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Non-US Members: October 31 is the night in the US when kids dress up in costumes and visit homes to ask for candy. A nice custom, though perhaps overdone by some parents. We had some kids who were so small that they were carried by their parents, and were unable to talk... No doubt Mom & Dad have a sweet tooth. :)
We had about 12 here, told them to stop begging and never ever come here again, then slammed the door.
It's the other way around: [holidays.net...]
There are a few other possible orgins, but everyone agrees that the tradition started somewhere on the British Isles, as a British, Irish, or Celtic... "thing".
I always think it's a rather hurtful practice - especially when poorer elderly persons are asked for treats by hordes of young kids... not to mention the fear some elderly people living at home have...
I always think it's a rather hurtful practice
Well, that's the first time I ever heard that! Here in the US, it's commonly known that if you don't want trick-or-treaters, just leave your porch light off.
It seems to me that the elderly and the lonely especially enjoy this night.
No?
They were each given a package of SweeTarts and a candy bar. One of them said, "Is that all?" lol They were only four or five. From the street we heard their dad say, "Thank you!"
<ETA - My partner said that when she was a kid in Canada, they sometimes got strange religious mini comic books from people. No one in my neighborhood ever gave them out. Is it just a Canadian thing?>
My nearly 6-foot, 15-year old son still loves trick-or-treating, but not the cutesy costumes that most wear.
He and a friend put on their high school baseball uniforms and collected 400 pieces of candy. They could have probably doubled the take if they had carried bats with them.
I think you´ll find that Halloween is actually an Irish festival, originally a pagan festival "Samhain", designed among other purposes to give thanks for the autumn harvest and to herald the dawn of winter. Irish children still dress up and go from door to door asking for fruit,nuts and to a lesser extent candy. Halloween games, halloween bracks (cakes with a ring in it) and bonfires are also very popular and the reason for dressing up also has its roots in the ancient celtic celebrations (more pertinent to the supernatural elements of halloween than the harvest thanksgiving). Just a quick clarification, and although it is a bit late "Samhain shona dhaoibh go léir" - happy halloween everyone.
Those primordial roots were lost long ago in the U.S. However, many Halloween festivals on our coasts still feature "fruits and nuts."
"halloween bracks (cakes with a ring in it) and bonfires"
Putting anything unexpected in a goodie is sure to make the evening news. And bonfires don't go over well in California.
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Most popular, and sickest costume this year: putting blood on ones neck and a small stuffed tiger...going as Roy, from Siegfried and..."
That really is bad taste. I am sorry to hear that you don´t have that many Halloween traditions. The barn brack one is that you eat a cake which has a ring in it and whoever gets the slice with the ring will probably get married within the year (or else may have financial success for the year) - I assure you it is nothing sinister. Kids love playing halloween games with apples etc. and the reason people dressed up in the first place was allegedly to avoid being carried off by evil spirits etc. By disguising themselves as one of them they thought the ghouls would leave them alone.
Anyway hope everyone had a great Halloween
PBG
