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.

Once again trick or treating is not American. I have never ever heard of guising we trick or treat where I am from in Ireland and always have done. Ireland, as I reminded up thread although apparently I insulted myself by saying it, was a part of Britain up until early in the 1900s so trick or treating has been around in Britain for hundreds of years.

I'm not a party pooper. I'm autistic and find the constant stream of strangers at my door frightening.

Teenagers behaving badly won't stop by banning trick or treating though.

(Great list of American stuff, but a Brit invented the Internet - Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Not letting them have that one! )

Another for the list of great American things, the music.
Jazz, soul and the blues were the beginning of popular music.

"Ireland, as I reminded up thread although apparently I insulted myself by saying it, thlhmm was a part of Britain "

I can't believe you are Irish with such incredibly shit knowledge of Irish history and geography.

Ireland was not a "part of Britain", although it was, for a time, governed from London.

Trick or treating is derived from Irish traditions, but the phrase "Trick or treat" came back to Ireland from America.

Do you think carving pumpkins is an old British (because Ireland is part of Britain) tradition too?

Sorry to be pedantic, but Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web, not t'internet.
The Internet was most def an American invention

What does it matter where it came from.

If it is done with a few rules and respects peoples boundaries, then those who wish to have fun and enjoy it may do so.

Those that terrorise, throw eggs, generally use it as an excuse for bad behaviour as usual tarnish it for everyone.

I don't know if this is just a Northern Irish thing, but when we were kids we went round the doors and sang a rhyme:

"Halloween's coming and the geese are getting fat,
please put a penny in the old man's hat,
if you haven't got a penny a ha'penny will do,
if you haven't got a ha'penny the god bless you and your old man too"

Ah that brings back memories

We more often got money than sweets, just a handful of coins thrown into our bags.

It bugs the hell out of me that every year someone says that trick or treating is a 'new' American thing and should be banned.

I agree with the other posters who remember trick or treating decades ago. I grew up in Wales in the 70's & 80's and it was huge deal. Lots of dressing up, ducking for apples, making treacle toffee and yes, trick or treating. It was great fun. The whole village got involved.

There's some bloody miserable gits around now.

Mrswish - we sung that in Wales too

I thought it was 'Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat ...'. Why would the geese be getting fat for halloween?

Join your play it was carving turnips that turned into carving pumpkins when it got to America. As regards your superior knowledge of Irish history, it is hard to tell from 2 posts I am actually pretty good at history I just don't normally get too bogged down on technicalities posting on parenting sites though. You however made the point that Ireland and Scotland celebrated Samhain, that means that these festivals have been in Britain for centuries, the point I was making, or is Scotland not British either?

Trick or treat went from Ireland to America contrary to that interesting aside Wikipedia clearly told you. There you learn something new every day.

PMSL @ the geese getting fat for Hallowe'en :o

That's a Christmas rhyme.

"Trick or treat went from Ireland to America contrary to that interesting aside Wikipedia clearly told you."

Really, so you believe that the phrase "trick or treat" is an Irish phrase, first used in Ireland and brought to America by the Irish?

Because I'm pretty sure that's as much of a load of bollocks as the idea that the island of Ireland was ever "part of" the completely separate island of Britain.

I am not keen on it but kind of fell into trick or treating by accident but there are strict rules we follow. We only knock on houses with a pumpkin on view or some sort of Halloween decor up. Part of the fun for mine is who can spot the decorations! The only houses we knock on that are not decorated are those we have pre arranged to visit (my parents for example). This seems to be the way for most of the children sound here.

Scouts aren't American either...
I think people are talking about different things and pretending they are the same in order to get offended.

Oh, sorry. That was my mistake to say that The Scouts were started in the US.

Heaven forbid, cardi

A source that is not wikipedia:

www.history.com/topics/history-of-trick-or-treating

I love halloween and we invariably have a party

I love trick or treating and as long as they've made an effort children of all ages get a treat

I love carving pumpkins, painting faces, decorating the house

I love grumpy teens in scream masks with their more 'cool' brethren loitering by the gate - I love little ones in their screechy wonder and I love the bloke who gets wilder every year with his own and his dog's costumes

Yah boo to all you po-faced haters its great British fun and far superior to "penny for the guy"

Where it came from is irrelevant really (though interesting). It's what it has become that's the issue.

Scottish guising is not the same as trick or treating.

I hate the term "Americanise" and the way it's used in a derogatory way far more than a few kids dressing up like I did and knocking on friend's doors.

Don't mind it, as long as the tricks kids play are not bad! Eggs and vandalising is not acceptable, but little silly things are fine. We used to do it when younger, don't see the problem with it. Lots of old people thinks its really nice to have kids come dressed up at their house! Here in Norway we have a similar tradition where you go around on a day in december in christmas costumes and sing christmas songs for sweets and fruit. Does not involve tricks though!