Was Halloween a big thing when you were growing up?

[BiggyJ]

As in - did you carve pumpkins/turnips, go Trick or Treating, have themed parties etc?
I can't say I did, or can't recall it being a big deal as it is now for my own teen DCs.

(Born mid 70s so was a kid during the 80s )

No it wasn't a thing at all. I wasn't allowed to go trick or treating although my mum welcomed them. She did make toffee apples and other nice treats and we'd dress up at home. I was born in 69. Now it's an absolute event where I live and we've been decorating the house today. I've bought enough sweets for 200 kids but I will run out. It's like the US. I like it, it's fun. I like to see the kids all dressed up. My son is 13 and he still loves it!

No, not at all !

And dookin for aipples, treacle aipples on string and trying to get a bite.

I'm tempted to buy some neeps for the DCs to carve 😆
Can't even think how to begin without the loss of a finger or two!

< goes off to google >

Same here but NW England in the 80's. 'Halloweening' was doorstep singing though, not tricks. Like spooky carolling.

1960s/70s London , definitely not. Guy Fawkes was big and penny for the Guy, but Halloween was taught to us in school as All Hallows Eve as part of religeon but that was it. It was something we saw on tv in american programmes.
I now know that it was celebrated in different parts of the UK, but not in london

Halloween in the 80s seemed to be a big thing for me because one of my primary school friends had a mum who would go all out to host the most incredible Halloween parties. They lived in a massive farmhouse which was quite spooky anyway. The mum always pre-arranged the dozen houses we'd go trick or treating to in the village. And then so many party games when we got back. One of them was hunt the witch ie. the mum who looked incredible as a witch.They still had the old fashioned light up central panel of all the rooms from the days of servants. So one of the room numbers would flash up and we'd all rush to find her and she wouldn't be there. This would be repeated a dozen times much to our delight. Pure magic!
The rest of our county didn't really engage in Halloween.

I use a potato peeler and shave out the interior. DP uses a dremel

It’s a cross I have to bear 🤣

Wasnt really an occasion when i was younger did the carving pumpkins with the kids but that was it nothing else

That's inspired!
Right. I'm getting the power tools out😅

Must have been great fun but in the late 60s and early 70s in south London it was never big. I’d not hear of guisers for another 15 or 20 yrs.

We wasn't allowed to trick or treating my parents said it was begging , they later admitted they couldn't be bothered traipsing when it's easier just to buy sweets for us.

But we always went to a local Halloween party at a community centre.

We didn't go trick or treating or decorate the house - I remember my dad attempting to carve a turnip once but I don't think you could buy pumpkins like you can now.
We did have a Halloween disco at primary school which was an absolute highlight, and I remember winning a prize for my costume at the brownies Halloween party!
Nothing beyond primary school age though.

Yes, in Scotland in 90s it was a big deal, had a day wearing costumes in the parade at school and then went guising. My mum is great at making costumes and my brother and I won the competitions a lot. We got monkey nuts, sweets, chocolate, crisps, loose Change etc from guising.

Grew up in Dublin. We dressed up & went around the doors. Said Help the Halloween party. 70s child.

Ducking for apples, apples on a string. Peeling an apple & throwing the skin behind to get an initial, turnip lanterns, barm brack with the stick, cloth, ring & coin. Colcannon for tea.

I do remember people making papier mache ghost costumes for parties as well as the usual sheet over the head and home made witch ones. (South London). I remember a friend making a crooked witch's nose

I have been trying to find a big enough neep (that is a swede right? Yellow flesh inside?) to try and carve but they're all not much bigger than a cricket ball!

Hope everyone enjoys their day, however you spend it 🎃 👻 🧙‍♀️ 🧟‍♂️

Like other Irish people it was a big thing in the 1970s, but very different. Barmbrack with things in it (ring, coin, pea,stick). Apple on a string, bobbing for apples, nuts. Masks and black bags for dressing up. Very simple but very exciting.

@BiggyJ you need a turnip - in Scotland it's purpley in the outside and bigger than a cricket ball. A swede is smaller in Scotland. But if you are in England, I think you need to get a Swede. Which is a turnip once it goes north of Gretna.

@BiggyJ

Thank you Babs!
Those were the ones I was looking at in the supermarket, but they're not very big here at all.
Yes, in England.
DCs have got pumpkins but because of all your experiences you've shared on here, I wanted to give carving a traditional neep a go 😁

I wanted to give carving a traditional neep a go😁

May your arms endure and your finger remain intact.

Not so bad at all with a nice sturdy carving tool, not the flimsy ones. Just done 2, excited to see them lit up later!

I remember both harvest festival and bonfire night being much more celebrated than Halloween when I was at primary school in the early 80s.

We would take decorated shoe boxes of fruit and veg, tinned food, biscuits etc into school and make harvest decorations and sing hymns. Then I think the food boxes were given away to those in need.

For bonfire night, we always went round to a neighbours’ garden - there would be sparklers, fireworks, sausages and jacket potatoes, toffee apples.
There was often a fair on the town Green - rides and candy floss etc, but I don’t recall a spooky theme.

Later when I was a teen I was aware of dressing up and trick or treating, but didn’t do it myself - I had an American friend and I remember her having a party at Halloween and doing apple bobbing and thinking it was very exotic. I’m pretty sure we didn’t dress up though, unless I have just forgotten that part.