To think my MIL is wrong?

[Bluemonkey18]

I was talking with gf mother (61) about carving pumpkins and she said that they didn't have pumpkins back in the 60s and instead carved turnips. She said they would put a candle inside and run around, rattling bins and scaring people. And that trick or treating wasn't a thing.

Yabvu to assume someone’s recollection of their own life is wrong just because it’s different to yours too!

Why would she be wrong if she was there and lived through it. Did you think she'd just made it all up?

We carved turnips in Northern Ireland.

Why would she be wrong? I grew up in Northern Ireland in the late 70s/80s and we had turnip (swede) lanterns. I'd never seen a pumpkin although I'd read about them in books.

It was called Mischievous Night in the Yorkshire in the 70s, but was on 4th November not 31 October.

I'm 43 and in the North West we always used turnips. They looked like this.
A piece of string was threaded through so you could carry it like a lantern with a candle inside. I can remember the smell, so distinctive.

carving turnips was normal in scotland

Lancashire in the 70s/80s it was definitely turnips and swedes. No trick or treating until later in the 80s.

Amazingly a thread where the MIL was right.

How fucking patronising.

RTFT for the number of people who carved swedes and turnips.

Yep. Carving swedes and apple bobbing were basically what Halloween was in the 60s (East Midlands in my case). No trick or treating.
We were very resentful when it first became Americanised. I stl am if I'm honest!😂

But you are absolutely unreasonable to think your MIL is wrong. Why would you jump to that conclusion? Ageism? She's old so she can't know what she's on about? It's her own life she's taking about for goodness' sake. You're really not going to be impressed when you're her age and your adult kids assume that you don't know anything, not even about your own childhood.

I'm 64 and grew up in South London. You couldn't buy pumpkins back then. We just didn't have them. We didn't carve anything and trick or treating was definitely not a thing back then.

I remember going to a Halloween party at Brownies. That would have been in 1969 or thereabouts.

I'm an 80s kid. Swedes all the way. Carved, with a string handle - we carried them trick or treating. I can still smell the inside of the lid where the candle scorched it 🥰. There were no pumpkins in my childhood.

You weren't there, how on earth can you assume she's wrong. FYI, she's not, you are.

North east of England, parents in their 60s who ran around with turnips with candles in on Halloween.

Good grief. I was born in the mid 50s and believe it or not, I still have a functioning memory and am reasonably intelligent.

This is absolutely correct. My husband used to carve turnips or swedes as they are sometimes called. No one had heard of pumpkins in the 79s/80s. It was a hard job to carve out said turnips as they are rock hard. Candles were then put inside. My husband would attach one to a long clothes prop and tap on the children’s bedroom window. Open the curtains to see every glowing turnip face at the window. Yes to banging bins and gates too.

. Your MIl is absolutely right. Hallowe’en was not as it is Americanised today. We used to call it “ Duck Apple Night”.*

I bet if you asked any child now what Halloween really means they would not have a clue. **

Happy days. My sons are now all Grandpa ages and still laugh about how Dad frightened them. Happy also to say they are still normal non stressed men now despite the turnip face and still talk about it now.

• Hallowe’en (Hallow ‘een (evening) - Holy night before All Saints Day on 1 November - hallowed = holly
• ”Duck Apple night” x . Children with hands tied behind their backs tried to bite apples that were floating in large bowls/buckets of water - hence “ducking”.

.

The MIL is correct, in this instance

I’m in my early forties and remember arguing with the innards of a turnip. I can also remember the smell of the warm turnip as the candle got going.

No pumpkins, didn’t really see those until I had my own children.

Yep she's right

Recently 62 and from N Ireland.
Your mil sounds how it was when we were growing up.
We used turnips ( we never had pumpkins in the shops) back then. We rapped doors and ran away hid bins and garden ornaments ( put them back next day)
Certainly no trick or treating. We often made witches hats from layers of paper or card. I still know how.

Op, you must pay penance to your gf mum!
I know (some) younger folk think that if you’re past a certain age, that you must have taken leave of your senses!
it would be so nice of you to acknowledge your error to her…. If it were me, I’d be happy to hear your honest and profuse apology 😂

Yes she's right.
halloween is an Irish thing, centuries old. The Irish took the traditional celebrations with them when they emigrated to scotland, england and the us.
it predates the American trick or treating.

I am in my fifties and have fond memories of my dad carving turnips with a sharp Stanley knife so that we kids could go Rhyming with our lighted turnips.

in fact, I still make the kids say the rhyme at the door before they get sweets if they rock up and say Trick or Treat. And all of them still know it btw.

halloween is coming
and the goose is getting fat
please put a penny
in the old man's hat
if you haven't got a penny
a ha'penny will do
and if you haven't got a ha'penny
then god bless you!

Yorkshire, circa 1987 there’s a photo of me dressed as a witch (black bin bag and paper hat) holding a carved swede.

Your MIL is describing the same things as people I know on their early 70s would have experienced.
Cant understand why you would doubt her, sounds all reasonable??

They DID carve turnips.

I'm 37 and remember carving hacking a turnip as a child. No idea how I've still got all my fingers really between carving turnips and getting holes through conkers to compete with friends!!