To wonder why trick or treat has taken over

[TheoriginalLEM]

from penny for the guy?

OK so halloween is a relatively new thing, but now its all about the sweets and less about the pennies.

(sad face)

[ghostyslovesheep]

erm the two are and always have been completely different things

Hallowe'en is not new - it's been around for decades

Penny for the Guy' is a reference to Bonfire Night - 5th Nov

[weebarra]

Sick of these threads. I'm 37, I went guising (not trick or treating) and so do my DCs. We never did penny for the guy though, is it possibly more of an English thing?

[JassyRadlett]

And maybe because trick or treating is a bit easier to explain to kids than burning Catholics in effigy?

[Norfolknway]

Yeah. That's bonfire night!

[trollkonor]

As ghostly said Halloween is not new, i learnt about the history in the early 70s in primary school. They are also two completely diferent things, Halloween and Guy Fawkes.

[TheoriginalLEM]

it has taken over though because no one does it any more.

[ghostyslovesheep]

Guy

[ghostyslovesheep]

no one did Penny for the Guy rather than Halloween - ever! We did both

[southeastastra]

i think the last penny for the guy i saw was in 1978

[Marynary]

I never did penny for the guy. Trick or treating is popular because kids like sweets.

[Likeaninjanow]

Penny for the guy is on 5th November. Halloween is guising in scotland and has always been A Big Deal. I'm just back from guising - great fun!

[Justanotherlurker]

I'm not sure where this mn hatred of trick or treating is from, we where trick or treating over 20 years ago. Yes business has found another marketing ploy and the UK has been heavily influenced from American films growing up but there was always the opportunity to exploit.

My experience of penny for the guy was usually the local scallys looking for fag money

[TheoriginalLEM]

i suspect i may be showing my age

[SevenSeconds]

I'm 40 - as a child I did trick or treating, never penny for a guy.

[Headofthehive55]

In Yorkshire trick or treating is known as cake night. It was a big deal when I was young and my granddad early last century was doing cake ing. You got given cake or sweets when you knocked on the door. No pumpkins though!

[NantucketNightbird]

I've never done penny for the guy myself and have never had anyone knock doing it. Have always gone knocking on doors at Halloween though. But when I was a child you were always given money never sweets. You had costumes made (usually from bin bags) and you said not trick or treat but
Black is black
Green is green
Anything for Halloween

[trollkonor]

In my village in the 70s a group would make an guy and collect money for charity. Then everyone was invited to bring old boxes and wood for a large bonfire on the village green. We then burnt the guy, it was a little Wicker Manish, had sparklers, a few fireworks went off whilst we ate jacket spuds and plastic cups of soup. There was a big focus on it being Guy Fawkes night rather than firework night. School asembly would focus on the Guy Fawkes story, we would also cover it in class.

Whilst the history is still taught, the execution of the conspirators isnt really appropriate to celebrate these days by burning a replica of a man. I can see why penny for the guy isn't as popular

[miaowroar]

I am 60 and we never did trick or treating in our area - my relatives in Scotland used to tell me about guising and I know there were other areas where they did it, but round here we didn't celebrate Halloween at all in those days.

Some children did do penny for the guy but I was never allowed to as my parents considered it begging.

We did go from door to door asking for firewood for our bonfire though - people used to save it up for us and we used an old pram to transport it.

[Honeymonster01]

I'm with Wee Barra, we went guising instead, did a turn (joke/song/poem etc) before getting any treats. Trick or treating has always seemed a bit cheeky in comparison. Is guising a Scottish thing?

[AnnaMarlowe]

Halloween is not a new thing. My Grandparents went guising nearly 100 years ago. It's a very very old cultural tradition.

I've never done penny for the guy nor had anyone come to the door asking.

[AnnaMarlowe]

Honey yes guising is Scottish - and definitely no sweeties without doing a party piece. We've had jokes, poems and songs this evening.

[cantgonofurther]

I am 33 and went trick or treating but never did penny for the guy.

[howtorebuild]

It's not new.

Why don't shops do the very thin plastic Halloween masks secured by very thin elastic, anymore?

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

I remember Penny For The Guy. Never did it though. I also remember Trick or Treat as a child - the costumes were either bin bag witches or bed sheet ghosts. I didn't do that either.

My parents considered both "begging"