Halloween

We didn't have Halloween when I was young, but we did have Guy Fawkes Day which we don't now have. It seems that in recent years we've reversed the substitution of Guy Fawkes Day for Halloween which I understand occurred in Britain in the 17th Century*.   Of course, the change in the 17th Century had strong puritanical overtones, whereas the reversal in recent years seems to be related more to the banning of fireworks and the importation of trends from overseas than anything else.

I'm not sure that I entirely approve of Halloween as it now stands, but be that as it may, we respect the care that some local families go to to make it enjoyable for their children.  Each year we get an invitation to participate, which we do.     My biggest problem is identifying the children whose families have gone to the trouble of planning the event as against the "free loaders" who just arrive at the door step. 

This year, we're planning to have two categores of "treats", with the better category reserved for the younger children and/or the better costumes (especially where there are parents just outside the gate!), and some more "basic" handouts for the ones who appear less-deserving.

* - based on some very quick research on Wikipedia, so apologies if this is an over-simplification!