To be sick of how "big" a thing Halloween is now?

[BlancheBlue]

When I was little which wasn't SO long ago, Halloween was a bit of apple bobbing and a few teenagers with coats pulled over their head asking for change and some egg throwing. Supermarkets were stuffed with tacky shite and Halloween wasn't seen as a massive night out for people to get pissed and having a Halloween party was quite rare.

This interpretation of Halloween is a pure American import. Whats next ffs UK thanksgiving or something.

prepared buckets of water for trick or treaters

I don't really do Hallowee'en, not since I was a kid anyway.

Swansea goes mental for Beaujolais Day on the third Thursday in November. Pubs, reataurants etc are booked up months in advance and hardly anyone works the next day. Facebook is full of hangovers.

It's been a thing in Swansea for years and here it marks the start of Christmas for lots of people. I really missed it when I moved away and realised it was only a thing in Swansea. So keep your Hallowee'en!

what do you mean 'get away with it', fafoutis? They would be thrown out of a party or something for not being zombies?

how very bizarre.

You don't have to be a zombie, but there is a theme. It would be odd to dress as something cheerful.

Yes, MrsQ, there's a bouncer on the door and if you're not proper scary, you're not coming in.

I don't get it. I only left the UK 3 years ago, and kids were knocking on the door dressed as Buzz Lightyear and all sorts.

I think you're having me on with your 'not dressing as something cheerful'.

Love the idea of a Halloween bouncer!

This is our side yard, which becomes a graveyard for Halloween. Halloween is my husband's birthday and our anniversary, so we do it up. We put out a fog machine on the night of trick-or-treat, and people stop every year to take pictures of their kids in our yard.

Shop probably ran out of vampire costumes.

YANBU It's bloody ridiculous. I hate Halloween. I mean what actually is the bloody point ??? X

steff i love it!
fafoutis - ok, now I know you are winding me up!! good one.

I'm 38. When I was a child we "did" Halloween. We decorated the house and had a party every year. We were clearly the trend setters.

When I was little and my parents had a Halloween party, they went as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

The last time we were invited to a Halloween party, DH and I went as George and Martha Washington.

Halloween has always been big in Scotland. The only change I see is pumpkins being used instead of turnips (swedes) and increased availability of ready made costumes. I don't know anyone who has been egged etc here - I've only heard of that on mumsnet.

We had silly string put through our door

"WE ARE NOT IN THE HOUSE FUCKWITS!!! WE ARE OUT TRICK OR TREATING!!!!"

What every Scot on this thread said (goes off to buy a turnip)

I think the reason for dressing up as anything and everything in north america is from the tradition that Hallowe'en is the night when all the ghosts and ghouls run wild from the graveyards, so you need to disguise yourself so that your soul doesn't get taken. So the purpose was originally disguise, rather than dressing up as the scary stuff itself. It sounds more similar to the scottish traditions in some way - you also could be asked to do a song or joke at the door, not very commonly, but certainly was still possible to be asked when I was a child - we usually sang Jingle Bells or something, or a silly joke. The you'd be given your candy, and pennies for your Unicef box. And no tricks that I knew of. And not really for teenagers, either. It was a children's thing only. All for fun, and everyone participated really, though they didn't have to, but none of it was intimidating for older people or anything, loads of little tiny children, many with parents, and you didn't ring doorbells - you just said 'trick or treat' loudly enough to be heard.

It's a totally corrupted tradition that has ended up back in England, and that's not the fault of North Americans!

(and yes, exactly the same for baby showers. A nice sweet tea-party with your female friends and older female relatives, with silly games and cake and simple presents, hosted by someone else. Not grabby, but a kind of time for advice and laughing. Totally corrupted by the import into the UK, and not at all like they are in north america. Bridal showers too, a very different thing there than here.)

I've only ever heard English people talking about being egged and other "retribution" for not taking part. An elderly friend is actually quite scared as she has had flour, eggs and paint thrown at her windows, and one year a bush in her garden was set on fire. It seems that some teens are taking the whole "trick-or-treat" shit literally, and using it as an excuse to just vandalise people's homes.

Xpost about it being big in Scotland for years. I've no idea why though. But I like having something other than Xmas to plan in the autumn/winter so yab a bit U.

If the holiday was 'national take your dog door to door day' Brits would be all over it.

It's huge here in Canada.

Pumpkins everywhere, displays outside of people's houses, the neighbours opposite have just got their ghost and tombstone out

It's everywhere, shops, costumes, candy etc.

Looks forward to it this year, DS is old enough to get it, got him a costume, etc. Might go trick a treating, we'll definitely have kids knocking on our door.

I don't buy the treats til the day before otherwise I eat them all....

This is a great time for kids (and adults). Why would anyone want to restrict it. Grinch.

FWIW here people go to work in costumes. So the train is full of commuters wearing Halloween costumes! Never seen that in the UK, Dracula hanging out at the water cooler, witch receptionist etc.

Used to work in a school and everyone was in costume on the day, kids, teachers et.

I'm in the States and we have costumes at work, too.

I prefer Guy Fawkes night on 5th November. At least that is part of our history. We always go to an excellent firework display at Ascot Racecourse. Halloween and pumpkin patches are big in North America but as a child Halloween was All Hallows' night and the next day was All Saints Day. No tat in the shops. Everyone falls for spending lots of money on rubbish. Why? You can meet friends without costumes surely?

What scares you most, is it;

A) Halloween
B) Americanism
C) Trump

Multiple choice.

www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Halloween-in-Scotland/

Talks about guising and the links to the Celtic festival.