holiday is increasingly accompanied by scattered trash, damaged doors, and ruined property.
In the comments, people write:
"I will never consider Halloween a holiday because Halloween is a pagan ritual that recalls the ancient dead. If you don’t believe it — read books about what Halloween really is. This holiday has never been celebrated in Latvia."
"Every year it’s the same, and not just in Līvāni... Teachers are not to blame here — it’s solely the fault of parental upbringing, unfortunately."
"In my childhood, I was taught not to take anything from strangers. And now it’s the opposite — now they even teach that you should go and ask."
"For many years, my children and I have dressed up as 'monsters' and gone trick-or-treating — to places where there is a pumpkin, where there are Halloween decorations, where we are expected. And around we meet other friendly 'monsters' who go only where they are expected — polite, creative, warm-hearted. In this case, it seems that the door was damaged not because they were not given candy — after all, there are no signs that anyone is expected here. So the reason lies elsewhere... Undoubtedly, this is mean and ugly, but Halloween itself is not to blame!"
"A couple of years ago, I had the same thing happen — the door handle was smeared with mayonnaise. But I reacted quickly and, as they say, 'what you sow, so shall you reap' — they themselves were then splashed with water from the third floor near the entrance door."
Sociologists note: the attitude towards Halloween in Latvia is ambiguous. For some, it is just an excuse for fun and creative costumes, while for others, it is a foreign tradition unrelated to Latvian culture. Many residents especially emphasize that they are not obliged to participate in handing out sweets, and this should not become a reason for aggression from teenagers.
The police, who themselves enjoy joking on Halloween, annually remind that damaging property during Halloween is not a harmless prank, but an administrative offense for which both teenagers and their parents can be punished.
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