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?

You do realise this thread is a bit hypocritical on the basis a lot of people have adopted Christmas which is a catholic holiday with added extras over the years from other various traditions and cultures.

Although christmas is a pagan festival which was adopted by the church.

She claims that they dont celebrate Halloween in the US.

She's wrong of course. But there are quite a few people in the US who object to Halloween for religious reasons. They are especially prevalent in the deep South where I live and where there are more religious conservatives and fundamentalists than in other parts of the country. Maybe that is what she meant. But even here Halloween is big. People in my workplace will be wearing costumes tomorrow, for example, and we are busy getting things ready for the trick or treaters in our neighborhood.

People have a funny idea about the word 'celebrate' as well seneca

As a child I wasn't allowed to go trick or treating as my parents said it was begging and I always refused to let dd do it. However, I relented a couple of years ago and it was actually great fun! I didn't realise quite how many people went to the effort of decorating their houses and as long as we only go to the decorated houses where they clearly want to take part, it isn't begging at all. I would never knock on doors with no decorations though as they clearly aren't up for it

Some of you would absolutely hate me- we're having a lovely night in on Halloween with creepy food, then bonfire night, then I have my native country's version of Halloween on the 30th November, then Saint Nick's on the 6th of December and then Christmas.

You don't need a lot of money to celebrate things- turn the lights out, poor some spooky music on and some tea light candles and the mood is set. A pumpkin is £1 and there you go. Food can be something like a pie that has the top layer of pastry cut out the shape of a pumpkin.

cheshire your evening sounds lovely.

We have carved pumpkins, played the oreo game, thrown marshmallows, apple bobbed and eaten donuts from a string

Having high tea and then a 'scary' movie

We havent done peanut racing yet...might have to leave that til tomorrow

In my experience, Halloween in the US also has a bit of a harvest festival/autumnal side to it. I've seen lots of houses beautifully decorated as a celebration of Autumn.

That's true iveburnt; in fact some of the churches whose members don't do Halloween for religious reasons have a harvest festival instead, with the children wearing costumes, bobbing for apples, etc.

Always used to celebrate when growing up in Wales, normally with Halloween parties though - I can't remember ever trick or treating (which I think is an American thing)