Happy Hallowe'en!

[Catherine]

Midnight Madness - animated Flash ecard by Jacquie Lawson

Catherine.....

[dig deep]

I have to wait. This coming Friday night ....

[rolf]

Sorry missed this Catherine. Was a quiet night, just a few groups of little ones before X-Factor.

Is it on a different dte in Sweden Chris? this Friday is of course our Guy Fawkes Night.

[ladylouise62]

I had one set of knocking early evening, but it was right during a sensitive bit of cooking - so it may or may not have been T.O.T.ers. There aren't too many youngsters around this area though and although when I first moved here I would get hulking great teenagers grunting on the doorstep, even those have now grown up. I've never had to run a proper Hallowe'en evening

[ladylouise62]

...and thanks for that E-card Catherine, it's really nice.

[Catherine]

They don't 'Trick or Treat' in Scotland. (I thought that was an American habit before we moved south!)

In Scotland, the children have to prepare a 'party piece' - singing, reciting, telling jokes, dancing/other. They are invited into the house and need to perform before getting their Hallowe'en! (Was it ever like that down here?)

[rolf]

They didn't use to trick or treat down South either, only really in the last 15 years or so.

[Catherine]

'They didn't use to trick or treat down South either, only really in the last 15 years or so.', Rolf?

15 years make three fifths of a generation!

It's such a shame that another fun tradition has become Americanised to the point where flour and toilet rolls can be thrown by child guisers at householders who don't want to take part. What a way to bring up the next generation........

(signed) Grumpy old lady

[rolf]

15 years is a full generation in certain parts down here.

[dig deep]

Yes we wait as we don´t celebrate Guy Fawkes here in Sweden and we really don´t buy the US Halloween - we have a Saint Day Saturday and the shops try to make us like the Halloween idea. We don´t buy that.....

[ladylouise62]

Mum says that they had 'Trick or Treating' in Ireland when she was a kid, so maybe the US got it from there - and then ramped it up as they normally do

[Catherine]

Yesterday, 1st November, was 'All Saints Day' here, Crister.

We were told when young that we should go out in scary guise on the night before that to chase all the bad spirits away - so the saints would have nothing to do on their special day - thus Hallowe'en!

Any religious significance was lost with us though - an irreverent lot, we just used it as an excuse for some fun!