Mischief making

When I was a child Halloween was a lovely, innocent, magical event. It was the one night of the year when children were allowed to be 'a little bit naughty.' Halloween is linked to the mischief that 'the little people' get up to on one night of the year. The Elves, Pixies, Leprechauns, Goblins and other fairy folk were supposed to go afoot throughout the land on Halloween creating mischief at everyone's door ... because children were little people they too were allowed to have fun on this night.

Many youngsters would choose to do the age old pranks of their parents and grandparents before them ... the favourites being to knock on someone's door and run and hide and then stifle the giggles as they came to answer finding no-one there. The adults would shout "Who's there, who is it?" ... and those who were decidedly grumpy would add "... be off with you." Children would tie gates so that they couldn't be opened. Milk bottles would be clanged together. Pine cones or acorns would be tied to a piece of thread and hung near windows to that the breeze would cause them to knock with each gust. All was innocent and would result in ever increasing fits of laughter that made the belly ache until it was supper time.

Nowadays, such innocence has been lost and there is a pseudo Halloween practice that has billowed up resulting in shops being crammed with orange and black plastic items. Knocks come to the doors and there are little children often walking the dark, cold, silent streets alone, some holding hands with another of around the same age ... from about three upwards. Then there is the other end of the spectrum, youths who appear to range from 14 to 18 knocking doors, looking decidedly menacing and indicating that a gift of money would be a good option.

This latter idea of Halloween has been transported from over the ocean but as with most traditions has somehow changed in its translation when it reached our shores.