To wonder why it's bad to 'beg for sweets' but not bad to drag around a burning effigy of a Catholic while begging for money?

[TheWindBeneathMyFlaps]

Is it because one is perceived as American by people who are a little bit thick

DH is 50. He went trick or treating and carved vegetables. He's from Essex.
We have photos of him and all his little friends dressed up.

Where did this idea that it's American come from? And even if it was American would that be enough to not celebrate something that kids enjoy? When the UK was off spreading its culture forcibly all over the world that was fine, but when one of its former colonies spread a little back, it's offensive.

The ‘burning of an effigy’ is Bonfire night, not Halloween.

i think it's because we've all seen American TV and films and Halloween is a huge thing there (i never manage to wrap my head round the costumes not being "halloween" related though)

We used to carve turnips, dress up as witches and mummies and the like and make Witche's Brew (usually green fruit juice) with eyeballs (a tinned lychee stuffed with a frozen blueberry or something) in jelly, worm cake (a German cake called Molehill Cake - looks like a heap of earth, we used to put gummi worms or red liquorice bootlaces in it) and we'd have macaroni cheese which was usually coloured green and so on and so on. That was in the early to mid 70s

Love that we can get pumpkins now, they are so so much easier to carve and the designs can be much more intricate. Couldn't get any this year, so I'm very sad about that.

As for Penny for the Guy - tbh i never ever paid attention to the sectarian part of that, since it was never emphasised to us when i was a kid (again early to mid 70s). But as an army brat Bonfire Night was a much bigger thing - the soldiers would build a huge bonfire (not sure if an effigy went on top) and there would be baked potatoes, oxtail soup, hot orange squash for the kids, beer for the parents. Brilliant fun based on a family event on a cold dark evening rather than celebrating the gruesome death of someone who tried to blow up parliament.

I’ve never seen anyone dragging a burning effigy of a Catholic, or anyone else for that matter.

I’m over sixty and used to make candle lanterns out of turnips when I was a child in northern England. They stank. Pumpkins weren’t invented then.

No demanding sweets or money with menaces though

No it’s an anti Catholic reaction to the attempt to blow up Parliament 🙄

I am an American (and a Christian), and Halloween in Britain is seen as a more evil thing than it is in America. I don't know any Christiams here who dress up their kids and trick pr treat in our neighbourhood.

In the States, dressing up as a princess, superhero or a policeman is fine, but young children don't wear scary costumes. Here, people don't know where the line is and we had a 6 year old dressed in a full Pennywise costume for an infant school disco.

I think the lack of normal costumes actually makes British Halloween totally different to American Halloween. Maybe it has something to do with Celtic/pagan Samhain traditions. I don't know. It is just a guess.

Some people just hate fun.

I'm 57 and British.
Never seen a burning Guy.
Never participated in Trick or Treat. The history of Halloween is interesting if you go back to the real origins. The history of Bonfire Night rather less palatable.
Both have become, as is natural in a commercial world, very far removed from any of their origins.

We've done our pumpkin picking already and decorated for Halloween. We'll be carving them this weekend and definitely definitely trick or treating! I don't know why people have such a problem with kids knocking on decorated houses and the owners gladly opening the door, commenting on the costumes and giving the kids a sweet. Once we're home, we'll be greeting the other trick or treaters too. Can't wait! Happy Halloween 🎃.

Yes I had the fortune to be in NY for Halloween once, it was a very comical happy thing.

Something has crept into U.K. Halloween in tbe last 20 years that is much more macabre.

Also in some parts of the country it's the night to do a lot of damage and beg for money. (Cash or we egg your car; west end of Newcastle. And my god, 5th nov is fucking horrific.)

It's the amount of plastic that gets to me. I'll do pumpkins and the kids can make paper decor but we try to use costumes we already have or a cotton sheet.

It took me a while to realise you didn't mean your 50 year old husband currently gets dressed up with his "little friends" and takes them out trick or treating.

In Scotland we go guising.

I’m in my 30’s and at primary school we always made a Guy and put him on top of the massive bonfire. No one did Halloween stuff in my area really apart from a very few rascals who would egg houses because no one gave out sweets.

it flipped when I was about 10. Suddenly no Guys but Halloween decorations started appearing in the card shops.

But to your point. They're different occasions and people dislike them for different reasons. I'm catholic and don't take offence to effigies - it's a commemoration of a part of history rather than a sectarian threat. Although you wouldn't see it with different religions, burning a Muslim fighter against crusaders for example, but that would be even more bizarre.

I'll take my little one trick or treating locally. There will be no threats, just a two year old with some other kids looking cute and a pregnant woman stealing their sweets

Nobody drags around a burning effigy. That would be silly, and a fire hazard.

When did I say it wasn't? I think I made it quite clear that they were two separate holidays and that one is perceived as American, and therefore not ok. It is often referred to as 'begging for sweets' though, where I've never heard anyone complain about begging for money a week later for Bonfire Night.

As with most traditions, it's just what you are used to and were raised with.

I'm disappointed I've never been in Scotland for guising. It looks like fun, more interactive than trick or treating if I've got that right? We were never expected to actually do the "trick" bit of trick or treating

I haven’t seen anyone going round asking for a “penny for the guy” since I was a kid! I was saying to the oh the other day you don’t see it any more.

As for asking for sweets on Halloween I’ve always been a bit skeptical of it. Not because it’s “American” (it’s not for the record, it’s been around in Britain since the Middle Ages in various forms) I just think it odd we spend every other day of the year telling kids to stay away from strangers, not take sweets off of people you don’t know and definitely don’t go to their house and then suddenly it’s boom, ignore all the stranger danger you’ve been taught and grab what you can lol.

Me too; I was finding this more disturbing than little children dressed up.

I can see that point though in my house growing up (and now) your parents still checked the sweets before you were allowed to eat them.

Although on that point, I think the same could be said for anything to do with Santa. Weird man follows you around spying and gives your gifts to sit in his lap before eventually breaking and entering your home.

Bonfire night existed before Guy Fawkes, it was an effigy of the pope burned instead. I’m sure it goes back even further than that with no record available of what effigy was burned.

As a child we did apple bobbing on Halloween but no trick or treating.

I have not encouraged my kids to get involved in Halloween as it is meaningless rubbish and am pleased to say they have no interest in it
I have told them about November the 5th as it an important part of English history
If you do not like the English or its history no one cares
You can whine about things that happened many years ago if you want to
I assume you do not dislike it enough to now want to live here though
England has been attacked in the past by Germany, Vikings, Romans, Spanish, French
We have got over it and moved on we do not bleat and whinge about the injustice of it all many years later
My grandfather was in the navy in WW2
One of his best mates was guy who served in the U Boats.
They also moved on

@WarriorN “Mischief night” is a thing in some parts of the US, it’s the night before Halloween. It was usually minor but annoying stuff - soaping windows, throwing toilet rolls into trees, eggs everywhere. One morning my cousin woke up to hundreds of plastic forks stuck up in her lawn like little soldiers. She saw the funny side though.