American Invasion

[kerravonsen]

Well. I have just had my doorbell rung by children in costume. This is a first. Yes, in all the years I've lived in Australia (which is not equal to the years of my life, mind) I have never had trick-or-treaters at the door before.

My first words to them were "But this is an American custom!" If I recall correctly, their response was "But it's fun!". I was so flustered, I can't recall what all of them were wearing, though one girl had fairy wings on, and one boy had a beard, I think he was dressed as a pirate.

Anyway, I decided to be nice to them, and then ran around trying to figure what I could give them. There aren't usually bikkies or sweets in the house (though there were some sweets in my bag, they were loose). I knew I had some filled marshmallows, though possibly not enough. Then I recalled the assorted box of Lindor chocolate balls I was saving for Christmas. I said to them, "You're lucky, I was saving these for Christmas." I gave them one each, but from the gasps when they saw the box, they did appreciate what they were getting.

Aren't I good? 8-)

I am also good because I did 15 minutes on the treadmill just before the doorbell rang. I was going to do ten, but I persisted. Mind you, it's the first time I've done it all month, so I am not that good.

Comments

[lizamanynames.livejournal.com]

You are good, go you! I'm helping a freind take her children round tomorrow (because it's tomorrow for us) - I'll probably never get too old for costumes on halloween!

[kerravonsen]

But do you get candy when you take kids around? 8-P

[lizamanynames.livejournal.com]

Sometimes... it helps, looking far younger than you actually are.

*adjusts halo*

[kerravonsen]

*adjusts halo*

Because it's slipping?

[lizamanynames.livejournal.com]

*grins*

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

::cough::

"There is none good but God." ;-)

OTOH:

"Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."

Am glad for you that you had something to give them. I haven't had trick-or-treaters in about ten years, but I always have a bag of candy on hand at Halloween, because if I didn't I'd be afraid I'd have to turn someone away empty-handed. That would bother me.

[kerravonsen]

"There is none good but God."

Yes, quite so.

"Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."

Why, thank you.

because if I didn't I'd be afraid I'd have to turn someone away empty-handed. That would bother me.

I think it would bother you more than it would bother me, because... for them to get anything at all was a bonus for them, and they knew it, because it wasn't a reasonable expectation for them to expect anyone to be prepared for trick-or-treaters, since it just isn't done here (except rarely). Wheras over there, it is expected.

But why no trick-or-treaters in ten years? Is it the demographics of your neighbourhood?

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I knew it wouldn't bother you as much. Though totally apart from the expectations here, I am my mother's child: being a good hostess is a major issue for me.

I think the lack of trick-or-treaters here is a combination of three things:
1) Not a lot of children in the area. We have mostly older families and retirees.
2) Semi-rural, with houses far apart or well back from the road; lots of woods and brambles and such.
3) A decline in trick-or-treating generally due to safety concerns. It had fallen off a great deal when I still lived in the suburbs. Though I suppose that could just be due to a tendency for neighborhoods to be homogenous, and all the children growing up. But it seemed to me that people were switching to parties in preference to the dangers of going door-to-door.

[kerravonsen]

But it seemed to me that people were switching to parties in preference to the dangers of going door-to-door.

It's not as dangerous here. Though there are places I wouldn't want to walk about at night, my local suburb isn't one of them. These kids were unaccompanied. There were five of them, though, of varying ages. Which probably means that some or all of them were siblings. I wonder whose bright idea it was?

[drednort.livejournal.com]

Wow - we've been getting trick or treaters for years where I live. Actually since I was a kid (though I never did it).

I think kids have an instinct for any tradition that leads to the possibility of lollies.

[kerravonsen]

Really? There wouldn't be any American Air Force bases nearby, would there?

[drednort.livejournal.com]

No, no US bases of any kind.

It's dangerous saying things like this, but honestly I think it's a sign of the generally low education level of the people living in my area. They get virtually all their knowledge of the world from television and I suspect a lot of the parents probably aren't aware that this isn't an Australian custom.

With the recent immigrants, I think it's understandable - they are trying to fit into a new culture that to them probably seems virtually indistinguishable from America - but with the ones who have lived here all their lives, I really think it comes from only learning about the world from television - bear in mind I know people around here who think that George W. Bush is the leader of Australia and John Howard is some sort of deputy.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

You're lucky to have escaped for so long. In the UK, it came in about twenty or thirty years ago. I've seen it suggested that children got the idea through watching the film Halloween (which in theory they shouldn't have been able to see, of course).

[kerravonsen]

Well, there's enough American films and TV featuring Halloween nowadays that it would be hard to pin down where the idea came from now.