I hate to break it to all those who detest anything vaguely imported from American culture (and those who are convinced we have lost our souls and have become pagan), but judging from my newsfeed, Halloween has definitely been embraced wholeheartedly in Malta by all age groups.

There were photos of kids all excited to be dressed ghoulishly for school and other parties, while grown ups had their version of celebrating the spooky holiday and even some business owners got into the act with macabre make-up and decorations. Pictures of cakes, cupcakes and treats on the same ghostly, devilish and witchcraft themes kept popping up by creative bakers, while others went the whole hog and carved out pumpkins to make jack ‘o lanterns.

The interest in this event has spiked from last year and this generation of Maltese children will grow up probably assuming it’s just another Maltese tradition which includes the obligatory trick or treating.

And it is here that the attempt to copy what happens every year on the eve of 31 October in towns and cities all over the US goes haywire. Ironically, the mayhem of our traffic situation makes the States seem almost provincial. The reason for this is that kids in the States go trick or treating in the streets, knocking door to door, only in the residential suburbs, where the traffic is considerably tame and sidewalks are wide (as opposed to broken, stupidly narrow, or non-existent) so parents can walk along with their children in relative safety. (In cities, children usually trick or treat within their large apartment buildings).

Here, however, no street can really be described as purely residential or “traffic free” any more, especially on a Friday night, and especially not in Swieqi which has not only morphed into the most popular Halloween venue, but is the place where everyone whizzes through on their way to find parking en route to Paceville.

A recipe for disaster is therefore in place: tiny children out in the streets, cars zooming carelessly by and terrified parents trying not to freak out at all the near accidents. As someone who lives in the area told me, the only sensible thing to do is for Swieqi to become a car free zone on Halloween at least for a few hours, so that kids can trick or treat in safety.  Roads are regularly shut down for other events, she rightly pointed out, so why not on this occasion?  It sounds very logical to me so I hope that The Person Who Decides To Close Roads is reading this and takes heed.

Finally, there also needs to be more police vigilance so that houses are not “egged” by rowdy teenagers who have turned Swieqi into a target for vandalism every Halloween. In my recurrent daydream when I become a warden for a day I would not only book these teenagers but make them carry out community service during which they would have to clean and repair all the damage they have caused to the houses.

This is a plea which is made every year, but to say it falls on deaf ears is putting it mildly. Halloween is just a harmless bit of fun, so let us not allow a few idiots to spoil it for everyone.