Do you prefer Halloween or Bonfire Night?

[LilyAB]

YABU - Halloween 🎃
YANBU - Bonfire Night💥

My (adult) "kids" still want the rigmarole of Halloween - decorations, dressing up, special meal and sweets, which I happily oblige. I hate fireworks (always have).

Neither.

I used to love bonfire night but in the last 15 years or so it just seems to have morphed into a couple of weeks of which idiot can make the largest 'bang bang noise'.

Neither

Bonfire Night. Because it's my birthday!

Halloween. It's the traditional autumn festival where I grew up, and we didn't have bonfire night, so I have so many fond memories of past Halloweens, with traditional food and games and fun and community. Taken over the full period from Halloween to All Souls Day, it feels cozy, but also a really meaningful time for memory and reflection.

Bonfire night is full of loud scary bangs and I am kind of uncomfortable with the whole reenactment of an actual execution thing, but I do realise that they are both essentially the same festival, about warmth and fire as the nights get dark. It feels shallower than Halloween, without the aspect of thinking about our dead loved ones and our own mortality, but that might just be because it's not my cultural tradition and so I don't get the nuance.

Such was the tone of conversation around the dinner table about the house of commons growing up under Thatcher in an area decimated by her policies, that I spent several years as a child under the impression that Bonfire Night was a celebration of Guy Fawkes giving it his best shot 😁

Yep.

Halloween, in its traditional sense is a wonderful celebration, how it was celebrated historically. But the modern day trick or treating, dressing up in naff supermarket outfits and the consumerism of it really irritates me.
As for Bonfire night, if you think I'm going to celebrate Guy Fawkes failing to blow up parliament, you are very very wrong. That is nothing to celebrate.

Bonfire night. Lots of childhood memories.
Halloween is for us, and always was when younger, a complete non event.

Yep, me too 👍

I’m terrified of fireworks. At primary school in the 80s, our headteacher used to put up disturbing warning posters about playing with fireworks, which made things even worse 😨plus MIL hates Halloween and is always on about bonfire night

So it’s Halloween for me.

I really like both but I think Halloween. We've had a lot of fun making decorations and carving pumpkins, the kids loved it and have a stack of sweets. We go to a local fireworks display which is amazing but packed. Always huge queues for everything.

Given a choice, Bonfire Night. Even though it seems strange to celebrate the failure to kill a King whose son was executed and then grandson deposed ultimately in favour of a German.

Definitely bonfire night. I absolutely love it, all the wider family comes around to our farm to watch the bonfire and fireworks and drink port and eat the vat of chilli con carne (or similar) I make and play with sparklers.. I just love it, such a magical atmosphere.

Neither.

Love them both. Bonfire night just edges it.

I love Halloween personally. DC love dressing up to go trick or treating, I always make a Halloween inspired evening meal and we watch The Nightmare before Christmas before bed. It’s a fun time of the year.

Bonfire Night is ok but I always find it overrated. Standing around in the cold and usually drizzly weather too to watch fireworks which are always the same, once you’ve seen one…

Agree with this.

My dad used to do a fire pit and in the fire he would be jacket potatoes and we would make toast. Then do fireworks in the garden. Lovely memories.

I know love Halloween with DS but it wasn't a big deal with I was younger - I did duck apple with my mum and dad!

Halloween definitely. At least people have a choice in whether to take part or not and it lasts for just one night.

Bonfire night is basically used as a excuse for several weeks of arseholes setting off explosives in confined areas, endanger animals and increasing the amount of admissions to A&E. Absolutely unnecessary.

Bonfire night was bigger when I was a child.

The shift to bigger, crowded, pre-bookable displays has turned it into a rigmarole.

Halloween is simpler and more flexible. It's easier to do with the one DS who is interested.

I used to prefer Bonfire Night - back when I was a kid and whole town walked up to the Westwood to the bonfire and dsiplay. Hot dogs and warm doughnuts. Used to take the dog with me - he was an awesome dog who never bothered about crowds or loud noises etc. He just enjoyed eating the dropped food.

However, these days I prefer Halloween. Spooky-themed food and a good scary movie on the telly. Bonfire night won't really register much.

I just think bonfire night is a bit over really. Halloween is the midway gap between early autumn and the run up to christmas. It has gone a bit far tbh, but I prefer it any day over bonfire night which is usually lots of waiting round in the cold to watch some rather crap fireworks. Lots of unnecessary loud bangs well before and after scaring my dogs. I live near a beach and loads of people come down in the cold and rain to set them off. Why. No thanks.

I like the community bit of bonfire night... I'm helping to run the official village, lots of money is raised for the community group, everyone has fun.

But dislike random fireworks.

Halloween... its great for younger kids. But even normally nice level kids can become a bit grabby. And idiots can ruin it.

Both should be fun... but its idiots that can ruin either.

Neither. Hate them both and am very glad I now live in a country that mostly ignores them and where you can’t buy fireworks over the counter - organised displays only