I took my son and niece out trick or treating tonight, and it seems like people have just lost that Halloween spirit. For starters, two families in our stairwell (out of five with children) informed me that they do not celebrate Halloween because of they consider it demonic. So, out of respect for their religious beliefs, we did not decorate the common areas. Bummer, but I can live with that. I wouldn’t want to invite demons into our building or whatever they think would happen.
Then we go out, and over 1/2 of the stairwells have no one out passing out candy. What gives? Are they all fundamentalists? Too cheap to buy a lousy bag of tootsie rolls? I don’t get it! And a lot of the stairwells that were passing out candy refused to give it to the little German kids who didn’t have costumes. Talk about scrooges. These kids saw something fun going on and wanted to participate, but nooo this is only for American children. (BTW, we live overseas in US military housing) Of course at the end of the night, they had lots of candy left over and wound up giving it to their own kids. Jerks.
Is this a problem where ya’ll live? Am I taking this way too seriously? Does anybody out there not like trick or treaters?
I’m really sorry you had a bad Halloween experience. I can assure you that in our small town in Upstate NY, Trick or Treating is alive and well, and so is all out decorating. I’m sitting here all excited waiting for my trick or treaters. We also have big parties at the schools and all sorts of fun stuff. Next year pay me a visit and we’ll celebrate together!!
A friend is someone who likes you even though you’re as ugly as a hat full of assholes. Zettecity
I wasn’t really in the festive mood when I woke up this morning but then thought what the hell, why disappoint all those kids in their glory. I went out and purchased candy and am waiting as we speak for the noisy little urchins.
“Only when he no longer knows what he is doing, does the painter do good
things.” --Edgar Degas
The thriving hamlet of Edmeston NY had its celebration last night. I happened to drive through and probably saw the most people out on the streets and on the porches that I’ve ever seen at one time. A combination of an agreed upon T&T time and warm weather had children and adults out in force. So take heart, Halloween is still alive out here in the sticks.
Oh great, it’s just me & where I live. Now I feel like somehow it’s all my fault.
Seriously, I’ve noticed this two years ago when I lived in a large town in the States, we even drove out to the suburbs and it seemed like most of the people weren’t home. Perhaps I need to move to a small town.
I’m glad ya’ll are having fun! (And Zette, you can expect me & two small children at your house next year. We’ll stay through the 1st so we can celebrate your birthday, too :))
Halloween was always my favorite holiday, even before Christmas and Thanksgiving. (So I was shallow as a child: Pilgrims and turkey? Blah.)
It was just so much fun! Everyone would work in secrecy on their costumes, the stodgiest homeowners would carve pumpkins for the porch, and some would create terrific almost theater sets for their houses and apartments. Everyone would turn out, you’d pass people you’d know (or guess at) and it was a great, fun time.
I miss it.
I bet a lot of other people do, too. I wonder how many kids today wonder at “grown ups” who zestfully work on disguises, because they don’t have the same fun frame of reference?
Shit, I loved putting on my costume and sitting by the front door w/ a big copper bowl of candy bars. (Of COURSE the porch was tastefully decorated w/ fake cobwebs, a plastic bat and a candle-lit Jack o’ Lantern!) It was such a blast, putting goodies in the bags/plastic pumpkins and pretending to be soooo afraid of the pint sized goblins and monsters, and oooohhhing and ahhhing over the princessess and Little Mermaids.
Damn. Now I’m maudlin. Reminds me of the wonderful Calvin Trillin and his paens to Halloween’s past. (His girls grew up, so now he “borrows” kids for the Village Halloween parade.)
We grownups have a damned lot to answer for. How did we ever let kids get so limited by real horrors that the fun of Halloween got lost?
(Oh, and fundie twerps are losers. They never did have a sense of proportion or a grasp of real evil.)
Well, here all the little kids came to the university to trick or treat on Thursday. I’m sitting here in the computer lab, wishing that I could pass out candy (don’t have any candy, or kids to pass out to) or at least find a ride to a Halloween party. Oh well. Happy Halloween, guys.
Hasn’t started yet on the west coast but I’m sitting at the ready with my Austin Powers garb on and a big bowl of candy and “Burger King” coupons waitin’ for the little monsters. I didn’t make a big deal out of decorating this year because I have too much other stuff going on, but I went to a wedding yesterday in Los Gatos and the people there were really going all out! There wasn’t a house on the block that I didn’t believe was haunted, haha.
Its only 6:45 here… I took my son out at 5 and since it was already dark there were quite a few out…and they keep on coming. Its definitely not like the good old days when my parents bought for several hundred kids… here at all the malls there are parties during the day to promote “safe” halloween. I kinda miss the good ole days myself.
We are, each of us angels with only one wing;
and we can only fly by
embracing one another
Two years ago, Halloween fell on Friday. Did towns in that area reschedule to Saturday to avoid conflicts with HS football?
In NE Ohio, a lot of towns have started announcing that Trick-or-Treat will be on days other than 10/31 and several towns schedule it before dark. (bleaahhh!)
I suspect that most of this is driven by paranoia about evil things going on, but I can’t be sure.
We had a decent turnout tonight. Our township uses 10/31 6:00-8:00 every year, so it feels pretty traditional. The only problems we have are connected to having only 50 houses in the development with wide frontages. A lot of the smaller kids can’t make the two-mile round trip to get to every house and the older kids head for the next development over where the houses are on top of each other. Each year some kids outgrow it and we don’t always have enough new babies to make up for that. We’ve had as few as nine kids on a sleet-filled school night to 80 kids on a summery Saturday night. (I think we had 30 - 40 tonight.)
You all may think I’m a bad person, but I don’t like passing out candy. I would much rather be out with my kids, watching them get candy. We live in a condominium complex, so I only saw maybe a dozen kids the whole night. We went by my in-laws house at about 8 p.m., and there were still a lot of kids walking around. Next year, we’re going to their neighborhood to trick-or-treat. They live on a street that has to be at least a mile long, and just about every house was lit up.
Shadowfox
“Most people would succeed in small things, if they were not troubled with
great ambitions.”
I had two lousy trick-or-treaters. Well, they were cute and all–they themselves weren’t lousy. But TWO?! I bought freakin’ THREE bags of candy to pass out!
The kids all know me here at this apartment complex. They always say “Hi Laura!” when they see me. I buy their fundraiser crap. They come in my apartment to see the latest fish in my tank. I talk to them, play with them, even. Frick. I had pumpkins on my porch, pumpkins on my doorstep, a Happy Halloween sign on my door…it was inviting! It was! Sheesh. There are probably 25 kids in this complex. Where the hell were they?
Um…anyone want some candy? I have Baby Ruths, Hot Tamales, and Twix. Actually, I’ll probably keep the Hot Tamales. Any takers for the other leftovers?
:::grumble:::
I used to think the world was against me. Now I know better. Some of the smaller countries are neutral.
I’m sitting here with lots of leftover candy. Fortunately deer season is almost upon us and I’ll be having at least half a dozen people walking in and out from dawn to dusk. Great way to get rid of the leftover candy if I can keep from raiding it myself for the next couple of weeks.
Like I said in another post,churches now have harvest parties for those who think Halloween is demonic. I’m sure the history is somewhat and supposedly the satanists have it as their Major holiday,not that I know. I loved it when little,a lady offered to give me and my friends live cats! We took off. My son and I go out. He says its a day to dress up and get candy,he’s got it right. Most of my church friends would be against that,like we were promoting satanism by going out,but theres a Big difference between going to a black mass and walking around getting candy. They connect the 2 though.There were halloween chick tracts taped a lot of places!
Last night we had a lot of trick or treaters.
One group really pissed me off. They were mostly middle-schoolers with one little kid–about 4 or 5. When I opened the door, they proceded to spray me and the porch with silly string. I said,“Look, do you want treats or not?”. Naturally they thought this was quite hilarious. I suspected at least one of them was drunk. I felt sorry for the little kid and what kind of example he was being presented. What were his parents thinking?
Everybody else was nice…There were a few kids w/o costumes…which annoys me…how lazy is that? But this one incident still sticks in my mind.
–Gail
“Predictable, really I suppose. It was an act of purest optimism to have posed the question in the first place.” --John Cleese
I had to work last night, delivering pizza in the suburbs of St. Louis. Lots of Darth Maul’s and Ninjas, and one absolutely ADORABLE little girl dressed as Madeline. Of course, it was no fun trying to stay on schedule while driving 10 mph to avoid running over the little buggers. Of course, it seemed as if everyone was having a good time. I did get blasted by about 7 teenage girls with silly string at one house, though.
didn’t get any kids here. but then I think its always so much fun when they say ‘trick or treat’ & you say ‘trick.’ This puzzles them & as their eyes wellup, you give them some candy.
