Trick or Treat?

[RichardCranium]

Is it ok to give small change instead of sweets?

If you want every chav in the West Midlands to knock on your door, yes.

[Platypus]

If you want every chav in the West Midlands to knock on your door, yes.

Oh, is AtW looking for additional VC funds?

[OwlHoot]

The one day of the year when the little darlings who otherwise are never let out of doors are trained in how to beg from strangers and how to demand money with menaces.

As far as I am concerned it is illegal, and the parents should be arrested and fined for condoning it.

End of.

Bah, humbug!

There's a long tradition of kids begging one way or another. The boys at Eton College once had an ancient custom called Montem, where once or twice a year they would walk for miles around selling pinches of salt to passers by, in a manner that almost amounted to begging.

[Pogle]

I LOVE It!!
We bake special 'scary fairy cakes' and I buy in loads of sweeties for the kids.
Pogle Jr really enjoys dressing up and handing out the goodies.
We also go trick or treating to our neighbors houses, but only the ones with kids.

We never have any problems and its all done with good humor.

[PRC1964]

I tolerate it.

Our road is quite small and has a few families with kids of around the same age. They get fed at one house and then trick or treat the other houses who have said that they don't mind.

The little old lady at No. 7 always joins in and makes hot chocolate in a big "couldron" for anyone who wants it. The kids don't go on to other houses and we have never (12 years so far) been trick or treated by anyone not living on our road.

[Bagpuss]

It's fast approaching that time of year when young children seem to think they are in the states and trot around door to door begging for sugared treats and then if they don't get any doing some mischief to your house.

Do you generally ignore the incessant doorbell chimes, close the curtains and put trip wire and landmines outside your house?

Or do you get into the spirit of Halloween and decorate your doorway with carved pumpkins and bake cookies for the little 'uns?

Or are you off down the coven to celebrate new year?

Why not celebrate All Saints day instead?

[norrahe]

According to *cough* wikipedia, guising was started in Britain and Ireland. It's only the phrase "trick or treat" that came back from the States.

Me and the kids enjoy it. Mind you, we'll be in rural Ireland where everybody knows everybody else and it's still quite traditional so the kids are on their best(ish) behaviour and the adults can party.

Back in the oul sod it was common on "oíche shamhna" aka Halloween to go out and sing songs in costume door to door. We did not do the whole "trick or treat" business and people generally gave coinage. If you were particularly good singers and had the nous to get some instrumentalists in tow you raked it in.

I assume its very much become the same trick or treat nonsense in Ireland these days. It used to be very much about the religious festivals of all saints and all souls.

I did enjoy the token nod to the pagan festivals of leaving food out for departed souls, as we seemed to do in our house.

[RichardCranium]

We also go trick or treating to our neighbors houses, but only the ones with kids.

We never have any problems and its all done with good humor.

neighbour's
humour

You may as well have put "y'all" at the end.

[Gibbon]

Do ye not do it for Guy Fawkes or whatever? Oh Christ I don't know!

I think you're thinking about mischief night which was practiced 'oop north' on the 4th Nov. Great fun as a kid, knocking on doors after tying the opposing doors together, wrapping dog tulipe up in newspaper and setting light to it on a doorstep etc etc. Probably asbo terrority now.

[SupremeSpod]

I live too far away from the nearest village to get bothered, then there's the 8' high gates, the double layer of electric fencing, the dog run and minefield to contend with.

Any truth in the rumour that they modelled the arming compound at Coulport on your place?

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