Trick or Treat

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

Does anyone know when trick or treating is in Somerville? Thanks!

EDIT: I meant what time is the trick or treating...

Comments

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

31 October 2008

[ellf.livejournal.com]

Oh, ho, I can be like the hip kids: "THIS."

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I almost decided to be uber-hip and say "FIRST"

[elbren]

Why do computer scientists confuse Halloween with Christmas?

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

31 oct is 25 dec

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Well, that explains the funny looks we got on August 12. I should have asked here first.

Friday

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

There's no official time, and the date doesn't get moved around. At some point after people get home from work, kids hit the streets on October 31st.

(Please forgive me if I'm overly blunt; I've never lived anywhere where Halloween did get moved around, or where there was an official time or anything.)

Re: Friday

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

This is why I was wondering actually - just moved here this year, and where I'm from in NH, they had really strict times that varied from town to town. It was always announced on the local news, and since I hadn't heard anything around here it made me wonder...

Re: Friday

[ron_newman]

There are towns and cities elsewhere in the US where a different night than 10/31 is designated as "beggars night" -- often 10/30. But not around here.

Re: Friday

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

In NH it gets moved around a great deal and scheduled at very specific hours.

this year most towns are picking Friday cause that makes sense, but my home town picked Thursday for no good reason.

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

I live towards Teele Sq and last year we had little kids (infant neighbors up to maybe 6) starting around 530-6. Then once it was fully dark we had all the regular kids (7+) and we went out at 900 so I dont know if they continued..

[jovianconsensus.livejournal.com]

9:00 is about the time the punks who didn't even bother to wear costumes show up.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

This is not at all a ridiculous question: I grew up in a town in Massachusetts where the trick-or-treat hours were specified by the local police and published in the local newspaper.*

And this was back in the 1970s.


*Note: It wasn't like they'd come and bust you for giving out candy after 7 p.m. or whatever, but they would say "Official trick-or-treating hours are 5-7" and put on extra patrols to make sure kids were safe during that time.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

*Note the second: By "safe" here I mean not "safe from imaginary pedophiles" but "safe from speeding cars and trucks, especially at intersections."

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

holy shit guys, seriously. we have this thread EVERY YEAR.

reponses are condensed as follows:

a.) OCT 31ST LULZ! [a la, lulz, what's that white stuff falling from the sky?!]

b.) no guys it's a legit question even if she did mean the date not the time, the man is totally keeping our kids down!

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

I've heard of places having "beggers day". I never knew NH had different days though. That kind of takes away the point of Halloween or at least applies it to another day.
Somerville used to be great for Halloween. The streets used to be packed with kids. Unfortunately that is one of the sad changes in Somerville. We're lucky if we see one trick or treater now.

To Be Fair...

[sundaisy-summer.livejournal.com]

Some towns do set trick or treating for a day other than Halloween. Not totally sure the fun in the that, but it does happen.

Re: To Be Fair...

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I think in some places it happens because it would be the end of the world if a big football game and trick or treating happened at the same time.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

I wanted to hand out candy this year but sadly I have a soccer game at 7:30 in Brighton. A couple of my friends have suggested I put out a bowl of candy and a sign asking kids not to take the entire bowl (which seems like exactly what I would have done as a kid). What do you guys think? Can I trust the kids around here??!

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

No.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

We put out a bowl of candy every year because we take the kiddo out from door to door. Usually trick-or-treaters take a reasonable amount until about nine. Around nine, you might lose the entire dish.

[moocow1985.livejournal.com]

That only works if you put out something that kids don't really want, like mini boxes of raisins.

[suzybuzz.livejournal.com]

did anyone answer the question?

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

jamiesquared and chenoameg did. Basically, it starts a little after 5 and goes until around 9.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

Thankfully, Somerville still trick or treats 'the old-fashioned way'. We do it on Halloween night, and it starts usually as soon as it gets dark (sometime around 5). What's the point of trick or treat on a day other than October 31st?? IN my neighborhood we get LOTS of trick or treaters (someone counted 200 last year), but it does vary by neighborhood, and unfortunately, many have so few kids now. We get our last stragglers between 8:30 and 9:00.