AIBU to be completely pissed off with Halloween?

[inabizzlefam]

Since when did we (the UK) start "celebrating Halloween?
Isn't it some weird american tradition?
I get Bonfire Night, fireworks, Penny for the Guy, etc, but all this Halloween shit everywhere (TV, supermarkets,etc) is seriously pissing me off. As if we don't have enough on with christmas decorations in the shops........in October, FFS.
To cap it all I now find myself being nagged senseless by my DCs to take them Trick or Treating, which I loathe. The joy in traipsing round the neighbourhood in the dark, freezing cold, bored shitless, knocking on peoples doors, "begging" sweets off them is ludicrous......I could buy a huge tub of sweets for my own DCs and get to sit in my nice warm house, not pissing off my neigbours....everyone's a winner. Neighbours get left in peace and DCs get to stuff themselves full of crap.
Apparantly, I am being a killjoy and "not entering into the spirit of the celebration".
What celebration? It's a bloody american celebration. What next, Thanksgiving? (TBH I have no idea what thats all about either....2 christmas dinners?

YABU.

Halloween isn't American.

Supermarkets sell all sorts of tat at all sorts of times. You don't have to buy it.

Celebrating festivals is nice. You choose how you want to celebrate them (or not).

A few packets of sweets for trick or treaters won't break the bank and isn't 'commercialism gone mad'

Put a note on your door saying 'no trick or treaters' if you want.

Festivals don't have to be hundreds or thousands of years old to be 'valid'. New doesn't mean bad.

Maybe it would be nice if we celebrated more things, not fewer.

Like many others, I get a bit fed up with the competitive grumpiness, cynicism and sneering. It is perfectly possible to enjoy celebrating the turning of the seasons and traditional or non-traditional events without spending a fortune on tat.

I'm 50 and Halloween wasn't a thing when I was growing up.
Not that me or my friends knew anything about anyway. We did celebrate Bonfire night though, with a properly made Guy.

My dc have never been into it much, have enjoyed the odd school disco, but not encouraged to trick or treat.
This year I'm on my own, so will sit in the back room which makes it look like noones in.
I don't mind what others do though, it's up to them.
DD is organising a party for her friends at school, which should be great for them, they have a common room and their dorms to decorate, their school has buildings dating back to 1600's and was used in HP films, so very spooky.

I think the whole getting dressed up and having fun thing is nice. I think of it a bit like Valentine's Day- may people think it's all too commercial, which in some ways it is very commercial, but it's also a laugh and a chance to have some fun. I'm not sure where it originates from though.
I hate trick and treating as well- I so see it was begging and in my family we never done it, and my children will never do it either. But plenty of kids like it so I buy some sweets and give a few to whoever comes round (if anyone even does it round our way- it's our first Halloween here so not sure if it's common or not).
And any left over we can share, bonus

I really dislike it.
Evil is real, and dark spiritual forces are real.
All Saints' Day, on November 1st, is the tradition of remembering those who have died - maybe what a pp remembers as 'souling' and churches now do light parties to celebrate and also to engage with young people who feel conflicted about 'not celebrating' Halloween.
I do have sweets in and lights on, as I want to be engaged with and part of the community. But I do feel that we are playing with things that we don't really understand with all the dark celebrations and costumes.

Dark spiritual forces are real absolutely they are: I spawned two of them.

I don't mind Halloween at all; we have DCs and they love it. Our community has a bit of a rule that if your house isn't decorated then people don't knock, and most folk abide by it. It's a pretty harmless festival, as they go.

YANBU. It's shit

I'm 33 and we have always celebrated Halloween. Duck apple, sweets, pumpkin - it's perfectly normal. Halloween is also the Eve of All Hallows - an absolutely traditional British occasion.

Frances

Yes, I believe so, as have heard others of my age say they celebrated it.
We were aware it existed but there was no celebration, trick or treating, parties, dressing up etc.
I think it's lovely for kids and parents alike, I don't have a problem with anyone celebrating.
I do think it's interesting how some communities throughout time haven't celebrated, like ours didn't.
The kids didn't think they missed out as they knew no difference.
I have often wondered if it was something to do with a Christian upbringing, the community entertainment seemed to involve the church, most of the time.

@TheNaze

YANBU to loathe Halloween. Why do we want to teach children that it is acceptable to bang on strangers' doors demanding money or sweets with a threat of antisocial behaviour / criminal damage / verbal abuse if they don't comply?

Why do we want to teach children that it is acceptable to bang on strangers' doors demanding money or sweets with a threat of antisocial behaviour / criminal damage / verbal abuse if they don't comply?

This response is always trotted out.

We only knock on doors that have a lot pumpkin outside. That is the 'rule' around here.

I can't speak for what others do, but that is what I teach my children.

Yes I'm sure we're all teaching our children to march up to people's houses and aggressively demand sweets on pain of having their house vandalised .

Or maybe they go out cheerfully in fancy dress, knock hopefully on the doors of people whose halloween decorations show that they welcome trick or treaters, gratefully accept a few sweets, smile at the friendly neighbours complimenting them on their costumes and go happily on their way (or are quite understanding if the neighbour has run out of sweets). That's what happens here anyway. And what happened when I celebrated halloween as a child.

Oh and at dark spiritual forces are real.

I couldn't care less about its origins and whether it's American or not but I find it really annoying. Even ten years ago there didn't used to be so much rubbish on sale in the shops for Halloween, did there?? Or am I just getting old and grouchy and noticing it more?

Oh fgs it's centuries worth of tradition for some of us. Last night (because we live in the only place in the country where it's done the Friday before) we entertained in excess of 160 guising children and their parents and every one of them was welcome. We had great fun and we'll do it all again next year. It's quite simple really, if you don't want to join in then don't but naff off with your sneering at those of us who do and especially those of us for whom halloween is part of our cultural identity.

I really dislike it.
Evil is real, and dark spiritual forces are real.

Again with the ignorance of the REAL meaning of Halloween.

Nothing to do with dark forces being conjoured up, nothing to do with satanism (a christinan construct again based on pagan mythology btw) nothing to do with 'evil'. No 'dark celebrations' of evil, sorry to disapoint.

Its a fun night out for the kids and a fun night for us checking out their costumes and terrible jokes!

Only from flour here too. Add a bit of bicarb for lightness if it's not in the recipe.

Woah. How did that happen? Wrong thread! Sorry!

I fully support Worra's suggestion of a Halloween Hate topic. The endless identikit threads whining about Halloween are really starting to rip my knitting!

And your ignorance is blinding OP. By all means ask when England started celebrating Halloween but to ask when the UK (as a whole) started celebrating it does make you seem like an insular Little Englander.

Kids playpark today

I am 47 and my family have done halloween ever since i can remember

With my mum and dad is was just halloween games we didnt trick or treat or decorate the house

We have trick or treated with the children but only in our area which is very halloween friendly, we have only done it for probably 5 years or so

Now they are all older they are not interested

OMG Morris, that's awful. I just don't get it all, I really don't.

Thank god my DCs are older, it was pretty low key when they were young and we never did much and they never complained.

I was just saying today that what is it with every occasion being fancy dress or made a big deal out of?

World book day (need to buy an outfit for)

Children in need (need to buy something with pudsey bear on)

Halloween (need to buy yet another outfit and have to hide on the night if you dont want to buy sweets and answer the door every 5 bloody mins!)

Bonfire night (spend yet more money on fireworks etc)

Christmas day (buy special food in and wear christmas clothing)

New years eve (host a party at yet more expense)

Valentines day (buy commercialised crap)

Where the hell does it end? When i was a kid halloween was no where near what it is now (im 29) and we never had world book day or halloween outfits or felt obliged to wear and buy something especially for children in need etc.

Nowadays i seem to be spending more and more money buying outfits for every bloody fancy dress occasion that the nursery decide to do. Yes i could not do it but then dd gets upset when everyone has an outfit on and she doesnt.