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Simon Phipps's personal commentary

Knowing Jack

Jack

As a child I was never really aware of Halloween (as far as I remember - my parents may correct me!) and that's the way it's stayed now I am grown up with children of my own. It's never been very appealing to me - lots of emphasis on dark things that seem best ignored.

My American friends are shocked by this. Halloween with friends last year helped me understand why. Over there it's not dark - it's an opportunity for very small children to dress up in extreme fancy dress and wander the quiet streets of residential neighbourhoods visiting all their neighbours and being given handfuls of sweets which they collect in huge carrier bags. Unlike here, everyone understands it because they too fondly remember their childhood excursions.

As far as I could tell everyone in the neighbourhood participated with amusement and humour, with parents shepherding their small charges around the streets and kids plucking up the courage to knock at every door in the firm conviction of a warm welcome. It may be "Trick or Treat" but no-one had "trick" in mind for a moment. My hosts last year had decorated their home as a cobweb-infested grotto and the adults participated tongue-in-cheek and shared a drink while the children raided the candy.

The height of lunacy for them is the attitude of the Washington state school district that's banned Halloween:

The district said Halloween celebrations and children dressed in Halloween costumes might be offensive to real witches.

"Witches with pointy noses and things like that are not respective symbols of the Wiccan religion and so we want to be respectful of that," Hansen said.

I actually have at least one friend who would probably sympathise big-time but that's beside the point - banning Halloween would be like banning the school nativity play.

My American friends would therefore do well to read the article in Friday's Guardian, a liberal UK newspaper, explaining what we're all worried about over here (an ASBO is an Anti-social behaviour order, which is an official restraining order mainly used against teenagers with ugly attitudes). The problem is that most people had my experience as a child and thus lack the treatment of the day as a festival for the tinies. Instead, "trick" is the emphasis and no-one much seems to have a "treat". It's treated here as an excuse for older kids to misbehave:

On October 31, yesterday's baby-faced terrorisers, firework-toting toughs and wannabe burglars become - for one night only - putative local community leaders, spreading neighbourhood solidarity by going door to door demanding sweets with what are often (more or less) menaces.

I've heard plenty of Britons saying this is one American invasion we can do without but I actually disagree. This isn't an American invasion - the US equivalent is actually pretty harmless in my experience. I'd say this is a symptom of Britain's cynical yob culture that we can do without, and I'd be thrilled if I never heard the word "Halloween" outside the US again.

Update: My friend Liz paints a great picture of what Halloween is like in the US.

posted at 4:33 PM (UK) | |