Do many Scottish people dislike guising (Scottish trick or treating essentially)

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Trick or treating seems so contentious, MN anyway, in England yet pretty much the same thing has happened in Scotland for decades. Growing up I don't think I knew anyone who didn't go out guising. Children go from house to house dressed up. They do a turn (wee Halloween themed joke or song usually) and they get sweets, monkey nuts etc in return. Where I am, you only go to houses with a pumpkin out and these are generally neighbours you know anyway with children of their own. It always seemed pleasant enough to me but are there many Scottish folk who actually really don't like guising? Who disagree with it in principle? Or because there can't be accusations of Americanisation, which seems to be one of the biggest criticisms of trick or treating, is it okay?

*yer

Scottish, never guised as a child, do not answer the door to guisers and don't do it with my own kids.

Not in Scotland but Ireland, and ‘going round the houses’ or ‘going on the pookey’ was pretty ubiquitous and uncontroversial in the 70s when I was a child. Cardboard masks, homemade costumes, you had to dance, sing or recite at each door, and the pickings were pretty slim — nuts, oranges, a few sweets. Completely compatible with a devout Catholic society, and decorations, masks etc made at school. It wasn’t until I lived in England that I encountered this (to me hilariously prissy) disapproval of ‘children begging’ and ‘Americanisation’, and DS’s village primary refusing to even mention Halloween because the evangelical vicar disapproved of it.

I'm in Ireland too and we always went out in bin bags and rotten plastic masks that would be soaking wet on the inside within minutes 😂 We either used to get fruit, sweets or money. This was in the 90s, everyone used to go out, we called it trick or treating as far as I remember. I always find the 'oh no, we couldn't possibly send our kids out begging' attitude on mumsnet really strange or the insistence that it is such an 'American' thing to do.

NE Scotland and yes to guising. Down South now but always took my bairns back home for the tattie holidays and guising.
Getting them to do a turn was hilarious. A big party in village hall on nearest Saturday to Halloween as well
Mum used to do it with a neep

I grew up in the rural far north of Scotland and guising didn't happen, but it did in the towns. We would dook for apples and have treacle scones and carve neepie lanterns. 5 November was very big, in the local village kids would go round with carved neeps to raise money for Bonfire Night treats.

We always went out guising, spent ages practicing our wee party pieces.
My kids are the same. DD had a whole load of jokes ready to go tonight.

I’m not Scottish, but I thought this might you might be interested in this OP. A few days ago the BBC Archive Youtube channel uploaded this piece about Scottish Guising and American Trick or Treating from 1984.

We had a violinist too! We’re they dressed as Harry Potter with a car for emotional support (to hold the music).

Fife here..... Guising is what I was brought up on. Although we've also lived overseas and England, always been trick or treating. On SW Scotland now and it's trick or treating.....

West coast of Scotland.
Guising, apple dooking, treacle scones.
We got nuts, fruit, some sweets and a few coins.
Now in USA, still a great family celebration but trick or treating now.

Northern Irish people do it too. We never celebrated 5th November.

North West Scotland here, I went guising, my children went guising and now my grandchildren go guising. We had some delightful children guising tonight. They all did a turn and were lovely.

Grew up in West Lothian and remember going out guising in the 70s and 80s. We only ever went to houses that we knew were receptive to guisers.

Where I live now is the same. There are lots of families and young children and generally if a house is decorated/has a pumpkin out, then great. If not, walk on by.

I don't understand all the negativity, but then it's a tradition I grew up with.

Love Halloween and my kids loved to go guising. Can't be bothered with the Americanisation though and all the trick or treat crap. Any kids rocking up
at my door tonight had to do a wee turn before any sweeties were handed over. It was a great laugh🧙‍♀️🧙‍♀️🧹🧹

We had loads of guisers tonight, in fact so many that I ran out of sweets before 7pm and had to turn the lights out so I didn't get any more at the door.

I don't remember doing it growing up in Glasgow (only going to planned Halloween parties) but my mum wasn't allowed to do it growing up as it was seen as begging (one of her parents was English so I don't know if it's just from that and not being used to it or if it was the other parent disliking it) so I think it took her a while to come around to it. We lived near a very busy road so it was only when we moved away to a smaller town in a quiet street we went out, usually only in the street though.

Both my DC are teens and they went out with their friends and had great fun tonight. I know some people won't give sweets to older ones but both of them came back with a decent haul.

I’m fromAyrshire and call it Guising. Went out every year as a kid and hit sweets, nuts, apples and tangerines. Monkey nuts are horrible now though.

From Glasgow and we always went trick or treating in the 90s and onwards and had to do our "turn". Now I live in the Highlands and there were kids out but only a couple stopped at our door and we had decorations up. More chocolate for me I guess haha.

I hate it. Not because I am Scottish, because I am autistic. We decorate the house and have a roast, play some board games and dress up. We don't go out knocking and we don't answer the door. I did do both when the kids were younger be due it was expected but I absolutely hated every minute of it.

From Glasgow, only ever called it guising and our 'treats' were basically just monkey nuts, tangerines and penny chews, or if it was a posh person's house we'd score the big time with some chocolate.

Aberdeen kid here - we went guising every year (80s/early 90s) as did loads of kids in our area. We went unaccompanied and only to the houses of friends and known neighbours - it was usually clear from decorations who was expecting/inviting guisers. The requirement for a party piece was taken very seriously! Also, I remember lots of parties with friends where we dooked for apples and ate donuts hanging on strings… fun times. We’re in London now and I had my daughter all ready to go with the spooky jokes tonight but no one asks round here!

I’m scottish and we always went out guising in our home made costumes. One year my friends and I had a whole song and dance routine that we did.

I would take my children round to certain neighbours in our cul de sac,who I knew
would be expecting them but we didn’t go all the way down the Main Street like i did as a child.

we used to get money and sweets and my kids got the same. We also had a carved turnip for a lantern although by the time my kids came along pumpkins were readily available and much easier to carve,so I’m afraid we went with those.

I didn’t get any guisers tonight to my door. There aren’t any young children in my street now and they don’t seem to come from the houses across the way to our side of the road so we don’t see anyone any more.

Live close to Edinburgh and loved guising as a kid.
my dad (not British) was really into it too, and painstakingly carved our turnip lanterns, which we carried with us as we went round the neighbours. I can still smell the charred turnip flesh!

had several groups tonight - all very polite. Nice to see kids out having fun. No kids in the house anymore, but I light a lantern and am happy to see any and all guises (or trick or treaters)

My DS is heartbroken every year as I won't let him go trick or treating as he has a nut allergy and everyone gives out or handles monkey nuts. I hate Halloween now! We did have kids come to our door as we had lit pumpkins out, we are in Scotland.

I went out guising when I was child, but none of the kids now call it that, it's all trick or treating here (north east Scotland).

I took my 10 year old and his friend out tonight and it was great. We only visited houses that were decorated and they both knew they needed a couple of party pieces (jokes) to tell if they were asked.

I had my little dog dressed up in a pumpkin t-shirt and had a pumpkin full of sweets to hand out as we walked around. My son's friend's mum took a over from me after an hour and I headed home with pumpkin doggy and my remaining stash of sweets. One bemused kid asked me if I was out trick or treating with my dog, I swear he gave me a sympathetic head tilt as he asked