Trick or Treat

I have always been unsure about this. I see English people on TV saying it an American import. But in Northern Ireland kids have gone around the doors on Halloween for as far back as I can remember. Except they ask for money rather than sweets, and they don't say Trick or Treat. they sing a rhyme (but recent years this has changed the the American Trick or treat) the rhyme goes:

"Hallowe'en's coming on and the goose is getting fat,
Would you please put a penny in the old mans hat,
If you haven't got a penny, a halfpenny will do,
If you haven't got a halfpenny, God bless you."

But when I talk to some people from England and other parts of Ireland they don't know what I am talking about.

This was Jimmy Saviles favourite day of the year

I remember celebrating Halloween in Scotland when I was a kid. You'd have to sing a song, tell a joke, do a dance to get money.

I think it was also an excuse for the adults to have a cheeky drink with their neighbours, can't blame them it baltic out there.

Quote: lofthouse @ October 31 2012, 6:21 PM GMT

This was Jimmy Saviles favourite day of the year

View original

Yes, it was his birthday.

You hardly even knew it was halloween when I was a kid, I think the BBC used to put carry on screaming on, The first time someone knocked on the door saying trick or treat I had no idea what they were on about. Innocent unamerican days, mind you we didn't know about Savile then

Quote: Badge @ October 31 2012, 7:02 PM GMT

Yes, it was his birthday.

View original

And Christmas

Quote: Badhead @ October 31 2012, 6:14 PM GMT

But in Northern Ireland kids have gone around the doors on Halloween for as far back as I can remember. Except they ask for money rather than sweets, and they don't say Trick or Treat. they sing a rhyme (but recent years this has changed the the American Trick or treat) the rhyme goes:

"Hallowe'en's coming on and the goose is getting fat,
Would you please put a penny in the old mans hat,
If you haven't got a penny, a halfpenny will do,
If you haven't got a halfpenny, God bless you."

View original

That's technically begging, isn't it?

And I thought that rhyme was a Christmas thing?

I now don't trust Northern Irish kids.

Quote: shaggy292 @ November 1 2012, 6:52 PM GMT

That's technically begging, isn't it?

And I thought that rhyme was a Christmas thing?

I now don't trust Northern Irish kids.

View original

Isn't that the title of martin mvguineses autobiography?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20172392

S'pose it beats a lolly . . . .

Hallowe'en has been a big thing in Scotland for a very long time but none of this trick or treat nonsense. The kids dress up to go 'guising' (probably from 'disguising'). They go round the doors and tell you jokes, sing songs, or recite. You then reward them with apples, oranges, nuts, sweets. My mother never let me go guising - think she was frightened a Scottish Jimmy Savile would get me.

We saw 11 people trick or treating. Not one of them was wearing a Halloween costume but all were carrying bags which they expected to be filled with goodies. Saddest of all was that a group of three had their mum (I assume) walking a short distance behind them with a pushchair and asking them what they got after each knock on a door, making rude comments if it wasn't much.

I live in the middle of nowhere and have never heard a peep. We had a girl pop by with her dad this year and I felt so guilty as we didnt have a thing! Oops..

I miss the good old days when you could pelt windows with eggs, then run like a fooker, from the bad ass Dad of the house.
Its all just to nicey now and not a trick in sight. just an expectation of a treat.

When my daughter is 3 I am sending her out with her big brothers tear gas and maybe a little rifle.

Aaaah those halcyon days...

Knocking on an 90 year old woman's house at midnight scaring her half to death

Then throwing rocks at her windows if she didn't give us some stuff

And that would have happened to her probably every ten minutes for about five hours

She spent the night on the verge of cardiac arrest

And we all had a good laugh

Everyone's a winner!

P.s. Yes I'm being sarcastic - trick or treeting should be outlawed and any perpetrators should be burnt to death on big bonfires