We had young kids knocking on the door this evening saying trick or treat! ??? ::) Don't they know when Hallowe'en is? They left empty handed I can tell you. We never have the treats they were after in the house anyway and I doubt they'd have said thank you for a cup of homemade celery soup. ;)
G x
I used to know the neighbourhood kids (and their parents) who visited at Hallowe'en or carol singing time in York, and enjoyed seeing them busy making their costumes and lanterns in the run-up to the night. As I moved around the country later in life, they were strangers :'( So I kept some wholesome biscuits and satsumas for All Hallows - that way they didn't leave empty-handed if their cossies or songs were good :D
Never thought of celery soup :-X ::)
Oh, satsumas are a great idea. Will get some in for TUESDAY night just in case we get any little devils around. ;D (Will have to hide them from the OH though - he's a satsuma fiend. :D)
G x
I still do not know why we have to pay dues to a revolting tradition that's come straight from the USA with no justification. Trick or treat - bah humbug. Curtains will be closed and doorbell unanswered. Pumpkin will be carved and lit in the kitchen at the back of the house purely for the satisfaction of US.
Quote from: Jill on October 28, 2006, 23:38:21
I still do not know why we have to pay dues to a revolting tradition that's come straight from the USA with no justification. Trick or treat - bah humbug. Curtains will be closed and doorbell unanswered. Pumpkin will be carved and lit in the kitchen at the back of the house purely for the satisfaction of US.
Quite agree. Door locked, doorbell disconnected, knocks of door ignored. Halloween is a ridiculous 'tradition' we maintain. An excuse for legitimised nuisance making and begging. As far as i recall we have never even had a carved pumpkin in our house even when i was little.
Personaly the whole event puts my nerves on edge.
we used to have halloween parties for our lot, they were not allowed out 'trick or treating', we didn't like the idea of our kids going around to beg off a load of strangers, good grief, I sound like one of those grumpy old women!, still >:(
In that case I am a grumpy (not so) old man.
Never got 'into' halloween as a kid, no parties or anything. Although I dont think it was such a big thing in the UK back then (late 80's - early 90's).
Quote from: Jill on October 28, 2006, 23:38:21
I still do not know why we have to pay dues to a revolting tradition that's come straight from the USA with no justification. Trick or treat - bah humbug. Curtains will be closed and doorbell unanswered. Pumpkin will be carved and lit in the kitchen at the back of the house purely for the satisfaction of US.
Can't blame the USA for this one I'm afraid.....
My thoughts were exactly the same as yours about all this, until my kids went on the internet and showed me this..... they are still not allowed out trick or treating though!!!!!
"The true origins of Halloween lie with the ancient Celtic tribes who lived in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany. For the Celts, November 1 marked the beginning of a new year and the coming of winter. The night before the new year, they celebrated the festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead. During this festival, Celts believed the souls of the deadâ€"including ghosts, goblins and witchesâ€"returned to mingle with the living. In order to scare away the evil spirits, people would wear masks and light bonfires.
When the Romans conquered the Celts, they added their own touches to the Samhain festival, such as making centerpieces out of apples and nuts for Pomona, the Roman goddess of the orchards. The Romans also bobbed for apples and drank ciderâ€"traditions which may sound familiar to you. But where does the Christian aspect of the holiday come into play? In 835, Pope Gregory IV moved the celebration for all the martyrs (later all saints) from May 13 to November 1. The night before became known as All Hallow’s Even or “holy evening.†Eventually the name was shortened to the current Halloween. On November 2, the Church celebrates All Souls Day."
halloween might have come from us, but nasty trick or treat thing was from over the pond, wasn't it ?
I rember carved pumpkins, witches, and bobbing for apples at Brownies, but i never remember begging at halloween. that was reserved for penny for the guy, and at christmas !
;D
"The true origins of Halloween lie with the ancient Celtic tribes who lived in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany. For the Celts, November 1 marked the beginning of a new year and the coming of winter. The night before the new year, they celebrated the festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead. During this festival, Celts believed the souls of the deadâ€"including ghosts, goblins and witchesâ€"returned to mingle with the living. In order to scare away the evil spirits, people would wear masks and light bonfires.
the thing is, they never went around doing trick or treat, I would imagine if people didn't want to join in, they would just get left alone
I think it's all lovely. The whole thing and I don't care where any of it originated from.
I love hearing kids shout trick or treat and seeing them dressed up etc etc and it's a once yearly occurence!
I feel sorry for people who get aggro from nasty 'trick or treaters' or get their housed egged etc but on the whole I think Halloween is great. Society today spends far too much time complaining about what children do which is big shame.
Now, if we're talking about penny for the guy then that's something else .... ! >:(
;D ;D ;D
don't think i've seen anyone asking for a penny for the guy in about the last decade or so. usually it's "spare change for a cup of tea". I suppose they do look a bit like a guy. :-\
I like the origins behind the celebrations, what I don't like it being hit in the face with a whole display of nasty tatt that you see in every supermarket and sweet shop in the month leading up to whatever it is (longer at christmas).
don't people know how to make a costume these days without resorting to an off the peg @ ridiculous price number ?
i'd like to trick or treat some of the little urchins that will be on the prowl on Tuesday night :P
Well my little urchins will be prowling in home made costumes, with a rather larger old hag behind them to act as bodyguard. This old hag has forwarned the neighbours that a couple of rather cute little 6 and 7 year olds will be knocking at teatime - those that don't want a visit, won't get one.
I am with Yellow Petals - in this sometimes miserable society with wars, famine and destructive diseases, a little bit of fun goes a long way.
My point was mainly that they were 3 days early! I'm with manicscousers and others. I don't mind the fun - we decorated the house and had parties for friends every year until my daughter grew out of it - but she was never allowed to go out trick or treating. I guess it's different if you are in a village or other small community where you know the people you are calling on but otherwise it's either at best a nuisance to others and at worse down right dangerous. I've seen children as young as about six knocking on doors of complete strangers and not a 'responsible person' in sight. :(
G x
i love to see children having a good time, i've got three myself, mind you the youngest is 25 and I have a 7 year old grandson, he is going to a party then around His street where he knows all the neighbours, I'm more concerned for elderly(older than me) who find it intimidating and for children knocking on the doors of strangers
Having been caught out by some delightful little dears who weren't satisfied with the booty and so 'egged' my car, I'm jolly glad I've moved to a sparsley populated road! ;)
For those who think that halloween is lovely please come and live here in wales, last year 6 cars got smashed windscreens in our street, eggs flour thrown everywhere. Old people living alone get scared out of their wits. Two streets away one old lady had battery acid thrown at her new front door. Happy halloween huh!
Just goes to show this country is no longer a Christian country especially here in Wales
I still say trick or treating is begging and parents should not be encouraging their children to do it. After all the rest of the year they are told not even to talk to strangers let alone ask them for sweets or money!
Trouble is these days kids get their own way and wrap adults around thier little fingers. Parents cant say no to letting thier kids do what they want, including trick or treating. Theres no real dicipline any more.
BTW Halloween may be an ancient english/british festival but the whole excessive trick or treat business is an american creation. I have heard the phrase 'American Gothic' as the source of modern haloween. Grotesque in my opinion.
I'm afraid I agree with those of you in opposition to trick or treating. I was brought up in a convent and we celebrated it with apple bobbing and other simple things.I do not agree with knocking on peoples door and whats more or less threatening them unless they give them something. I can handle sitting in my living room and waiting for the next bang on the door but my poor mom and other old folks like her must sit there terrified. Lets face it children today are not like they used to be. Most are brought up to expect more than a little sweetie. If people want to celebrate Halloween why can't they just have a party with like minded people and their kids
My son has never gone trick or treating and at 16 he's unlikely to be going now.
We do have children come trick or treating, but it's usually the children on our road. What happens is the mums go round to the neighbours to ask if it would be OK and they're only little anyway (I think the eldest in the group is about 8).
And I'm happy to hand out sweeties.
We have always done the Halloween thing withour girlies, but mainly due to the fact we lived overseas where it was the thing to do!
Now in the UK we have our own Halloween party, (I wouldn't want my girls wandering the streets!) and dress up in full costumes, it is so funny to answer the door to unknown trick or treaters in a costume that is scareier than theirs! ;D ;D ;D
Was thinking that now they are 17 and 14 they wouldn't want a party...............................wrong, so Tuesday we shall be getting out the face paints once more, which as we have just moved house could take me till next Halloween to find! :-\
I know everything changes, but not for the better, but Halloween has gone a bit over the top now. It is Americanised. Trick or treat is not a British expression, it was 'guising' up here in Scotland when I was but a lass. We had great fun at Halloween as well but just round the neighbours whom we all knew and the fun was dressing up with old clothes and making a lantern from a big 'Swede' with a candle stuck inside it. Folk who had children had parties where you dooked for apples or messy games trying to eat 'things' dangling from a string. It was all home made fun. Now Holloween is the third most profitable event for retailers in Britain, with associated spending amounting to £120M this year. Apparently the pumpkin market alone is worth some £25 million. Once a low key traadition, this 'Celtic' festival is now a consumer driven charade. Have fun folks trick n treating but I will be giving out sweeties if any of our local children can be bothered to walk to my house cos I am the last in the village. ;) ;)
There's an indirect upside ...
the farmer who sold me three more MASSIVE cinderellas said people were buying them for hallowe'en yes, but increasingly were also buying pumpkin and squash to eat. He reckons more peeps are trying squash for the first time and his season extends well before and after November, with squash sales soaring during the winter months. Good news for seasonal food by-passing the supermarket, and for the farmer :)
(then he threw in two 'American' pumpkins he said were noted for their sweet flesh. When I thanked him, he said, well you'll be back won't you? What a salesman! ;D)
Asdas pumpkins were about £2.99 each, and I saw some in a wheelbarrow today outside someones house and they were bigger and only .99p each. I am a sucker for a celebration, but must admit to being nervous when I am confronted by a crowd of teenagers outside the front door. However, fortunately for me, we live in a quiet village so most of the tricksters are in my childrens school and I know them. I have knocked today and asked 3 neighbours if they would be okay if my 2 came a'knocking, and they were thrilled to be asked! After school tomorrow we will make toffee apples and bob for some apples....if my carpet can stand it....and then have sausages and ketchup with tomato soup, no I mean, Zombies bloody fingers with a bucket of blood for supper. My biggest worry is the 'egging' as for daughter number one, this could be fatal!!!! :-\ >:(
'sprout and EJ - yep, I'm planning to hit one or two supermarkets before the end of the week in the hope that there'll be some of the already cheap pumpkins reduced to clear the shelves (presumeably for xmas stuff!) - and for me to put in a nice cool, dry place to store. ;D
In some ways it's nice to see a range of winter squashes making a bit of a come back, being traditional fayre for storing over the winter. Rather sad that the supermarkets sell a large proportion from abroad (often Spain/Portugal), but most ridiculously when it's out of season by importing from such places as S Africa and Sri Lanka! :(
It's not often I defend the US, but I don't think the "thug" side of Halloween comes from over there- that's a British innovation, like football hooliganism. It's the commercial side that's been imported and spoilt a nice tradition. Anyone else remember the hard work of hollowing out a TURNIP lantern in the days when pumpkins had never been heard of?
Bearded Wonder has just come in with HUGE bag of sweets!Supposedly for trick or treaters.....I have pointed out that we haven't had any in the 4 years we have lived here,(out in the sticks) so why does he think we will tonight?
No comprehensible answer was forthcoming, his mouth was full of toffee.
::)
oooo we made fab toffee apples and choccy apples, then went trick or treating to our neighbours. Daughter number one managed to spook herself so much that I think it has put her off for life!!
well my 2 older lads have took my ben out trick or treating and had a great time....they only call on houses with a pumpkin or other halloween stuff in the windows,,,i have a large pumpkin and a flashing lights 1 in my window..... i dont mind giving away a few sweets and the little kids are dressed up so good i love guessing who they are ....
tracy
We had about 4 lots knock tonight. gave them sweets and they liked the pumpkin, Little ones all gone to a lot of efffort dressing up that looked cute, mums standing watching them knock on the doors.
Then a bunch of hooligans came(my godson) yes he got sweets as usual!
I don`t mind the little ones out with parents.
I am amazed. Not a sign of the usual trick or treaters around out way, though i want home until around 6pm so may have been some younger ones around earlier. Nevertheless, the front door was firmly locked and the doorbell turned off. Ok so there may have been some we didnt hear but, usualy if people cant make us hear with the doorbell they bang on the door, and the front step has a loose slab that makes a noise when people step on it. Nothing was heard so I guess no 'visitors'. Good! ;D ;D ;D
The temperature drop came in handy... no callers tonight... OK we were in the back with all the front lights off... no doorbell sinc the T+T crowd took it off and threw it years ago!
::)
I had some change ready but Lorna sent Joshua round with quite a lot of sweets to hand out instead of money. Josh rang a little later to ask if I had anyone at the door. No, I hadn't and didn't get one caller. They at that point had one group of three, don't know if they had any more.
Now, do I return all the sweets or do I have a little munch while Lorna is at work?
Need a lot of will power to resist ;D
(http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e220/supersprout/smilies/resist.gif)
;D ;D ;D
Resistance is futile!
I thought I'd got away with the whole sweetie/ Hallowe'en thing with Small & Tiny Triff ... then got a phone call last night from one of the nice folk up at church.
I've just won a huge jar of M&Ms, having apparently guessed to within a pumpkin shaving how many were in said container!
Now, how am I going to hide THAT from them??
Don't ask me cos I would just say hide them and wait until you are on your own then get munching ;D ;D I have no conscience!!!!
Never mind them, Triffid, how are you going to hide it from yourself?
Losing a hard fought battle here with the sweeties the BW has left.(obviously he didn't like them ;D)
I encourage our kids to keep up the Scottish tradition of guising - a pre-cursor to trick or treating. They have to provide some sort of entertainment in order to earn a reward, so we had an 8 year old star wars storm trooper and a 4 year old pirate going round the neighbours telling really bad jokes and, ahem, "cute" songs and dances. There's none of the "trick" element, which I like.
As for begging? I spent six months busking my way round Europe, I suppose it's the same thing really. :)
Triffid, I'll tell you what, you post them to me and then you won't have to worry ! ;D
bah humbug. we should stick to the tradition of celebrating the birth of an israeli with a turkish st. nicholas (wearing red thanks to coca-cola) and a german fir.
*runs and hides*
:P
Quote from: greenstar on November 01, 2006, 15:01:47
I encourage our kids to keep up the Scottish tradition of guising - a pre-cursor to trick or treating. They have to provide some sort of entertainment in order to earn a reward, so we had an 8 year old star wars storm trooper and a 4 year old pirate going round the neighbours telling really bad jokes and, ahem, "cute" songs and dances. There's none of the "trick" element, which I like.
As for begging? I spent six months busking my way round Europe, I suppose it's the same thing really. :)
I wouldn't call it begging if you are actualy doing something to earn the money or reward. it when its 'something for nothing' then i'd call it begging. I have to admit 'guising' sounds a lot nicer than 'trick or treat'-ing. If i was entertained or amused by the callers on halloween i would have less of a problem with it , and would be more likely to give them something.
I gave all the trick or treaters apples and tangerines this year, I was amazed how many of them were happy to get them