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Halloween · 31 October 05

Ok, I’m sorry. I just don’t get it. I was aware of this trick or treat thing. We don’t have it in Scotland, we go guising instead, but they have it in England. I’ve never directly experienced it, because I’ve never lived in a household in England that either had children or knew the neighbours who did. Not that surprising since I mostly lived in relatively transient households of students or young professionals.

At dinner I inquired whether we ever ask the kids if we can see their trick – fully with the intention of giving out the sweets (candy) afterwards of course. But apparently magic tricks etc are not de rigeur over here. You ask nothing, but smile, say happy Halloween and dole out the treats. You basically stand at the door as the floods of children come past that you certainly don’t recognize, and likely as not don’t even live nearby.

We ran out of sweets pretty early on. I suggested putting a large vat of chocolate raisins that we seem to have acquired into small bags and handing out those, but that was met with a look of horror. Oh no!! The kids would never be allowed to eat that, but would rather be made to throw them away for fear of contamination. How sad, I thought, what a damning indictment. But perhaps it isn’t as damning as all that. After all, if you’re going to go to every household in a 1 mile radius there is a slim chance you’ll come into the realms of some nasty individuals. That much is true the world over.

Yet for me, my childhood memories are full of duking for apples and homemade chocolates or sweets. However, come to think of it my childhood memories are also full of visiting 15 or so households, those of adults that I knew, many although not all of whom were the parents of my friends. We walked past the houses with the students or strangers in them, we never got beyond the ends of our short little street.

I know we live in a world of huge inequalities and differences in opportunity. But economic equality achieved by busing the poor kids around so that they get an equally horrifying haul of candy? I’m sorry, I just don’t get it.

  1. My parents are both Scottish, but moved to England just before I was born (bastards) and they too were a bit mystified by it.

    They kept saying that in their day you would be expected to do a little turn or party piece before getting your treat, but down here it’s just extortion with implied threats of random violence. Hurray.
    — AJS    Oct 31, 22:22    #
  2. well here in Ireland, home of the holliday, the idea of trick or treating is, the kids knock on the door, they say trick or treat, we give sweets or if we dont the treat we recieve is getting our houses egged!! :o
    well in the country i never experience things like that but in the city it happens all the time!
    — lette    Nov 1, 04:03    #
  3. You might not get it, but I am sure a lot of North Americans don’t get your customs either, and think them strange.

    While it’s been pureed into a nice smooth tradition, there is a fairly long and involved mythology associated with the custom, and as lette said, the tricks used to happen when the treats were not forthcoming.

    Too bad you didn’t try to embrace it more, it’s a tradition full of funand mischeif.
    — Adrian    Nov 1, 09:28    #
  4. That is what I was looking for, but there was none of that to be found. I know about the mythology and customs, and embraced them as a child. It is the loss of those that I most regret…
    — Sarah    Nov 1, 16:00    #
  5. Have you ever seen, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”? The year was 1966 and I was to go T or T for the first time. In many respects, those are the memories I have from Halloween.

    Now it’s gone. The magic that permeated the air, the ghost and goblins, have been banished. I hope my two little ones enjoyed it this time out. Next year we’ll be going to a party instead, that’s the new trend here.

    I just want them to enjoy every holiday for what it should be, the magic of the celebration, the sweet memories of fun. Not the crass debasement of this world stealing away the joys childhood should bring.

    We still do up all the festivals here, but now we keep them in the family.
    — WepWaWep    Nov 2, 08:57    #
  6. one other story for you,
    A friend of mine i work with, came in here a few weeks befor halloween saying she was shopping in a card shop in the city, where they were advertising Halloween.
    She was at the counter about to buy something when an american guy said really loud behind her, : ‘Oh My Gawd, You celibrate Halloween over here too? thats so cool, how did you hear about it??!!’
    well my friend nearly had to be kicked out of the stor because of her laughing at him!
    No disrespect to Americans but its amazing how many of them dont realise that Halloween is in fact an Irish Holliday! and guess what? so is St. Patrics day! :o
    — lette    Nov 5, 08:57    #
  7. Oh well Sarah, I’m happy that this didn’t happened around our neibourhood yet, but I’m afraid that it will come in the next few years. I know it from my parents that the kids from around their neibourhood do it for some years now, but they also never go beyond the end of the street.

    Sadly the people here seem to have forgotten the tratitional meaning of Helloween and that it’s an old celtic tradition and that it’s not “our” (german) tradition… I’m glad that they still celebrate St. Martin’s Day, which will be tomorrow.
    — K    Nov 9, 03:29    #
  8. Another little story:
    One of my (Swedish) colleagues had kids with an American guy and she told us that the first Halloween in Sweden was a problem for the kids… The poor woman was distributing candy to the neighbours and asking them to give it to her kids when they would come knocking on their doors for T or T!
    It is not a tradition at all in Portugal. In Sweden, it’s not a tradition but something stores and business want to import so they can sell Halloween-related stuff…
    — Patricia    Nov 17, 08:44    #
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