Submitted 12 hours ago by A_norny_mousse@feddit.org to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
Serious question, I have no idea. Is there an established tradition, sequence of events, rule?
I just asked some kids, and they said they’d come later and secretly do some trick on me, but they didn’t seem too sure about it either.
Mark Twain talks about tipping over outhouse and other pranks as the main activity on Halloween. So I guess if we assume he’s an honest narrator of his time (definitely in doubt…) then trick or treating is a mass extortion
Immediate civilizational collapse.
Time to rip the Band-Aid off.
That’s how you get egged and/or TPd.
I grew up in the 80s and we never had any tricks. Older generations did, it wasn’t nice. Like they’d break stuff. Decorations, pumpkins, nothing major. But we never did
They’ll shit in your jack-o-lantern
I did an Uno Reverse one year where I had one of these ready to catch them off guard:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSrPp40lHVY&pp=ygUYZnV6en…
I had a few extras to give away if they chose trick. Was fun times especially the poor few kiddos that reacted more strongly to seeing it sudden slither out of my hand hahaha.
The “trick” is usually some kind of innocent vandalism like throwing toilet paper around. That being said, as a kid I was never prepared for that and never had it happen
You did not keep a dozen or so eggs in your treat bag for that contingency?
Not an option (in the US) with the current egg prices!
The original idea was that the “trick” was the default (some type of mischief or vandalism) but the costumed (annonymous) tricksters would give the person a chance to be spared by offering a “treat” instead.
We’ve gone so soft…
When I was a kid, there was no Halloween in our culture, but on a slightly similar occasion our verse ended with “…or we break a hole into your house”
Where I’m from we just did the “trick” part. Ran around in dark clothing on 30th April* in the late evening, fairly distributing toilet paper if we were unimaginative, and painting cows violet if we were more creative. General mischief, is what I’m saying, none of that bargaining for sweets, your house is going to be TP’ed and you’ll like it because the alternative might be actual property damage.
* I… think that was the date. It’s been a while and I don’t live there anymore.
Had some kids at the door a few minutes ago. Your “trick or treat” is a bit longer and elaborate in our language here, and involves the word for “wallpaper paste” as it rhymes with our word for “ghosts”.
So I replied with “Wallpaper paste? I think I have a bucket in the basement, just a moment!” And turned around towards the stairs.
You should have seen their faces…
is a bit longer and elaborate in our language here
Pleeeease tell us the original :-)
Sorry, can’t. I never sung it, and only heard it twice in my life.
Straight to jail
When I was a kid they came back and egged the houses that didn’t give out candy.
And teachers' houses got egged anyway.
One of the wittier guys in the trailer park I grew up in did that trick where it looks like you can pull one of your fingers off from one hand. As an 8 year old that was fucking cool.
Another time he did the quarter behind your ear trick and then gave us the quarter.
To this day, I still remember it more than any other Milky Way or Babe Ruth candy bar I ever got. So yeah, go for it, make an impression.
Where I’m from it’s not really trick or treat. It’s just treat. If they see a house that has any form of Halloween decoration, they’ll visit it expecting a treat. They skip houses that have no decorations with the assumption they are not participating.
You sound like you run the risk of going to prison.
Just throwing that out there.
ieatpwns@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Trick or treat is actually a social contract you give treats so kids don’t eggs your house
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 12 hours ago
My family never really did Halloween.
I mean I kinda went trick-or-treating for the first 2 Halloweens in NYC, but then I just felt like it was too childish. But I was 10, idk who I’m calling childish, I was literally still a child, maybe its the social anxiety.
We never gave out candy (I mean… we were literally broke ourselves), and idk what this “you’ll get egged” come from, that never happened.
glimse@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Halloween is huge in the suburbs, not so much in the city. I lived in the city for almost 20 years and my doorbell never rang once on Halloween. People don’t even really decorate.
The threat of a trick is just for fun, though. If someone answered the door, they are giving you candy. If they don’t, oh well! To the next house! Pranks like throwing toilet paper or egging (way less common) was for friends, enemies, and random houses. And that was teenagers doing it, not trick or treaters.
I’m back in the suburbs this year and am really looking forward to it starting in 2 hours. I have a ton of candy and homemade dog treats! I’m gonna ask them what their trick would be…maybe I’ll come back and share some of the funny ones.
ieatpwns@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
This is anecdotal but I’m born and raised in nyc and if I got raisins the house got eggs
sopularity_fax@sopuli.xyz 10 hours ago
Would be a reeel shame…