Guising Memories?

[Idontpostmuch]

Would like to hear about your memories of guising. Even now I get nostalgic at this time of year. I remember how excitement grew as 31st approached. Hallowe'en parties were OK but secondary to the main event. We planned our costumes and practised our songs. As soon as night fell there were throngs of guisers to be seen everywhere. Householders gave much of their evening. As one group exited another took its place. Everyone was prepared with all sorts of treats to reward us for entertaining them. Generous with time and money, they listened patiently, and poured fruit, confectionary and sometimes coins into our bags. Sometimes toffee apples, tablet and slices of cake appeared. It took ages to get round every house, and 9.00pm was generally thought to be the latest we could knock on doors. When supplies ran out, people were inventive, and wrapped biscuits in foil, and somebody once opened a box of chocolates and wrapped them in twos in clingfilm. A truly magical evening at the time. Looking back, I can see it was an example of community spirit at its best as well as being a true celebration of such an ancient celtic ritual.

Your reference to 'tablet' makes me think this is a Scottish thing? I've never heard of guising, and I'm 70. I'm a Londoner originally and now live in the southwest. Be interested to hear more from anyone familiar with it.
What were the costumes?

It's another term for trick or treating, not used where I'm from but I've seen it used. Kids dress up in spooky costumes on Halloween night and knock on doors hoping to be given sweets.

I loved it.

My Grandma used to make my costumes (and the other grandkids). Over the years I was all sorts of things from an orange (a bridesmaid dress hoop and a LOT of crepe paper), to a daffodil and a Christmas tree (think she bought all the green netting from Remnant Kings for that one!).

We'd be out from 5.30pm and the strict instructions from parents, and from school, was that we did the pensioners houses first and you didn't knock them after it was properly dark.

After that we'd be out for hours! Running home when your bag was full so you could have another one. I used to spend hours practising my joke or turn in front of the mirror.

There was a lady in the next street who used to make 100 chocolate covered apples and she'd use different coloured chocolate. So you were always praying you'd get to hers before she ran out, itching to see what colour chocolate you got on your apple!

My cousins and I used to compare hauls. They lived in a different part of town, but we all ended up with enough bits to have for play pieces for months.

Trick or treating is different. Trick or Treaters don't perform to earn their treats. They simply say 'trick or treat.' The implication is that failure to provide treat will result in eggs being smashed on windows or other such benign misdemeaners. I don't know how often tricks are carried out. Guising became trick or treating when it crossed the Atlantic. It now seems to have crossed back and seems to have usurped guising.

Love your post. Thanks! Impressed by the orange costume. Yes, our bags got so heavy. I remember play pieces. Made morning break a treat. Sure to be frowned on now.

Yes, I'm from Scotland. Costumes, traditionally ghosts, witches etc, could be just about anything.

Im totally craving an old school Halloween cake with cream filled cheeks and gold rings in amongst the sponge

I don't remember dressing up but growing up in north east England in the 1980s, there were no pumpkins I remember. We had Swedes I think. It was Jack o Lantern and you did penny for the jack o lantern and then a week later, penny for the guy, when you went round with your Guy Fawkes effigy for the home made bonfires everyone had. Not sure we did it, but remember other kids knocking at our house.

I remember some Halloween stuff at home like bobbing for apples. Can't remember much else. Toffee apples were a fairground treat but I think the feast (name of the fayre) came around October so was probably tied up with that. Perhaps my memory isn't quite accurate.

Yip you even went into your neighbours houses, lined up and did your turn for your sweets.

Oh, those swedes were so hard to carve. Pumpkins must be much easier. We had to have turnip lanterns for Hallowe'en parties. We dooked for apples at the parties. Interesting that turnip lanterns were called Jack o' Lanterns. I hadn't heard the term.

Ha, I still remember the little rhyme we used to chant after we knocked on each neighbour's door:

'The sky is blue, the grass is green.
May we have our Halloween?'

Followed by the delivery of a really terrible joke or one verse of a song. Bags of home-made tablet and fun-size Milky Ways were the absolute holy grail of what you might get as a reward.

Took ages to get round us all. Chaotic and fun.

The sky is blue, the grass is green, can you spare a penny for Halloween? If you haven't got a penny a ha'penny will do. If you haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you!

Sung to our neighbours who would admire our turnip lanterns and hand over Curly Wurlys and similar 70s treats. I don't think we had costumes, it was exciting enough to be out in the dark.

Yes, I remember when fun size appeared. Loads of houses had bags of them.

Your description brings good memories. I wasn’t allowed to go guising with my mum as she was an evangelical Christian but when I was old enough to go out alone, I went with my friends. One particularly fond memory was of great effort put in by a friend and I going out dressed as a sandwich and a can of coke. All hand painted. Her mum had a big bowl of 5ps to give out which was exciting!! The next day walking to school I could see bits of my sandwich lying on the ground.

Still round here we would not give kids anything without a joke or turn of some kind, all the neighbours are the same.

Interesting rhyme. Hadn't heard it. I remember curly wurlies in my bag.

Love your costumes. I remember people had 10p pieces for us. I think that must have been in my last year of guising, 1975. I don't remember 5p coins, but have a vague memory of threepence coins some years earlier.

This was never a thing where I grew up ( Essex in the 70's/early 80's)

Halloween was a non event other than we used to play bobbing apples after school and read a spooky story. We never had a pumpkin or any decorations.

One year, possibly around 1980 my friend and I saw a TV show that talked about trick or treat in America. We decided to dress up and go door knocking with some of the kids in our street - we sang a little song about a witch and said trick or treat.

The neighbours were a bit bemused , some thought it sweet and went hunting around for biscuits, fruit or some pennies to give us and some asked for a trick ( we never did a trick!)

We never did it again and I can't remember when it became the event it is now.

I think we called them turnips but they were swedes! 🤔

Found a nice pic via Newcastle Chronicle of my era's lanterns.

I love Halloween. It's nostalgic and I like the folklore and connections with the change of seasons and nature. We're losing that a bit with the plastic and gore and capitalism of everything.

We used to go guiding in the 80s. Planned outfits for prob months in advance - some spooky, some not, Tweedledum and Dee once, a robot another time, a cat etc. We had song routines practised in advance. We went out as groups of kids (no parents) but a bit older - like 8-11 age I suppose. Only allowed to go to houses we knew the people - neighbours mainly. Often received sweets but sometimes cold hard cash! Fantastic memories. Yes, in Scotland as the tradition that became t or t started there and Ireland (I believe).

*guising

Yes, a pity it's so plastic now. What's the difference between turnip and swede?

You had good costumes. I was once Little Red Riding Hood, with a basket which had a cake box. When I knocked on my gran's door she gave me a whole cake for my box. Delighted since box was only decorative. We were allowed to go to houses in our estate (we called it a scheme) which gave us a great many. Only pre school children were accompanied. 5 to 11 yr olds went round alone or in groups. Yes, scottish and irish immigrants brought guising to the US where it became t or t. We were astounded when we moved to England as adults and people thought Hallowe'en was an american thing. It has its roots way before the US existed.

Yes, I remember this but I wasn’t allowed to do it because my mum thought it was common. This was despite us living in a really rough area 😂

Used to love guising. We used to round the houses dressed up - in pretty shit costumes as our mother always claimed she was too busy to make anything elaborate and of course there were no shop bought ones back in the day - and ask for a "Penny for the guy". Then home to carve our neepie lanterns.

We'd also go round asking for any old stuff to put on the bonfire (bondie). Some dads would take old furniture and basically anything unwanted and pile it up in the disused railway cutting at the end of the street.

Then on the 5th November we'd all gather, the bondie would be lit and some dads would set off fireworks. Then we'd go to the local hall for games like dooking for apples. A great time was had by all and no health and safety in sight!

Happy days in 1970s NE Scotland.