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 it. I used to take my DS out trick or treating. I love seeing the children dressed up. One year the biggest hit was not the candy but our DBoycat because he is black! All the children wanted to see him!

We did have a spate of killer clowns one year but the police soon caught them. I miss seeing the children dressed up but this year I'm watching a scary movie and eating candy!

It isn't begging for sweets, it is a reciprocal arrangement.
In the Celtic nations there is an exchange with a joke, dance, song etc being swapped for a sweet.
In the USA my dc chat about their costumes to the sweet givers and sometimes comment on the decorations that people have up.
It is a community tradition that people literally buy into by getting the sweets to hand out.

Halloween was huge in my patch of the North East. I was sent Halloweening, complete with a candle in a turnip and a flammable witch hat and bin bag dress, I had a Halloween song about witches and I collected a tonne of sweets and enough copper coins to keep them coming till Christmas.

There wasn't the same amount of effort in dressing up a house then but things evolve and I like that people do this now to signal whether Halloweening is welcome at that home or not.

Well that depends where you are, Halloween and guising were always big when I was growing up in the 1970s in Scotland

It was a turnip not a pumpkin, my Dad had to saw off the top and scoop out the middle with a sharp wood chisel (like a very sharp scoop )
Candle which shone threw the tiny triangukar eyes and jagged mouth . Burned turnip stinks then after a day or so it was all wizened and shrivelled .

@AosSi

I agree. it's all over in one evening and more enjoyable. Now my two are adults I don't really bother with it. But the decorations and fancy dress outfits are still in the loft, I don't really want to part with them.

Ah hang on to them! You never know, if you have grandchildren some day they may come in handy again.

That would be lovely. We have collected some good stuff over the years.

@BashfulClam - I have quite an open mind thank you. I was asked my opinion of Hallowe'en and gave it. More plastic tat in landfill, more people scared in their own homes, begging, food waste (all those pumpkins thrown away), etc

I really dislike Halloween. I do have some sweets and things for any children who may come by ,apart from the scary bit which sounds silly but I have a phobia about it .the sweets handed out or on sale are nearly all hard candy which is not good for teeth. I buy chocolate buttons or fudge bars

People seem fixated on the non existent 'begging'.

No need for the pumpkins to go to waste

Here

@luckylavender you have shown your ignorance more than once on this thread. Imagine I came on to bash a religious date of yours with assumptions.

I've never understood why we encourage trick or treating - it's basically extortion.

Yeah, all those people dressing up their houses to be extorted by children for the sweets they have already bought them. Not sure the Mafia would have got off the ground with that business model of extortion.

@70isaLimitNotaTarget

Well that depends where you are, Halloween and guising were always big when I was growing up in the 1970s in Scotland

It was a turnip not a pumpkin, my Dad had to saw off the top and scoop out the middle with a sharp wood chisel (like a very sharp scoop )
Candle which shone threw the tiny triangukar eyes and jagged mouth . Burned turnip stinks then after a day or so it was all wizened and shrivelled .

Loved Halloween in Scotland when I was little! Very important date in the calendar. I still love it, for that reason. It’s part of my culture and my heritage.

I insisted on carving my annual turnip (tumshie) lantern right up until about 10 years ago, when I finally gave in to the pumpkin. So much easier.

@BashfulClam - goodness me. I'm not the only person here who thinks the same. And I'm not ignorant, that's very rude. There's a climate emergency, it's a lot of plastic tat. And wasted food.

The smell of burnt turnip is very evocative of guising and lovely memories of getting monkey nuts and the occasional 20p as well as fruit salads and fun size mara bars.

We decorate the house and take the kids guising. I make sure they do a turn though!

I think it’s fun for little children 11 and under but the teenagers can take it a step to far (as usual).

More plastic tat in landfill, more people scared in their own homes, begging, food waste (all those pumpkins thrown away), etc

There's nothing even slightly 'open minded' about this little summary. Halloween derives from the ancient pagan festival of Samhain, when the 'veil' between the worlds of the real and the supernatural was at its thinnest. The traditions celebrated by the Celtic nations at Halloween have their origins in this

Try actually cultivating that open kind you think you have

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain?wprov=sfti1

@Ajl46

I've never understood why we encourage trick or treating - it's basically extortion.

It really is nothing of the sort.

The food waste thing is ridiculous by the way. British households regularly waste about a third of all food they buy week to week. Maybe focus on that as a starting point before worrying too much about pumpkins.

@TheKeatingFive - I know where it derives from. I'm describing what actually happens.

I linked to the RSPCA about putting the pumpkins out for wildlife to eat. Problem solved there. Or make soup.

I'm describing what actually happens.

So try understanding the link between today's practices and the ancient origins. That's the type of thing an 'open mind' would do.

The consumerist point aside. Because everything in life is only ever as consumerist as you yourself want it to be.

We compost ours.

To be fair worrying about Halloween 'food waste' is a new one on me, I'll add it to the MN Halloween Bingo Card. Someone must have a full house by now.