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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to loathe halloween and wish it had never been invented

72 replies

depob · 31/10/2011 18:35

Seems to be just an excuse to stuff themselves with ridiculous amounts of sweets, spend out on tack and annoy the neighbours.
Feeling particularly grumpy that my DC's pumpkins have been stolen - yes stolen! within 10 minutes of putting them out. After all their work.

OP posts:
scarevola · 31/10/2011 18:40

I think people say this a lot about the commercialisation of festivals which have their roots in the Christian calendar.

YANBU to deplore changes you do not like. But I think you'd be foolish to try to hold back a tide.

helpmabob · 31/10/2011 18:44

This has its roots in pagan festivals actually and YABU. Its fun and the world needs some fun.

2rebecca · 31/10/2011 18:49

I love halloween but hate trick or treaters, mainly because my house doesn't contain sweets because none of us are that bothered about them and if we want some chocolate we buy it and eat it rather than stockpiling it. I therefore have nothing for trick or treaters.

manicbmc · 31/10/2011 18:51

It's from a pagan festival honouring the dead.

zippadeedoodaa · 31/10/2011 18:51

YANBU

somedayillbesaturdaynite · 31/10/2011 18:53

agree with 2rebecca, love halloween but don't take dc trick or treating- instead we have a mini party with apple =bobbing etc

rubyrubyruby · 31/10/2011 18:53

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herbietea · 31/10/2011 18:54

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DrinkYourWeakLemonDrinkNow · 31/10/2011 18:56

Someone stole your dc's pumpkins??Shock Sad

scarevola · 31/10/2011 18:59

All Hallows Eve is the Christian version. I'm sure there are many pagan festivals for the dead, but both name and timing of Hallowe'en comes from the Christian calendar.

I thought the pagan one around now was Samhain, which started out as the old harvest festival and turning of the seasons, didn't it?

MillyR · 31/10/2011 19:01

2Rebecca, you don't have to give sweets; you can give apples or whatever. Also, Halloween is on the same date every year so you can actually plan in advance and buy sweets for trick or treaters.

PigeonPie · 31/10/2011 19:01

YANBU I hate it too. I remember the dead on All Souls' Day on 2 November.

Seems to me that it's just an excuse for companies to get even more of our limited cash out of us.

An, no, I'm not normally this grumpy but Halloween does not bring out the best in me!

MillyR · 31/10/2011 19:02

Samhain is on the 31st October.

MrBloomsNursery · 31/10/2011 19:03

Let's not enjoy ANY festivals eh? What's the point? People and children end up having...God forbid...FUN, and do things a bit out of routine, and we can't let that happen can we?

Let's do away with EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that involves children having some fun. How dare they indulge in sweets once in a blue moon, and how dare they spend their pocket money on cheap tack.

catwalker · 31/10/2011 19:26

YANBU. It's ok when little kids go to the houses of people they know but NOT TEENAGERS!! it's really quite unnerving for the elderly and people on their own to have people they're not expecting ringing their doorbell after dark and quite intimidating when they open the door to big kids. I HATE having hulking teenagers wearing masks turn up on my door step ready to grab handfuls of sweets.

I did buy some goodies this afternoon as an afterthought but, having opened the door to a couple of teenage floosies who I suspect had turned up for the benefit of my 15 year old ds who refused to answer the door as he was eating his tea in his underpants, I'm now completely off the whole thing. Been ignoring the doorbell and now feeling rather queasy having scoffed far too many sweets myself.

rubyrubyruby · 31/10/2011 19:27

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MillyR · 31/10/2011 19:29

I allow both knocking on doors at Halloween and eating in pants. They are both ancient English traditions.

yellowraincoat · 31/10/2011 19:30

Dunno, we never have trick or treaters here in London. I grew up in the north of Scotland and it was very much celebrated in a traditional way: bobbing for apples, doughrings on strings, neepy lanterns, scary costumes, I LOVED IT is a child...it does seem quite commercial now, but meh, what isn't? Doesn't mean you have to get involved.

catwalker · 31/10/2011 19:30

Ha ha! He'd just come in from rugby training and was so hungry I let him take his muddy shirt and shorts off and eat in his underpants and skins. Sport and healthy food versus scrounging sugary crap off the neighbours - I know which I'd rather he did.

Fecklessdizzy · 31/10/2011 19:30

I like it . A chance to piss off the god-botherers, indulge one's inner goth AND stuff your face with chocolate, what's not to enjoy?

umf · 31/10/2011 19:31

YANBU. It's not honouring the dead, it's macabre and commercialized. I realise I take this view partly cos I'm professionally damaged through working with actual human remains, and partly cos I was brought up in a very protestant household to think that trick or treating was one short step from devil worship. But I still don't like it.

rubyrubyruby · 31/10/2011 19:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

twinklytroll · 31/10/2011 19:34

I love Halloween, any chance to have fun with children is fine by me.

MillyR · 31/10/2011 19:35

I don't think Halloween is that macabre. At least it doesn't involve reference to anybody getting crucified.

JarethTheGoblinKing · 31/10/2011 19:36

Yeah.. not Christian, Samhain is a pagan festival.

Fecklessdizzy Grin

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