AMERICAN TRADITION, BRITISH REALITY

We had a good Halloween - as did expat Brit Paul Berger - but there's often a nasty edge to the fun and games in this country. In trendy Notting Hill the whole thing threatens to get out of hand, according to Boris Johnson's sister, Rachel. Somehow I don't think this scene would make it into one of Richard Curtis's soft-centred films:

Gangs of hoodies on bikes cruised around, casing premises for a more sinister return visit. Groups of incomers from other parts of west London arrived on foot, eager to catch the mass handout of free candy from the rich, in a sort of annual Notting Hill version of the Queen's doling out of Maundy Money, but with rather less ceremony...

The reason that Hallowe'en is such big box office in Notting Hill is that my neighbourhood is popular with American bankers, the only people left who can afford to buy houses in the area...

...Over coffee yesterday morning, I had a post-mortem with two moms, one American, one Canadian... "In America, you only trick or treat in your neighbourhood after a costume parade in class," said Hilary. "You wouldn't go to a rich neighbourhood just to score candy. And the costumes are way cuter. You get Simbas, princesses, ballerinas - not just all these... chavs in horror costumes you have here."

"Yeah," agreed the Canadian. "Even though in America you can buy an Uzi in Wal-Mart along with a pair of bedroom slippers, trick or treating is a neighbourly, homely-type celebration."

So it's our fault. We have corrupted what is a sweet custom, with our unique British ability to turn any festival, pagan or Christian, homegrown or imported, into a carnival of tat.

Sad but largely true. Not for the first time, I found myself explaining the meaning of "Penny for the Guy" to my sons the other day. Now there's a ritual that's died a death in, what, ten years? We'll probably be going to a bonfire at the weekend, though. (As fireworks seem to have turned into tactical nuclear weapons, I make a point of taking ear-plugs.)

Comments

[Jim]

"Sad but largely true."

No. Halloween can be pretty frightening in some places in the US, whatever tha American lady may say. Detroit has had a problem for years with arsons of homes on Halloween, which they call Devil's Night. Detroit also has almost no Irish or Scotch-Irish demographic, people who actually have a link to these customs, so maybe that's why it gets so wild. Maybe the same applies to Notting Hill? Maybe you need more Celts and fewer Saxons.

[Lee]

Just thought I'd comment on this quote:

"In America, you only trick or treat in your neighbourhood after a costume parade in class," said Hilary. "You wouldn't go to a rich neighbourhood just to score candy."

It's not true. It may once have been, but not anymore