Halloween is here! This doesn't mean what you think it does. Halloween is a little different in Des Moines. I was 3 or 4 years old when I started trick or treating. Mom and Dad would would plan our costumers and have them constructed by mid October. On October 31st, we would go to school and spend the last hour of our day in a class party eating orange, white and other fall color frosted cupcakes, drinking orange punch, and eating popcorn balls and carmel apples. We'd sing silly songs before the teachers sent us home. My sister and I would run through the front door to ask mom if we could go trick or treating. It was always a terrible disappointment to find we'd have to wait until after dinner, so we'd spend the rest of our afternoon helping Mom make popcorn balls. Once the sun went down, one of the parents would stuff us into our costumes and we'd pile into the car. I almost always fell a huge let down because noone would be able to see our costumes. In the Colorado mountains, Ocober 31st was always too cold and snowy outside to be wearing only Halloween costumes. We'd go house to house knocking on doors and yelling "trick or treat" gathering candy. Once in a while, someone would sneak in a toothbrush. Scott's description of Halloween growning up in Des Moines is a little different.
In Des Moines, children trick or treat on October 30 - Beggar's Night. Beggar's Night has protocals. From 6pm - 8pm, children dress up in costumes and go door to door. Like Halloween, they knock on doors and yell "trick or treat." Thats where the similarities stop. On Beggar's Night, the correct reponse to "trick or treat" is "whats your trick?" Each child then tells a joke and are rewarded in turn with candy. No joke means no candy. It doesn't really matter if the joke is funny or logical.
I haven't experienced my 1st Beggar's Night yet. I am told that the customer started in the 1930's in order to protect children from violence that had been escalating on Halloween night in Des Moines. having never known the experience of trick or treating on Halloween night, many of these children from the 1930's passed along the tradition to the next generation and so forth. In fact, scott thinks it odd that children in other places don;t tell jokes for candy and he had a hard time understanding that I never worked for my candy. If a grown up asked me for a "trick" and refused to give my my candy, I would have been confused and gone away hurt and in tears! That wold have seemed very cruel to a little girl Kirsten. As a side note, I think Ty would love Beggar's Night becasue he loves telling his Nina silly jokes!
Our new home is in a very family friendly neighbood so, I'm sure we'll have lots of children tonight. I don't know if its customary to express tidings on Beggar's Night but here I go anyway. Happy Beggar's Night or Happy Halloween everyone! Take lots of pictures of the kids before you go out trick or treating so we can see all the costumes!
