To consider trick or treating as wrong?

[sunshinemeg]

In my opinion trick or treating is simply demanding rewards from menaces. It is certainly wrong to take a pagan festival and americanise it in such a way.
Am I being unreasonable to be so very against it? I do not open the door to anyone on Halloween, and I certainly will not be letting my daughter go trick or treating when she is old enough.

Join your play I am Irish we have always trick or treated

I think it's just a laugh, sorry.

If you do let your kids trick or treat, I think it is necessary to impress apon them that it's just for the fun of dressing up and that any sweets etc are merely a bonus.

But I don't think there's anything wrong with it - kids like dressing up and showing people their costumes.

Totally up to the individual whether to take part or allow/encourage children to take part though.

Actually, the American tradition comes from "Trick and Treat", and refers to going round the neighbours and doing a turn (or a "trick") in exchange for treats. You go round entertaining the neighbours basically, hence the dressing up.
It has never had anything to do with demanding sweets with menaces.

Playing tricks on people who do not want to join in is mean so YANBU in that respect.

However, taking children around to people who do join in is fun. I have an enourmous pile of sweets and made cardboard tomb stones for the garden with the dcs at the weekend. The kids love dressing up and I love other people's kids coming around to my house. I could not be bothered with listening to 100+ kids singing songs to me if I am honest. I open the door, scare them, give them a sweet and they and I are happy.

I'm Canadian not American but I 100% agree with whatsagoodusername. Halloween in England is awful and I dread it. One disappointing night does not make up for the weeks of American-bashing and general bad attitude.

Trick or treating where I grew up has no trick option. I never thought about the meaning of the words until I moved here. It's just cute kids in costumes (NOT all scary! We would dress up as barbie or Spider-Man, etc) and you give them candy. No money and no threatening teenagers.

trick or treating is simply demanding rewards from menaces.
Um I think you might be doing it wrong.

My 2yo and 5yo are far from menacing and the doorbells we ring are delighted to see them and always very welcoming.

You do know threads in this vein have been running on MN since September (annually since time began)? So 0/10 for originality. But 10/10 for being all bah-humbug and grumpy.

Let's see how you're going when your DD is 5/6/7/8 and bursting to have some harmless fun involving sweets, the dark, and dressing up with her friends.

LadyBeagleEyes shall we compare spreadsheets end of November?

YABU for thinking that a) it's American and b) that because of that, it is somehow offensive or wrong.
YAalsoBU for thinking that Halloween is wrong. It isn't, it's great. Bah humbug.

It's quite tiresome thinly veiled racism isn't it - all the "we don't want any of them Americanised ways over here" rubbish that gets spouted about Halloween.

Yep!

Also, I don't know or know of anyone who actually does any mean tricks if they don't get treats.

I don't like Halloween either. Said this on another one of these threads.

Still love Chistmas, still do Easter, doesn't make me boring/mean.

I've never lived anywhere with a 'code'. People knock the door regardless of whether you have a pumpkin out or not. Teens in a hoodie and a mask.

Why should some people feel they need to go out or sit in the dark because of some mindless idiots?

It's fantastic for those who DO live in decent areas, where there's a community spirit. Unfortunately, I've only ever lived in shitty areas.

Moved this year so I'll see how it goes. Not putting a pumpkin in the window and not buying sweets. Struggling to make rent and feed the dc at the moment, before anyone tells me I can get sweets at the pound shop or they 'only' cost so much in Tesco.

I'd say these threads are 50/50 splits - why does that make those of us who don't agree with it meanies?

Do the posters who dislike 'Americanisms^ dislike all things American?

Disney?
Scouts?
McDonalds? not the best example admittedly
Jeans?
Coca Cola?
All those fab American TV shows and movies?
The 'Internet'?

...no, I didn't think so.

It's a very old tradition, and even if it was some new-fangled American thing, traditions have to start somewhere.

YABU (as I say every year!)

YANBU.

Something positive like a community group carol singing for charity would be a good reason for someone to knock on my door. Demanding sweets isn't.

We get people we don't know "trick or treating" although we never have a pumpkin out.

Yes it is begging and no I don't think that's a great example to set young people really.

I dislike trick or treating; am 43 and never even heard of it until in my 20s. What I dislike most is the crossover - adorable tinies dressed as witches up to thuggish teens with eggs. Bah humbug to disapprove of the former, totally understandable to disapprove of the latter, but all 'trick or treaters'.

ladybeagleeyes I will be on your spreadsheet Santa is just a game in this house - I don't come right out and say he isn't real, but I roll my eyes and ask all sorts of questions about how on earth he can get round everyone in just one night, how he gets down blocked-up chimneys etc. Ds is just five years old and knows fine well that Santa is not real. He knows not to tell his friends, and I'm glad he will never face the "magic of Christmas" being taken away.

I don't think that makes me bah-humbuggy. We still have lots of fun at Christmas (and we still put mince puts out with a carrot for Rudolph, and a glass of whisky we all know daddy drinks).

How is this relevant to me disliking people throwing eggs at doors at Halloween? Cute kids are one thing - I may loathe Halloween but I'm not mean enough to refuse to admire their costumes or begrudge them a few sweets. I do object hugely to folk like the teenager who threw an egg through my window a few years back. And I don't like all the skeletons and other grisly stuff that is everywhere in the shops. The checkout assistant in asda was wearing a truly terrifying mask on Monday.

YABU - its my son's 8th birthday on Halloween so we go all out and I am taking 6x 8 year old's and 2x 10 year olds trick or treating. We live a community that understands that we only knock on doors that are "halloweeney" and leave the ones in darkness. We have a fab community spirit and nearly all of the children from the local school come around and we dish out sweets until they run out.

Bit of fun nothing serious - no tricks or pranks played. Never seen any "teenagers" playing pranks.

If you don't like it fine but leave those that participate to carry on.

Its not something that has ever been a tradition in our family.
Its mostly an opportunity for supermarkets to flog us shite whilst doing the "You are all miserable gits if you don't buy heaps of shitty sweets and crappy costumes celebrate halloween .
I put a " no trick or treat" sign on the door.

If you don't like it fine but leave those that participate to carry on.

Who said anything about stopping you?

And to everyone saying 'ah, it's only one day', who are the effing eejits who decorate their houses weeks in advance???

It's one night ffs, when did it become Halloween season?

Halloween is big around here (market town in eastern England).
DC know to only knock on doors with suitable decorations & lights. Which is how we did it when I was a kid (am American).
Great fun!! Everybody who participates is happy. What's not to like?
Party poppers some of yuz.

OP in our village lots of households (including ours) really look forward to the trick or treaters coming round.

One lady makes up a tray of paper cups with little goodies inside.
We love seeing all our neighbours' children all dressed up.

I just don't get what could be 'wrong' about it.

Youths don't bang on our doors, they throw the eggs at windows and small children. They don't want a treat they just want to cause damage, upset and frightening our elderly neighbours.
I hate Halloween for this.
My dc went trick or treating once, they were very cold and soon came home
If they are well behaved and follow the rules its up to them and the parents and seems harmless to me.
I agree with the poster who said its one night out of 365.
My dd prefers carol singing and playing music at xmas door to door, she earns heaps!

Why are some of you not getting that people aren't being party poopers?

Plenty of people have written on this thread about bad experiences with trick or treating teens. We don't all live in nice, community-based neighbourhoods. Some of us live in crappy places. Some of us get our doors knocked when we're not following 'the pumpkin code'. And some of us think we shouldn't have to leave the house all evening or sit in the dark to avoid teenagers knocking the door.

So, the elderly people who've had their houses egged are just 'party poopers' Nice.

IfNot is right. American trick or treating is derived from guising. It takes a different form, but it is pretty easy to see the similarities.
The Scottish and Irish antecedents of Halloween in the States are pretty obvious.