Trick or Treat?

[Rizzo]

There are - yet again - calls to ban this. I wonder what other forum users think?

I know this is the Daily Wail - but do you agree?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/artic ... ldren.html


As a pagan, my way of celebrating and behaving on Hallowe'en is rather different. The front bay window is fully decorated with cauldron, candles, pumpkin and various other decorations, my front door and window always have the Wiccan Rede, a couple of spells for the dark of the year and the thinning of the veil, and a poster declaring that whatever you do returns on you multiplied by three. The local kids have grown up knowing I will have sweets to hand out, but only on Hallowe'en night, and I never give money. I even have satsumas for those who can't eat sugar or gelatine (somehow the Muslim and Hindu kids seem to love trick or treat). My carved pumpkin is on the back patio with the small fire pit I use later for my own stuff.

My daughter comes home from University specially, and we both dress up, either in scarey costumes (this year she's dressing as Zombie Belle from Beauty & The Beast and I'm Mrs Lovett from Sweeney Todd) or in robes and black cloaks. Mostly our costumes are better than the ones the local kids have, and often the parents come to the door too to see what we're wearing! The one year we didn't dress up they all looked so disappointed.

By 9pm it's all done, the decorations come down, the curtains are drawn and we go into the back garden, light candles and a small fire, and burn incense etc and remember our loved ones who've passed over.

BUT

I can see some will use the evening as an excuse to ask for money, wear masks and frighten people, to cause aggro and mayhem, and yet in the USA no-one does any of the egg throwing etc. If you want to take part you have a pumpkin out and/or decorate your house, if you don't want to take part,you put no decorations or lights out and people leave you alone.

I know it's another big marketing opportunity, and that a minority will make it look bad and wrong...but should it be banned? Is that a step too far?

[Kinoulton]

You don't ban the celebration, you ban the bad behaviour.

I'm no longer Christian, but I still love the way that families get together at Christmas and bring joy to their children. But I hate the loutish drunkeness of "office parties".

So with Halloween, I object to kids misbehaving and banging on my door, they set fireworks off which frighten the horses, because I wasn't expecting fireworks to go off on 29th Oct, so they were out.

I think if Halloween was still a pagan festival only, then I would buy into it, but it's just become another excuse for newsagents and supermarkets to stock up with loads of overpriced tat and for the XFactor and Strictly to force their contestants into the most dull and unconvincing characterisation outside of a 5 year old's nativity play.

[BJ.]

I always have two fully-loaded Super Soakers in the house, one sat by each door. If people want to try it on, I'm ready.

p.s. they work nicely on Jehovah's Witnesses as well!

[sam16111986]

You don't ban the celebration, you ban the bad behaviour.

+1. People whom the media deem guilty of anti-social behaviour, otherwise known as thugs, get away with throwing stuff at peoples houses and terrifying people but they really shouldn't. The police should throw them in the cells for the night and force their embarrassed parents to come round and collect them the following morning to pay the fine. It's the usual minority ruining a bit of fun for the majority.

Incidentally I'm not bothered with Haloween unless there's a good party being thrown but some people really enjoy it and it would be sad to see their fun ruined by a few morons.

[Kinoulton]

Sean Lock said the other night that he pre-empts halloween by knocking on kids' doors uninvited and saying to whoever answers: "If you come round to my house on halloween, you won't like it."

Who's in the wrong?

[cornish tigress]

Halloween is fun for the little ones so it would be such a shame to ban it. Dressing up is fun, and the idea of going out at night, even if your mum and dad tag along is so exciting for them. A few teenagers get carried away and use it as an excuse to be silly, but in our village, it's just a bunch of sweet kids who look more scared than you when you open the door. You can't ban that.