what you think of halloween?

[adam7485]

. ok. halloween can be a fantastic time for all people kids and everyone, but am i the only person to think it brings the worst out of people? 2019 before covid i got a taxi to a local pub who were having a halloween party and we almost had a nasty accident as some kids threw something in front of the car. how we didn't have an accident was probably more luck than judgement. to think that a good celebration and fun has become tainted by the actions of a certain group of people?

I love Halloween but I'm a Scot.
I grew up learning poems to say in exchange for sweets in our neighbors houses.
Now I'm in the USA and my dc are dressing up and chatting to our neighbors about what they are dressed up as.
It is a child friendly community event if it is done right.
I'm lucky my dc and I have both lived somewhere where that is the focus.

We also spent a couple of years in Mexico where Day of the Dead is the major festival.
Also a respectful family festival.

Back in the late 90s I remember trick or treating being a front for what was basically, doorstep muggings.

Groups of teenagers, not dressed up, coming to your door shouting “trick or treat” and if you dare refuse, giving you a load of abuse.

I remember my mum once answering the door to a shell suited teenager who screamed trick or treat and then gave my mum a load of racist abuse when told, we had run out of treats.

Nowadays where I live (pre COVID-19) it was actually lovely with young kids accompanied by adults respectfully only approaching the houses with Halloween decor, and being very respectful. That I can get on board with, though the odd chancing kid is still around.

I hate all the orange plastic tat in the shops, but our dds always loved trick or treating, and so do little Gdcs, so I still put a pumpkin in the window and dish out sweets. It’s only little kids who come around here. Memo to self, must go and buy the sweets, usually loads of mini packs of Smarties, in the hope that there’ll be some left for me. 🐷

@FangsForThemusic. of course i want to hear others opinions i made my comment just because to compare it to the same as begging on the street is a bit OTT. i look at it we were all kids once so sensible trick or treat, penny for the guy, crack on lets have fun but was asking the question as sadly its become also an excuse to do damage and cause distress to others.

i think it will be interesting this year to see what happens. so far we are facing a winter without any covid restrictions in place so wonder if it will bring most of the kids back to celebrate? i do from the bottom of my heart hope it does and parents let them as someone up thread said they really have had it tough having to cope with restrictions that kept them in school bubbles, not being able to meet up with other friends etc. i just made the thread out of my own experience of what happened or nearly happened to me the other year and wondered if this had dampened it down for many people who used to love it

It gets in the way of looking forward to Christmas!

I hate it, especially trick or treating, which I think should be banned

I adore Halloween and always have since I was a child.
I don't take plan on taking my 4 year old trick or treating but we have pumpkins, costumes and I've decorated the house. We will have Halloween games and fun on the actual evening.
Why are people so against it? Yobs and idiots cause trouble no matter the occasion so why pin blame a particular event?
No one has to answer their door if they don't want to and no one has to partake but it's a nice way to cheer up the gloomy autumn to winter I think

Where I lived in London, you only knocked on decorated houses or houses with a pumpkin outside. Friend has the same where she lives in Brighton. The best thing is that it's something you can take or leave. There is no real pressure to join in if you don't want to.

When the children were smaller all the playgroups and nurseries and primary schools did some kind of a Halloween party or event. They loved it. Decorations were taken out each year, costumes were passed on to friends with younger siblings.

Pre kids, I never really bothered with it. But when the kids turned 3 every year I had a huge Halloween party. Last one in 2019, I had 26 kids, I got a neighbour to dress up as a gorilla and jump out on the kids in the attic ghost hunt. This year kids are 14 and a half and have told me they are too old for a Halloween party. No more eyeballs floating in jelly. No more bloody frozen ice hands in the downstairs loo. No more cat poo fudge on rice crispy litter. I am gutted.

As a Puritan born and bred, Day of the Dead rituals seem idolatrous and morbid. It’s good when all this rubbish is over.

So interesting. There was another comment upthread that included the Christian beliefs of the poster.

DD4 has a good friend whose Southern Baptist mother thinks Hallowe'en in the devil's birthday.

Speaking as an Irish Catholic, I love Hallowe'en, and have always participated. We used to make papier mache Hallowe'en masks, draw spooky pictures, etc in art class in my private RC primary school.

It's the eve of the Feast of All Saints (= 'Hallows'), a holy day of obligation in the RC church. The following day is the Feast of All Souls. In general, the feast days are to remind us our human frailty and the mercy of God.

It occurs on an ancient Irish 'quarter day', a day when the season changes, traditionally a liminal time when the borders between earthly and heavenly realms became porous. Belief in the existence of a day when the dead can return is common worldwide.

Where I live the kids only knock on houses that are decorated. I love seeing them in their cute little costumes.

Our kids don't go and trick or treat but we always throw a Halloween party at our house so they can dress up and have fun with their friends.

I hate it. Plastic crap and kids bothering you all night. No thanks!

I don't get trick or treaters and my children don't do it as we don't have many houses here.

We do pumpkin carving, a party and we talk about and remember people who have died or gone out of our lives. It's the final harvest celebration of the autumn and time to look to the dark months ahead. The horror and spooky side is about looking at and exploring those aspects of life and acknowledging them. Death is all around us at this time of year with trees losing leaves and mushrooms popping up on decaying things. It isn't a bad thing, it's part of that cycle. We also collect seeds now, ready to grow in spring.

@DrCoconut

Same here *@MrsAvocet* it's just not really on my cultural radar at all and we don't bother with it. If other people want to it's up to them but it's not for us.

Same here. Not a thing when mine were little. Now all the 20-30 year olds are really into at work and they seem to be more into it than children .

@Sparklingbrook

I see we have the annual predictable 'begging' comments. Yawn.

How knocking on a door of a house displaying a lit pumpkin and other Halloween decorations, to be offered a sweet or chocolate is 'begging' I'm not sure.

Because ‘trick or treat’ is a threat. Give me some sweets or we’ll do something to you. Around here it’s egging houses.

I just find it a bit odd. It was not a thing at all when I was growing up (80s and 90s in SE, NW and Midlands of England). Nobody really mentioned it, never knew anyone go trick or treating, never had anyone knock on the door.

I don't object to it, I'm just a bit bemused really. As PP said, not on my cultural radar.

I grew in NW in 90s and it was definitely a thing where I lived. Lots of trick or treating, parties, ghost walks etc.

Maybe it depends what circles you move in? My mum was into Halloween so we always celebrated it growing up and seemed to find others who were into it as well.

I find all the throwaway plastic junk in the shops truly depressing.
My dc are adults and although we used to decorate a pumpkin, there was hardly anything in the shops apart from a few costumes and sweets for trick or treating!

Because ‘trick or treat’ is a threat. Give me some sweets or we’ll do something to you. Around here it’s egging houses

It’s not ‘begging’. Knock on the houses with decorations-they are expecting it. Nothing to do with begging.

I love it but then I live in a very rural area with no trick or treating or shenanigans. Its all about remembering our ancestors (I'm of pagan persuasion), welcoming winter, autumn mists and leaves, lovely warming food with nice bread. Getting a real fire on. Its the best time of year.

@Sparklingbrook

Because ‘trick or treat’ is a threat. Give me some sweets or we’ll do something to you. Around here it’s egging houses

It’s not ‘begging’. Knock on the houses with decorations-they are expecting it. Nothing to do with begging.

But they don’t just knock on the doors with decorations 🙄

But it’s still not begging.

So many fun sponges on here. I think the we only go to houses that are decorated is very mumsnet though. Where I am kids knock on every door. I'll have a bag of treats but won't be decorating and I'll get a few knocks I'm sure. I like to see the kids in their costumes and torches etc.

Halloween is grim on every level. Lots of orange plastic crap everywhere!!! Yuk!!

@frumpety

I remember spending hours as a small child in the 70's carving out a swede and doing a tour of the neighbourhood dressed as a witch. The best years were when I was allowed to go to the CofE Halloween party at the church hall, a proper Halloween party, not the weird alternative ones they do now. I also remember mischief night being a thing in my childhood, its the day before Halloween I think ?

4th Nov is mischief night where I live, although that seems to have died down a lot since the late 90s/early 2000s.