AIBU to hate Halloween and Bonfire night.

Oh timetogo you’re a woman after my own heart ?
We’ve never celebrated Halloween-why celebrate something evil not good?
We lived on a new housing estate full of young families when our DDs were born. Some American students came to the local primary school and introduced this nonsense. There then followed misery-including involving the Police! The school head said how much she regretted it ?
I agree about fireworks too-what on earth folks who have arrived here seeking safety from war zones will think I can’t begin to imagine!

I do not mind Halloween and used to put a pumpkin out and get sweets for the children. For the past two years I haven't, due to illness and Covid and I won't this year.
Bonfire night and fireworks is another matter. One of the neighbours had a bonfire gathering on a local swing park last Saturday - no warning. They were very close and loud and my poor animals were so scared. One was a quivering wreck hiding under the stairs behind a recycling bin. The other just hid somewhere. They should be for organised displays and one night only - bah humbug

Halloween has definitely got americanised since my day. As children, we went to people we knew and asked for our Halloween. We had to sing, or dance or tell a joke to earn it - it was good fun, none of the threats. I thought the Treat or treating was confined to Aberdeen where there were a lot of Americans living. When we moved to Harrogate it was definitely Trick or Treating, they came by the car loads probably from Leeds. Since we moved to the North of Harrogate we haven't had one trick or greater!!

Since our DD off loaded her dog on us, we have been unable to go to the firework display, the poor dog is absolutely terrified, w couldn't possibly leave her. I did love the display, but hate the way fireworks go off willy nilly, day or night scaring the poor dog.

Thank you Newquay.

Halloween is British not American they just made it tackier. The little children love the dressing up and seeing all the shops decorated. Trowbridge has a pumpkin trail which we will be taking our two grandchildren to explore around the town tomorrow. They are 4 and 2 and will have fun counting the ? and once they get bored I will tell then they have found enough to have a trip to the park then a warm chocolate at the coffee shop. Then on Sunday they will come here with their parents for a Halloween tea in costume. I’ve celebrated All Hallows’ Eve most of my life and decorate my house with homemade felt decks, like bats and friendly ghosts and knitted pumpkins as well as a few cuddly black cats.
Unlike bonfire night which I dislike all my cats over the years have hated the loud bangs. I wish it was only allowed on the day plus the nearest Saturday for public displays.

I used to love Hallowe’en… always dressed up with my young daughter, and decorated our hallway and front door. When the door was opened we had a huge inflatable pumpkin, pretend webs, spiders, cauldrons and the like..

In 2010, I lost my Mum, so Hallowe’en wasn’t on our agenda as we were still grieving.

Had lots of knocks on the door, but didn’t answer it. Then heard a loud bang at the front door and walking to open it I heard a voice say ‘Open the door you B****! Bring out the sweets! Then another say ‘The big fat c@!* is probably inside stuffing them down her throat!’

In fury I pulled the door open to find four 10-11 year olds that I’d happily provided treats for, for the previous 5 years. They’d thrown a brick at the door, expecting me not to answer.

Well, they (and their parents!) certainly met a witch from hell that night. I must have gone from scary to gruesome in the space of two seconds.

Haven’t done Hallowe’en since then… nice to see the little ones dressed up and having fun with their parents though. When they’re supervised it’s nice… when the kids are out on their own is when it becomes nasty.

You can print off a poster now from the internet to put on your door to say no Trick or Treaters.

I am a right grumps
2 things bother me
So many poor people can’t feed their kids etc
And money wasted on fireworks and people starving
And pumpkins used for a carving

Wouldn’t mind the pumpkin carving if I heard that the pumpkins were also used for food

And the cost to buy canned pumpkin !

I am a Christian so Halloween is a definite no no.

Always made pumpkin soup out of our pumpkins… and chopped up the remains after Hallowe’en into smaller parts for the wildlife in the garden. Nothing got wasted

From across the pond, Florida. I lived in London in the 1960s. I enjoyed learning about your custom of celebrating Guy Fawkes. There were so many porches decorated with “the Guy”. My neighbors had a bonfire with us, sausage rolls and Scotch eggs from MS. ‘A Penny for the Guy”. Nice memories. Agree concerns with fireworks, rubbish, etc. I love hearing how all of you have done decorating. BlessScones for all her work. AND grown in the garden not to mention how hard they are to carve. To each his own. Enjoy! I miss those sausage rolls.

You are entitled to like or dislike anything you want!

I grew up in Scotland and loved halloween, as we celebrated it then, but I dislike all the American ghosts and tombstones you see now.

I always hated Bonfire Night, which fortunately was hardly celebrated in Scotland. Buring the guy seem so hideously cruel to me, as did Punch and Judy shows which were popular at children's parties.

Why on earth would you choose to celebrate the fact that criminals were executed formerly?

My children never did Trick or Treat or had fireworks. They chose a little present instead . One year they wanted fireworks so I bought some and we had a little display in the garden. They were disappointed and said it was a waste of money. Public fireworks displays are no better. The one at our local cricket club has been taken over by louts from all over town and there’s always trouble there. Last year there was a stabbing.

Billybob4491

I am a Christian so Halloween is a definite no no.

I'm probably going to regret asking, but why?

Not trying to start an argument, it's a serous question.

I always thought Halloween came from "all souls eve" or something?
A religious thing.
I'm afraid that is all I know, but I'm interested to know it's origins.

Petera, to me Halloween is a celebration of the dark side, its ghoulish and quite frankly awful. Enough said.

I remember Halloween as ‘duck apple night’ when I was a kid. there was the odd pumpkin, but that was about it. The trick or treat thing was imported from the US - I seem to remember reading somewhere that it took off here partly because of the Scenes in the movie ET where the kids were dressing up to go trick or treating. I quite like watching the children making their way round the neighbourhood - the very little ones with mums or dads, and usually buy in some mixed sweeties and crisps, and put them in a pillow case so that the trick or treaters can have a lucky dip. Turnout is quite good here with lots of people dressing up their front paths etc. Not so keen on bonfire night because the fireworks are usually going off weeks in advance and my dog hates them !!

Lots of aspects of Halloween now (including the awful trick or treating) is an American import - yet another way to get people to spend money on (usually) plastic tat. However my elderly neighbour, who lives alone, loves it as she keeps a big bowl of chocs by the door and gets to chat to lots of children (often with their very grateful parents) so who am I to complain?? I don't mind about fireworks but bangers should be banned (our poor pets). When we were young it was confined to one night (just penny for the guy usually the day before), turnip lanterns; a bonfire constructed on a nearby field, and the whole neighbourhood would go along, and then smaller party gatherings with friends - apple bobbing for the kids; then sausages and toffee apples, sandwiches and drinks for the grownups But I DO remember one little girl getting badly burned and we weren't allowed to go to a bonfire after that - has put me off ever since.

No, OP, you’re not being unreasonable, you’re entitled to your view.
I love both, as do my grown up children and grandchildren. I used to have a big bonfire party up until a few years ago, safely controlled with fireworks and food. Now we enjoy other people’s.

Sago, myself and my teen granddaughter did Scaresville for a few years. It’s a haunted village in long Milford Suffolk held at Kentwell Hall. It’s one of the highlights of my years dressing up as a ghost or a China scary doll and scaring paying public. I’m so ‘Scaresville sick’ as it’s been cancelled because of Covid. So I really don’t mind the pumpkins but draw a line to £ land shite!!

@Petera. All Hallows' Eve was when the Church traditionally held a vigil during which worshippers would prepare themselves for the following feast day - All Hallows Day - with prayers and fasting. It was originally celebrated on 13 May to honour St Mary and the Martyrs and the name comes from the Old English ‘Hallowed’ meaning holy or sanctified. Later it became All Saints' Day, a day to honour all the saints, and then evolved further, to specially honour those saints who didn't have a festival day of their own.

Pope Gregory IV made the festival universal throughout the Church - the festival was moved to 1st November, and subsequently became All Saints' Day for the western Church. Many Hallowe'en traditions have evolved from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, which was a celebration of the end of the harvest, and preparation for the coming winter. Early Church missionaries chose to hold a festival at this time of year in order to absorb existing native Pagan practices into Christianity, so smoothing the conversion process and the Orthodox Church celebrates All Saints' Day on the first Sunday after Passover, keeping closer to the original 13th May.

I absolutely loathe Halloween. So much money wasted on costumes etc. And the ghastly trick or treating- though I do get treats for my visiting grandchildren. The only Halloween we or our children had was a pumpkin lantern.
I do like Bonfire Night, though I don't go to a party now I used to love them.

It's a choice. Our family always celebrate Halloween, but not Bonfire night. My road has a lot of children, they all dress up, they come with their parents, my long term neighbours; its a bit of light fun at a dark time of year. I used to make a lot of bits and pieces but when I was cross examined about whether they contained nuts a few times I stopped (better safe than sorry) now I buy miniatures of choc bars and say everything has nuts. We don't do Bonfire night as one of my cousins was killed on that night in the fifties. Someone threw an army rocket on the fire, it shot out straight through my cousin's chest so it's a matter of respecting that memory for us.

Brought up in Scotland where there was no trick or treating. It was guising. You went to a door to ask "please help the guiser". You had to do a little song, verse of a poem, tell a few jokes, anything entertaining and was rewarded with money. The money collected was either saved or handed over to parents to buy fireworks for Guy Fawkes' night. Therefore I find the modern Trick or Treating akin to begging and can't for the life of me find it has anything to do with Halloween. The plastic tat generated for the occasion is awful.

Pammie1

@Petera. All Hallows' Eve was when the Church traditionally held a vigil during which worshippers would prepare themselves for the following feast day - All Hallows Day - with prayers and fasting. It was originally celebrated on 13 May to honour St Mary and the Martyrs and the name comes from the Old English ‘Hallowed’ meaning holy or sanctified. Later it became All Saints' Day, a day to honour all the saints, and then evolved further, to specially honour those saints who didn't have a festival day of their own.

Pope Gregory IV made the festival universal throughout the Church - the festival was moved to 1st November, and subsequently became All Saints' Day for the western Church. Many Hallowe'en traditions have evolved from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, which was a celebration of the end of the harvest, and preparation for the coming winter. Early Church missionaries chose to hold a festival at this time of year in order to absorb existing native Pagan practices into Christianity, so smoothing the conversion process and the Orthodox Church celebrates All Saints' Day on the first Sunday after Passover, keeping closer to the original 13th May.

Yes thanks Pammie - I understand this (but not in the interesting detail that you have given). However, given that it was part of the liturgical year and dedicated to remembering the dead I can't quite make the link with disliking it for purely ‘Christian’ reasons, unless it’s a similar argument to objecting to Christmas because it’s mostly not related to its original purpose.

Have never 'celebrated' Halloween and luckily I live too isolated to be bothered with trick or treaters.
I am amazed at the 'tat' for sale which will end up in the rubbish bin, the cost of it all and the dangerous fireworks. So many people are moaning - perhaps more p.c. to say complaining! - that they can't afford the essentials in life but can afford to send it all up in smoke. I am aware that there will be the usual retaliatory remarks, but I have my hard hat on and, luckily, we haven't all come from the same mould!!