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.

I’m half Irish (family is catholic and also kinda woo), grew up in England and Halloween has always been celebrated in our house. Was ignored by my catholic school, but the mum’s we knew used to have great kid’s parties on Halloween. We’d dress up as witches or ghosts and play games like apple bobbing/dance contests/have fancy dress contests/eat party food.

We didn’t go trick or treating to stranger’s houses because my mum saw it as ‘begging’, but we used to go to my cousin’s house to ‘trick or treat’ but only because my aunt was expecting us.
The tradition is celtic in origin and known as ‘guising’, Americans just adopted it.

My mum told me it was a time when the line between the living and dead was thinnest and we had to dress up to trick the ghosts and ghouls. Is that not normal?!! 😂

I still love halloween and love the old traditions and love a DIY attempt. My (4yo) daughter is a huge fan. We DIY her costume (Cos it’s part of the fun), decorate with a few pumpkins and candles. We go to my mum’s and aunts house and she knocks on their doors for a trick or treat, and she also has a party at nursery.

I have an issue with the excess plastic and ott commercial decorations and buying costumes to wear just once, but I have an issue with that kind of waste in general.
To say it’s an American tradition is widely inaccurate and you only need to google.

*wildly inaccurate!

I'm in my 30s. I have seen a guy being burned a couple of times but I was always a bit surprised because I don't think it's ever been that common in my lifetime. Haven't seen it since the 90s though. I think they were trying to be traditional.

I think a good editor could bring this entire post down to...

"It might be American so I don't like it."

I'm in my sixties and when I was young, children used to cart a guy along, asking for 'penny for the guy ' Any money collected was used to buy fireworks.
There was also 'mischievious night,' where we played tricks such as knocking on doors and then running away.
It was all very innocent fun. Probably wouldn't be today though.

...actually, I misread the irony, didn't I.

I take it back, and apologise.

Most of what people assume is ‘American’ comes from Britain. 🤷‍♀️

I got this from her posts as well.

Why so angry OP?

I love Halloween, just not trick-or-treat. Also, other people's kids ARE a bit awful. 😅

Disney is great though.

Of course, it is the opening doors thing isn't it! MN does hate opening the front door to anyone 🤣 not normally keen myself to be fair, but I make the exception for small demons and Disney characters!

Mine probably only have a couple years left before I'm relegated to only handing out sweets. I do like dressing them up and we've done some excellent hand made costumes in the past

This.

Also, like other pps, I haven't seen anyone asking for a 'penny for the guy' since my own childhood. Previous thread discussing this and thoughts were that it had largely died out.

It really doesn’t though. I was raised building guys, penny for the guy, and setting them atop a bonfire and setting them alight before all the fireworks started. No one celebrated Halloween, no outfits, no decorations, no trick or treaters.

None of that is seen as normal now and looking back it’s pretty weird. Trick and treating is normal, though there are many who take it too far here with outfits that no kid should be wearing (think chainsaw massacre).

The change was made by card companies seeing an opportunity to sell more crap. The supermarkets then jumped on it, then everyone followed.

traditions change and you’re naiive if you don’t realise half the change is brought about by capitalists seeing an opportunity to make more money.

Nobody is demanding anything. Where I live and in most places, those wishing to participate have decorations and lit pumpkins outside on Haloween. Kids only knock at those houses. It's not demanding, it's not begging, it's a fun activity for children which adults can choose not to get involved with if they don't like it.

OK OK 'asking' for sweets then. You do you, it's not how I choose to do it. That's ok, except on mumsnet, where people can't tolerate ideas that are different to theirs.

It's not an American tradition. It is, however, now americanised.

It used to be kids dressing in home made spooky costumes, often with cardboard hats and bin bag witches capes. You did a trick for your treat, which was small, and you came home with a few treats. A carved turnip maybe.

Now its bought costumes and non scary, princesses and sueprheroes and decorations everywhere and pumpkins and adults dressing up and masses and masses of "candy".

It's definitely more american now.

BTW, isnt't the burning effigy of a Catholic for Bonfire/Guy Fawkes night, which is a different thing entirely?

I'm Irish but raised in London so Halloween was a thing for me when young, love that it's bigger now. Did used to see a guy on the bonfire as a kid but think h&s stopped that.

I'm 70 and used to go out at Halloween , we'd go from door to door singing ' Any apples or nuts!'
Light bonfires and have a ' Halloween brack ' - a fruit loaf which contained a ring , a thruppenny bit and other prizes.

We never said ' trick or treat' though. All the above happened in Ireland. When we lived in Essex none of my classmates knew what Halloween was. Every year Blue Peter or Magpie would explain it all - to widespread indifference.

I guess it was a bit redundant with Guy Fawkes the next week? Then the films arrived and here we are. But....imagine giving the kids an apple 🍏 now. You'd hear some choice language!

I'm confused, are you pro or anti Halloween?

You do know that it was one of Guy Fawkes' Catholic conspirators who alerted the Royal Authorities at the time, right?

The religion of Guy Fawkes wasn't the point - his failure was the whole point and this is celebrated by Catholics as well. The foiling of an attempted act of terrorism, really.

I've also never seen anyone carrying and burning a guy either where I've lived.

I have absolutely no issue with people choosing not to participate, I couldn't give a monkeys. It just really annoys me when people say that it's 'begging'. Adults who want to give sweets buy them in specifically for trick or treaters and are expecting them to knock, it's not a surprise or unexpected in any way and there is no pressure to join in.

It’s not really true to say it’s been celebrated in Britain since the Middle Ages. It’s a Celtic festival and has been celebrated in Scotland and Ireland far longer than that - it’s pre-Christian. I don’t know much about its history of being celebrated in England but I think that is fairly recent

Until the Romans turned up, all of the Britain Isles were Celtic. Including what is now England.

I'm in Kenton and can confirm that the big booming fireworks have been back for weeks (not to be confused with the Diwali ones, which all seem to be organised displays rather than huge explosions in the middle of the street when it's not even dark yet).

Kenton is fairly deprived (the estate where I live anyway) and has a similar demographic to Benwell, Elswick etc. Yes, it's pretty threatening here around this time of year, although it has got better since I moved here 20 years ago. Then, we woke up on 1 Nov every year to find out windows egged, and one year, broken. We live in a second floor flat so switch the intercom off on Halloween and I think that was taken as 'trick' by the local kids. Hasn't happened for a few years thankfully.

@mynameisnotkate In Wales it was Nos Calan Gaeaf

Assuming Nos is Night , what does Calan Gaef mean?