Terry Wogan has a knack of resonating with us old fogeys – quick to ridicule the sacred cows of conventional wisdom, he is often saying what I am thinking, which was why I used to enjoy his breakfast radio programme. And so it is today on the thoroughly nasty little import from the USA, trick or treating.
The pumpkins and the “trick or treating” are an American import, and while we thank the Yanks for the turkey that they brought us for Christmas, we were all content enough with: “A penny for the guy!”
Although, of course, the implied threat is the same: hand over the money, sweeties, cakes or biscuits or your front door gets raw eggs or a new paint job.
Nothing, be it Bonfire Night, travellers, students in tents, disappearing pensions or the rest of the rubbish that the long-suffering, taxpaying majority has to put up with, gets up the nose more than somebody’s little darlings looking for handouts on a dark night, when they should be tucked up in their little beds. It brings out the latent curmudgeon in all of us.
Oh, and before someone tries to claim that this is the modern version of souling, it is nothing like it. Souling was the offering of prayers for the souls of the dead in return for food – i.e a fair exchange of goods and services, not making threats of a trick if treats are not proffered; that is nothing more than making demands with menaces. Nor does it bear any relationship with samhain, the Celtic tradition marking the end of the harvest and the coming of winter. This is nothing more than a commercially sanctioned exercise in extortion.
Wogan suggests that there is no real solution to the problem and he is probably right, there is no sign of it going away. Indeed, the shops are full of Halloween merchandise as commerce sees an opportunity in all of this. Not that I have a problem with people celebrating it with a party, for example, I’m all for a party. It’s the knocking on strangers’ doors making demands that I object to – the arrogant assumption that because they want to celebrate, others must be co-opted into their “fun” regardless if whether they want to or not. That’s what really gets my pip.
In previous years, I have simply ignored the doorbell. Unlike Wogan, I am not embarrassed that they know I am at home. Indeed, I make no attempt to hide it. I don’t switch off the lights or try to make the house look unoccupied. I just ignore the bell, as I do with the dreadful Carol bus that calls round a few weeks later. Let ’em know. It doesn’t bother me one jot. They are intruding on my peace and quiet, so I am under no obligation to enable their behaviour. And to those who complain that those of us who resist this little exercise in extortion are miserable, I would merely say this; imposing one’s own fun on those who do not actively choose to take part is inherently wrong – as is making demands with menaces. Objecting is not a sign of being miserable at all.
So, as in previous years, there will be a “no trick or treat” poster going on the door tomorrow and the doorbell will be ignored. Oh, yeah, I’ve never given a penny for the Guy, either.
Is “souling” the same as “sin eating”?
I’m Welsh so I know about sin eating. Never heard of souling though.
Trick or treat, like so many ideas that come out of America are just scams to part people fromn their hard earned. I know of souling, it’s a Roman Catholic thing here in northern England but I believe is still done as a local tradition in rural areas all over the country. (info from a school in Kent) My wife who is (or once was) a Catholic says All Saint’s Day is also known as All Souls Day so that makes sense of a few things.
Seems like quite a nice idea. Nothing like trick or treat .
I did get the local trick or treaters a few years ago however, did myself up as Papa Lazarou from League of Gentlemen, opened the door to each lot and said, “Hello Daaaaave, do you want to buy some pegs.”
That’s given me an idea, anyone know where I can get an Obnoxio the Clown maks for future use? 😀
MM – sin eating is quite different 😈
Ian, toussaint or all saint’s day is the 1st November, all soul’s day is the 2nd.
I understood the trick or treat was the option of the householder, not the person knocking on the door – that is to say whatever was gifted to the visitor may be a trick or a treat depending on what was given – sweets or something else – though I am ignorant of what might have been a trick, despite having been in the US at the right time – we only did treats.
Winston Smith
Correct me if I’m wrong Winston. Are there not certain unwritten rules that the Yanks tend to observe? Such as it’s for the under 12’s only and that houses without halloween decorations are left alone.
We usually pretend not to be in, but since the recent arrival of little Saddam, we have started to have a few misgivings. What if he wants to dress up and go out trick or treating in a few years like all his school friends? Do we forbid him? Or do we accompany him like many parents in our area seem to do, to make sure that he behaves.
Back in my dreadlock daze I did once turn the tables by unleashing said locks before answering the door, then letting out my most horrific shriek before slamming the door and running upstairs.
Winston – that’s a new one on me.
Maaarrghk! – I believe that it is correct that in the US there are unwritten rules that people follow.
I shall be offering the little darlings carrot sticks tonight. No sweeties.
I shall tell them that sweeties will turn them into little fat bastards and then they will die before their mummies and daddies.
Mr.L
Ignoring the US Johnny come lately impostor for a moment, did you ever stand next to some sad imitation of a proper Guy Fawkes effigy with a cap out on the floor in your younger days?
Just wondered…
No. I never felt inclined and if I had, my parents would have forbidden it. They disapproved of begging from strangers. Just as they disapproved of burning human effigies. I agreed with them and still do.
I thought not.
I joined in with my friends on this a few times. I didn’t and don’t see it as begging, in the sense that one creates a Guy for the entertainment of the passers by and they (in my experience anyway) throw money into the hat in direct proportion to the entertainment worth of the Guy. A poor Guy brought little or no reward. Perhaps a useful early life lesson?
As to burning an effigy, I can’t say I ever saw it as that (although I of course understood the historical context), in the same way that I never saw a Golliwog as somehow representing a black person, this was just a Guy.
Sometimes we can be too worthy; it’s just traditional working class childhood fun.
Talking of golliwogs, I used to collect the Robertson’s models as a child. I also had a Pelham Puppets marionette of a golliwog as well. It may even be buried amongst the stuff in the attic for all I know.
My attitude towards guys isn’t about worthiness, it is about what it represents – the burning of a human effigy is pretty revolting, frankly. And entertainment? Well, maybe, maybe not. I’m inclined towards my parents’ view, though – it is asking for money from complete strangers – forcing them to make a decision. So, yeah, begging. I look upon it as the same as chugging and anyone else who forces themselves upon others who are minding their own business.
I’ve nothing against working class fun providing people are not forcibly co-opted into it, which is why I have nothing against people holding parties for example. It’s the knocking on doors, disturbing other people’s peace and quiet that I object to. Perhaps because I really, really don’t like mine being disturbed, eh?
As I said, I understand what it is supposed to represent, except it doesn’t any more does it, and certainly not for some ten year old oik anyway.
Also, I don’t see how standing next to our variable attempts at guy manufacture mumbling the proverbial ‘penny for the guy’ constitutes forcing myself on someone either. And if it’s akin to anything, it’s busking, since it’s money in return for street entertainment and not simply begging, or even chugging, which involves all sorts of other issues as you well know. I really can’t imagine people were or are offended by this sort of activity and even if they are, surely there’s freedom issues in play here that my friends and I were entitled to enjoy. You can always walk by and look the other way if you don’t want to transact business with us. Finally, I can assure you we were not knocking on doors, trick or treat being something entirely different and of more recent date of course. Straw man arguements? Tut tut.
As you are so often correctly pointing out; we can’t have our entire existence decided by what someone wants to take offence to.
There is no strawman argument at all. When I was growing up, kids most certainly did knock on the door asking for a penny for the guy, so, yes, it was an imposition. Not that it happened very often and certainly not as often as trick or treat. I don’t accept the entertainment value – standing in the street asking or money is begging, frankly and calling the guy “entertainment” is stretching it. Although, yes, we can ignore it just as I ignore anyone who tries to approach me for money when I’m out and about.
Interestingly, my circle of friends didn’t do it, probably because their parents felt like mine. It was dying out even by the mid to late sixties and is no loss.
I never mentioned being offended, I simply do not like it – just as I do not like any form of imposition – whether it is chuggers, salesmen, religious proselytizers or kids asking for sweets.
As for what it represents to a ten year old is irrelevant – it does still represent a person and as a ten year old I was perfectly able to understand why my parents regarded it as abhorrent. It is abhorrent.
Nothing I’ve said gainsays this. There is a difference between being annoyed by something and being offended. And pointing out that certain behaviours are annoying and intrusive is merely exercising my freedom of speech.
You may be interested to know that the Trick or Treating thing seems to be dying out, even in the most afflicted areas. I live in the Pendle area, and thanks to several mostly-harmless old biddies getting judicially murdered several hundred years ago, the local sprogs have traditionally been extremely “into” the Halloween festival. The centre of the thing is the village of Sabden, just up the road from me; the police usually impose a one-way system over the Nick of Pendle road, thanks to the hordes of morons generally milling about, and even hoofing it up Pendle Hill, and this on a dark night (how many of ’em come to grief doing this I don’t know; I suspect quite a few).
In previous years, the local kids were wont to be knocking on doors for a few weeks before Halloween, seemingly unaffected by varyingly polite versions of “It isn’t Halloween tonight, that’s on the 31st, now bugger off!”, and doing so with such persistence as to annoy most people into simply ignoring the doorbell on the actual night. This last Halloween, I made a point of staying at work really late and dilly-dallying on the commute home so as not to arrive too early, however I also increased the sensitivity of the webcam that stares out above my front door.
Trick or Treaters were notable by a near-complete absence this year, and not because of particularly foul weather, either. Granted it was windy and a bit wet but folk are tough up north; you need actual howling gales, horizontal rain and freezing temperatures to put kids off round here, and even then it takes time for them to get cheesed off. I can only conclude that they’re simply getting less tolerant of being told to get lost.