Halloween: Love it or hate it?

[Jonny Nexus]

Maybe it's because I'm an ex-pat American, but I don't get Guy Fawkes. Especially in this day and age, should we really be commemorating an act of religious terrorism?

Well there isn't really any meaning in it anymore, but in so much as there is, we're not commemorating the attempt - we're commemorating its failure. That's why we burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes.

 

[WayneLigon]

Love it, especially now that it's one of the biggest adult party holidays in the year instead of the quasi-marginalized kids-only holiday it was when I was a kid.

 

[WayneLigon]

* In the US, I believe that trick or treaters only knock at a house if the house has some kind of Halloween decoration. This is not the case in the UK. They knock on every door.

* In the US, people give sweets (candy) to trick or treaters. In this country, they generally just give money. In fact, an attempt to give sweets (as my mum once found) can result in you getting an earful of abuse.

Generally, kids are only supposed to knock on a door that has a porch light on, indicating that the homeowners are expecting visitors.

The 'trick' part has mostly gone out of style. Originally, you were supposed to 'trick' if the homeowner didn't give you anything. Any 'tricking' usually results in a call to the police.

I can only imagine the insane amount of chaos that would result here if you gave money instead of candy. Well, not really, since the practice would have killed off the holiday long ago unless you're giving each kid one dime (whatever the closest thing to .06 pounds is). If you're giving a 'quid or two', that's close to handing every American kid a five dollar bill (if I have the terminology right; a quid is slang for a Pound, and 2 pounds is about $3.50). Since in a neighborhood with lots of kids or if you go in for really putting on a production for Halloween (an increasingly common thing; see Yard Haunting) you can expect to have 150-300 kids show up...

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I like Halloween just fine - and next year it gets better. I'll get to go Trick or treating with my baby nephew.

 

[Captain Needles]

One problem with halloween in good old Salem, Ma these days, is the number of people who really don't care about the holiday, coming into town to drink and cause problems. It used to be that the city was filled with a lot of cool people, all checking out each others costumes, getting some pictures and enjoying the different events, stores and tourist attractions (the witch museum, the pirate museum the different wax museums and such). Now there are a LOT of drunken jerks in no costumes who wander around, molest the women, pick fights with random passers and generally get the cops very irritated. I saw many fights this year, and never have in the past. It's gotten so bad that at the end of the night, cops in full riot gear march down the street in a skirmish line and scream at people to get moving. Before they used to just slowly ride horses and motorcycles down the main streets and announce that "Halloween is over, please clear the streets". Stupid people ruin the fun for a lot of hardworking blue collar stiffs who just want to relax one night in town, and show off a costume they worked hard on.
This is why I now look forward more to my halloween party, rather than halloween proper every year.

 

[Quickbeam]

Despite being better than a week late with my reply, I'm going with "Love it!"

Why? Because it's a lot of fun getting dressed up in costumes with my kids and meandering around the neighborhood scaring neighbors and checking out other costume concepts. Even before I had kids I really enjoyed the creativity involved in putting together a really excellent costume idea and watching it come to life.

The candy is now, and has always been, an afterthought for me.