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?

When I was a kid we didn't even have toffee apples until Bonfire Night, Halloween was not even mentioned.

But I doubt the plastic ghosts hanging from their tree and plastic caution tape covering their garden will be reused as they look already to be falling apart in the weather . I could be wrong.

Well we have certainly reused plastic caution tape over the years. It's hardier than it looks.

But if that's all you're talking about, it's hardly major environmental impact compared to everything else we do in this world, now is it? Binning a few bits of tape/cut outs? I expect most of us do far worse than that on weekly basis.

I loved toffee apples when I was a child. Mine aren't keen on them, which is a shame!

@TheKeatingFive

I loved toffee apples when I was a child. Mine aren't keen on them, which is a shame!

I quite like a chocolate covered apple now. My two never liked toffee apples either.

I'm not that fussed about Halloween (in spite of the fact that it's my birthday!), but I can't say I've ever in all my 50 years seen it bring out the worst in people tbh. The worst I've seen was someone's tree getting strewn with toilet paper about 35 years ago. People who are antisocial arseholes will always find an excuse to behave badly, Halloween or no Halloween.

@SeasonalNamechange You need to chill out a bit love.

It's hardly begging, get a grip

I like it. Kids like it. We fill a huge bowl with sweets and chocolate, stick a pumpkin outside, watch some scary films, do a couple of Halloween activities, maybe some baking and crafting. I don't consider any of the kids coming to our house as 'begging' for treats since the pumpkin outside shows we're inviting them to come show off their costumes and get some sweets. I also won't apologise for allowing my child to choose a costume each year if there's no available hand me down from my eldest. Same goes with a Christmas jumper. Some might see them as wasteful but I can guarantee we have much less clothing waste as a household than those buying new clothes every other week and wearing them once or twice.

@Sparklingbrook the definition of extortion is "the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats." That is exactly what trick or treating means- give me a treat or I will do something nasty to you. A very weird moral message to be encouraging.

I’ve never personally experienced this at all. It’s just a fun family occasion where I live, many people decorate their houses (some go all out!) and children get dressed up and have fun.

That is exactly what trick or treating means- give me a treat or I will do something nasty to you. A very weird moral message to be encouraging.

Notwithstanding the capacity for any practice to be abused by wannabe trouble makers, we are predominately talking about under 10s who wouldn't have the first clue how to do something 'nasty' to you. If you called the police to report 'extortion' how do you think they'd respond to that?

@TheKeatingFive

That is exactly what trick or treating means- give me a treat or I will do something nasty to you. A very weird moral message to be encouraging.

Notwithstanding the capacity for any practice to be abused by wannabe trouble makers, we are predominately talking about under 10s who wouldn't have the first clue how to do something 'nasty' to you. If you called the police to report 'extortion' how do you think they'd respond to that?

So what does trick or treating mean? In particular, what do children understand by the "trick" part? What is the consequence if a stranger refuses to give a treat when asked?

Trick or treating has a starkly different moral message to Christmas. The former relies on a threat to get something you want, the latter is all about "be good or Santa will know & you won't get any presents!"
Very inconsistent.

So what does trick or treating mean? In particular, what do children understand by the "trick" part? What is the consequence if a stranger refuses to give a treat when asked?

My children and their friends say the words, but have absolutely no understanding of any 'consequences'. If someone doesn't answer their door or doesn't give them anything, they'd simply leave.

Like I say, do discuss your concerns around 'extortion' from the under 10s with the police of you'd like to.

the latter is all about "be good or Santa will know & you won't get any presents!"

Well that's a threat too. A slightly different kind, but still a threat.

Love Halloween. Always have. Go to a big party and ride a giant pumpkin every year and can't wait for this years' seeing as we have missed it with covid. MN is ridiculous about Halloween. Begging/Americanised/Plastic bollocks.

@TheKeatingFive

So what does trick or treating mean? In particular, what do children understand by the "trick" part? What is the consequence if a stranger refuses to give a treat when asked?

My children and their friends say the words, but have absolutely no understanding of any 'consequences'. If someone doesn't answer their door or doesn't give them anything, they'd simply leave.

Like I say, do discuss your concerns around 'extortion' from the under 10s with the police of you'd like to.

So trick or treating is encouraging kids to use words in a way they don't understand? That's not helpful to them either.
Why not rename it to something less intimidating to the recipient?

Why not rename it to something less intimidating to the recipient?

I'm personally not able to instigate a widespread national shift in this regard, apologies.

Eventually language will adapt I'm sure.

@TheKeatingFive

the latter is all about "be good or Santa will know & you won't get any presents!"

Well that's a threat too. A slightly different kind, but still a threat.

It's a threat parents choose to use to encourage good behaviour in their own children. Not a threat to strangers to extort sweets/money from them.
For the rest of the year we teach kids it's wrong to accept sweets from strangers!

For the rest of the year we teach kids it's wrong to accept sweets from strangers!

A huge part of Halloween is divergence from the norm and overthrowing of the 'rules'. It's actually baked into many of our historic festivals, suggesting a human fascination with the idea that we play out in specified circumstances.

So what does trick or treating mean? In particular, what do children understand by the "trick" part? What is the consequence if a stranger refuses to give a treat when asked

Do people like this ever have a day off?

So what does trick or treating mean? In particular, what do children understand by the "trick" part? What is the consequence if a stranger refuses to give a treat when asked?

The trick or the treat is the response of the house they are calling on. Will they give a trick or a treat? One of my friends filled a bucket full of sweets and a couple of old potatoes and covered in straw for kids to pick out a trick or a treat.

But we say, "Happy Halloween!" and then the little ones do their song.

@FourTeaFallOut

So what does trick or treating mean? In particular, what do children understand by the "trick" part? What is the consequence if a stranger refuses to give a treat when asked?

The trick or the treat is the response of the house they are calling on. Will they give a trick or a treat? One of my friends filled a bucket full of sweets and a couple of old potatoes and covered in straw for kids to pick out a trick or a treat.

But we say, "Happy Halloween!" and then the little ones do their song.

Your approach sounds lovely and much less threatening to the recipient! The generally understood meaning of trick or treat is that if the householder doesn't hand over a treat, a trick is played on them. That's why some (generally vulnerable) people pretend to be out on Halloween.
Eg www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/trick-or-treat

@QueenofKattegat

So what does trick or treating mean? In particular, what do children understand by the "trick" part? What is the consequence if a stranger refuses to give a treat when asked

Do people like this ever have a day off?

A day off parenting?! Where do I sign? Get me to the nearest spa!!

This thread is hilarious. The overthinking is on point. 😂

What is the consequence if a stranger refuses to give a treat when asked?

Absolutely nothing, in my experience. Children go to door, inhabitant of house gives sweets if they want to. End of story.

Complaining about the idea of tricks, and then complaining when told there aren't really tricks any more, on the grounds that it's encouraging children to use confusing language, is a truly feeble objection.

There are lots of festivals and traditions which have changed over time, keeping only the nice, fun bits. It must be disappointing for the grinches to find nothing genuinely worthy of pearl-clutching and disapproval in the way people generally now celebrate Halloween.