What does Halloween mean/mean to you?

[FlouncerInDenial]

Interested in what others may say.

So, for me. I'm not a Christian, but went to a CofE school in the 70s.
I'm sure we were told that Halloween was a biblical thing. The day (night, probably) before All Saints Day.
This was before trick or treating was a "thing". Although we had begun to hear about that as being a thing in America.

So, what is it to you?

All Hallows Eve - night before All Saints Day and two nights before All Souls Day.
Nothing major happened in my (Catholic mixed English/Indian) family. It's obviously not a thing in India so my grandparents got a shock when trick or treated for the first time, probably in the late 60s/70s.

When I was little, me and my cousin would make the scary masks off Blue Peter out of a fruit corner yoghurt pot and hope other kids would be round so we could see their homemade costumes. I wasn't allowed to TorT though.

Other than that All Saints Day is a day Catholics would usually attend Mass and November is the month the dead are remembered. The timing is probably pinched from the pre Christian days, but that's not unusual.

For me it’s good childhood memories. Grew up late 80s/early 90s and we weren’t allowed to trick or treat but my parents always made the day fun. We’d dress in bin bags and wear plastic witch fingers and hats and bob for apples, eat toffee apples and play games.
I have 2 dd who love Halloween so I try and do the same. We trick or treat but just our small street, if we can we have parties, if we can’t we dress up and play games and watch children’s Halloween films. For us it’s just a fun day.

I really like it. It adds some flavour to this time of year. I really like autumn and the changing leaves and drawing in of nights and Halloween adds a certain something to the whole thing. I very much like the celebration of seasons like you see in a North America, which gets a panning in here. I’ve had pumpkins and candles lit in the evening for a couple of weeks and I enjoy the atmosphere. I’m less interested in trick or treating really, and see Halloween as a modern interpretation of the old festival of Samhain, which has been a festival in these isles for thousands of years, celebrating the end of harvest and beginning of winter. We’re halfway between autumn and winter equinox and to me, I can feel a shift in the air.

It was always a huge thing in Ireland when I was a child, albeit with little fanfare, home made costumes (you might buy a mask or a witch’s hat), ‘going round the house/going on the pookey’ rather than ‘trick or treating’, and barm brack, apple bobbing, and its less health and safety-conscious sister, which involved trying to bite an apple fastened on a horizontal hanging stick, with a lighted candle at the other end. (Lots of singed eyebrows). Lots of ghost stories. Getting dark earlier, the season turning to winter. Definite shades of Samhain.

Where we lived in England until last year, the entire village aged under twelve or so would go trick or treating, lots of people dressed up their houses, and the shop and pub staff dressed up and decorated and put on games. It was a very sweet community occasion, and people who didn’t want callers were respected.

I’ve always loved Halloween.

Exactly, @Magicbabywaves — it marks that shift in the air, the onset of cold, the turn towards the winter solstice.

No particular interest in it, never went trick or treating as a child and really didn't encourage my own DS to do it, he did go for the first time when he was 9 and didn't think it was anything special and never went again; I do buy some sweets to give out if local DC come 'trick or treating' but we get very few where we live.

As an adult, not much. Made an effort when our children were small.

Grew up with guising.
Homemade outfits, bin bags, cardboard box, old sheets and a chunk of imagination. If you were lucky you'd have a false face. The outfits that I most remember were a sheet of music made from an old sheet and painted, a mummy wrapped in loo roll and various witches in their bin bags

We went to the doors we knew, so friends parents and other welcoming neighbours. They didn't decorate their houses. No need they just knew to expect you.

All kids had their party piece and still do have a kids joke.

Opening line said by the group as the door is opened
The Sky is Blue, the Grass is Green
Please may I have my Halloween!

None of the Trick or Treat cheekiness

Halloween means a lot to me and I am quite upset about no trick or treating this year. Growing up, my parents didn't even recognise it- I never had the opportunity to trick or treat which always made me sad as a kid as it looked so fun. So as an adult, I always made a big fuss of it for my daughter, who is now a teenager and hates Halloween, and my son who is 9 and still loves it. My kids give me the perfect excuse to go out and enjoy trick or treating. I adore the lights, the decorations, the pumpkins, the rusting of bags and costumes, it honestly fills me with joy. I have had my own decorations up for 5 days now too, which my son's friends Mum was pleased about as she felt it allowed her to get hers up.

Nothing at all!

It means a lot to me, partly because I just live all things spooky and always enjoy a chance to dress up, but also I'm pagan so it holds religious significance. Since my mum died it's felt even more important, I usually try to spend a part of the day just quietly thinking about those we've lost. The costumes, trick or treating, and decorating means that it's not just a somber and upsetting day. I'm a little gutted not to be able to go all out this year, last year was so fun as the kids on our road are all getting to ages where they can enjoy trick or treat, so there was a lovely atmosphere.

When I was younger it mean that we would shut the curtains, turn the lights off and hope we didn't get egged. (Shit neighbourhood)

Then in my early twenties it was an excuse for fancy dress and get drunk.

Now its absolutely nothing.

I love it.
I love autumn, and the season change. The clock have gone back and its just great. I love dark mornings and darker nights.

When I was a kid I wasn't allowed to do halloween, and like a PP, it made me sad as it just looked like so much fun. As soon as I moved out on my early 20s I started celebrating.
Ive still never been trick or treating with DC, due to them usually being with thier father during the holidays. I would love to go. Obviously this year its out of the question anyway.
I have had my house decorated since the start of the week and have gone all out.
Yesterday we went pumpkin picking, today we will be having Halloween celebrations and films together at home.
Next week it will be just DP and I, and im going to cook special autum/Halloween dinners for us, and prehaps go see a film.
I love this time of year, love making an effort for DC and for myself! It really adds another edge of something special before bonfire night and Christmas.

Nothing.

Growing up in the 80/90s my mum said it was glorified begging so never got to go trick or treating. When I was forced to go Sunday school we'd go to their 'bright lights party'. But when that was knocked on the head we used to go out for a meal to avoid the knocker on ers

Duck apple, turnip lanterns, Monster Mash on the radio, Carry On Screaming on the tv, and a day off from RC primary school on 1 Nov. Happy days.

Absolutely nothing.

I never really did much for Halloween when I was a kid - we'd dress up and do apple bobbing at brownies, but it was very much a simple thing, only older kids trick or treated, and most of the adults didn't approve!

I live in Ireland now, and it's all about the small kids, houses are decorated, it's a lot of fun for the little ones, I quite like it.

as an expat though, the one that I actually find myself missing, and feeling sorry my kids don't get to do, is bonfire night. Freezing cold, miserable walk up a lane lined with cars from all the other families in the surrounding villages, in the dark with torches carrying a guy, into the field that got progressively muddier, Jacket spud, sparklers, the judging (never won), watching the fireworks, then they lit a massive bonfire and went round with a blanket for donations. It's changed a bit (glowsticks, no bonfire, just the fireworks, rarely guys, better food), but there's something about a load of people standing freezing cold ahhing and oohing at the same fairly rubbish fireworks display that takes me right back :D

It doesn't mean much to me. The only thing we did as youngsters was carve a swede and maybe have a Halloween party at Brownies. We never went trick or treating. I didn't take my own children trick or treating either, although I've always quite liked having little ones knock on our door.

We've made a Halloween display this year for the first time. A woman in the village has organised a competition for charity to replace the now forbidden trick or treating, where houses' displays are entered into a vote - the most liked display wins a prize. People get to have a wander round with their children looking at everything but no need for interaction. It seems like harmless fun, though I guarantee there will be some grumblings...

Never did it when I was a child.
Grew into it with the DC, but is a strictly one night affair.
We carve a pumpkin, and usually decorate the front of the house, have some gunky stuff for trick or treaters. Some years we have had up to 80 children, fewer now the neighbourhood has grown up.

This year I'll do a pumpkin, but for indoors only.

It means nothing to me.

It's a money-making exercise for fancy dress parties and trick or treat which is an American import.

I can't remember what we were taught as a child but there there was a connection with All Saint's/Hallows or the like which I didn't take seriously. A bit of apple bobbing took place and that was about it.

Apple bobbing and the smell of turnip grilled/ chared by candle 😁
I now live in a country that believes halloween is an american import. ..... i have told å lot of people about turnip lanterns, but to be fair å pumpkin is very very much easier to carve

Nothing but it's always been a 'thing'. Born in 1972 and my cousins and I would always go to my Gran's house for apple bobbing and games. There was no trick or treating but I remember going to parties. My mam would carve a swede.

They try to introduce the American variety here, but it does not really take off. Though for the young it usually is "any excuse for a party".

It's the 31.10 - so Reformation day (a public holiday in some areas) and the day you had - if catholic - to prepare your graves for winter.
On Allsaints and Allsouls (public holidays in some areas) everybody visited the cemeteries in the dark. The graves were adorned with colourfull lights. I loved this as a child.
Now I live in a mostly protestant / atheist area where I do not have family graves and where the custom does not exist.

Absolutely nothing. I hate it for the mass consumption of plastic tat that will go to landfill. It's for kids under 12/13 and has no relevance to me and I am so enormously grateful I don't have to go out trick or treating any more.

As a child we were banned from taking in any part of Halloween as the church said it was celebrating evil. Now I go all our we have decorations up for half term, Halloween breakfast followed by a week of craft, baking, spooky films, pumpkin carving with a spooky tea party before they go trick or treating. I love seeing all the great pumpkin designs.