Beggars Night

Beggars Night, or Beggars' Night, is a regional term for the practice of going "Trick or Treat" in the period before Halloween night. Beggars Night emerged to address security concerns over young children involved in unsupervised Trick-or-Treating. Instead, younger children were encouraged to Trick-or-Treat on another night, before Halloween. The chosen date for Beggars Night varies and is typically dependent on the day Halloween falls each year.[1] Beggars Night typically begins after school and often conclude between 6 and 8 PM.

Regional celebrations

The practice is used in Ohio, Iowa[2][3][4], Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and western New York.[5]

Buffalo, New York

In the Buffalo area, Beggars Night falls on October 30 and is a scaled down version of Halloween.[6]

Des Moines, Iowa

In Des Moines children ring doorbells, say "Trick or Treat", then tell riddles or jokes such as, "What did the priest say when the church caught on fire?" "Holy smoke!"[7][8]

Columbus, Ohio

In Columbus, Ohio, a 1954 police report claimed that Halloween festivities had gotten too rowdy, and the city discontinued Trick-or-Treating. As a result, the cities surrounding Columbus started celebrating the day before or the Thursday before Halloween.[9][10][11] The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) sets Beggars Night dates for the region. For both 2018 and 2019, Beggars Night takes place on October 31.[12]

Washington, DC

In 1950s Washington, DC and its immediate suburbs, Beggars Night fell on October 30. On Halloween night (Oct. 31st), schools held student costume parties.

Vermont

In parts of 1970s Vermont, Beggars Night (October 30) was a night for playing tricks. Trick-or-Treat came on Halloween.

Seabrook, New Hampshire

In Seabrook, New Hampshire, Beggars Night is observed.[13]

Houston, Texas

In 1993 residents of Candlelight Plaza, a small neighborhood north of the 610 Loop in Houston, Texas, decided to end Trick-or-Treat for kids who lived outside their neighborhood. They moved celebrations to October 30 and turned out lights on the 31st. Residents' average age of the residents then decreased, and more people go out on Halloween. However, the majority of residents (and adjacent neighborhoods of similar socioeconomic status) continue to celebrate Beggars Night. No person who enters is denied participation on the 30th, but some residents treat it as a private party whose details should only be shared with those personally known by the residents. Unlike other Beggars Night celebrations, this was not created or promoted by a municipality.

In popular culture

On the week of October 27, 2014, some of General Hospital's characters celebrated Beggars Night. [14][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ America, Protect. "13 Scary Halloween Safety Stats | Protect America". www.protectamerica.com. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  2. ^ "2014 Beggar's Nights". Active Dayton. October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  3. ^ Brogan, Thomas (September 27, 2014). "2014 Beggars' Night in Central Iowa". Des Moines Parent.
  4. ^ Linh Ta, [email protected] (October 29, 2014). "Beggar's Night schdule for metro". The Des Moins Register. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  5. ^ "Beggars Night". Lawyer, Guns, & Money. October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  6. ^ Delaney, Patrick (October 31, 2014). "Kaisertown Beggars' Night". Time Warner News. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  7. ^ Challender, Mary (October 30, 2014). "Jokes set local Halloween apart". Des Moines Register. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  8. ^ "Halloween Is More Funny Than Scary In St. Louis". NPR. October 31, 2011. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  9. ^ "To treat, or not to treat, on Oct. 31". The Columbus Disptach. October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  10. ^ Thompson, Mike (October 29, 2009). "Beggars Night – Socialism Run Amock". WOSU Public Media. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  11. ^ Williams, Joe (October 24, 2012). "Some Licking County cities, villages pick different dates for Beggars Night". Newark Advocate. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  12. ^ "Central Ohio Trick or Treat". MORPC. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  13. ^ "Keep Your Kids Safe This Halloween". Hampton-North Hampton Patch. October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  14. ^ "In today's episode all the kids are celebrating beggar's night, Franco and Scotty have a father/son moment and Sonny reaches out to Carly!". General Hospital Daily Dish. October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  15. ^ "GENERAL HOSPITAL - DAILY UPDATES". Soaps She Knows. October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.

This page was last updated at 2019-11-08 05:52 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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