What’s that saying - “America sneezes and Australia catches a cold.” It does kind of suggest we need to be own people with our own culture, but with its foundations being set in dollars, it’s doubtful anything will change. That said, I do note in our area that kids go to houses doing the “advertising”. I also note that more and more, kids are supervised which is pleasing otherwise “stranger-danger” is usurped by trick-or-treat. In the past I’ve joined with Chinese people to celebrate their New Year. It’s been fun and I’ve appreciated that they know what they’re celebrating. I’m not sure that same can be said for Halloween. At the end of the day, thanks BrendonMays - a good write!
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Don;'t care either way.
Not sure why we adopted this holiday? Kids eat enough garbage most days. This day is the worst… too much sugar, too many preservatives and since when annoying people and begging for candy is acceptable?
We also adopted Cyber Monday and Black Friday… next Thanksgiving will be one of our traditions as well.
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Sell more crap? “we” didn’t adopt this holiday but someone in Australia did.
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It’s not a holiday. At least not yet.
It’s called free enterprise.
The right of a business to sell and promote without restriction something we don’t need or want. The justification! We will feel better and more fulfilled for having paid free enterprise for their gift to us. Note: Amazon long ago expanded that feeling through its aptly named distribution centres, FBA.
Despite ignoring Amazon it is not sufficient for just one of us to do so to make a difference.
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Half-hearted would likely best describe out attitude. Don’t object to others having their fun but haven’t been keen in the past to stock up, farm out varying inventory to then end up with an armful of junk leftover. Last year we left out a humorous poster to basically say move along. This year with a new fairly formidable fence & gate no one stopped in regardless of no sign &/or the kids around our neighbourhood have outgrown it or moved out of home…
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While it was an innocent DIY event it was ok. Now it is highly commercialised it has been ruined and in fact has become annoying.
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Here here. What a load of old codswallop Halloween is. I can’t imagine why it’s celebrated and in fact it isn’t a celebration at all when done as it is. Children begging for treats. Why? They don’t get enough treats at home? They need more fattening and unhealthy foods? Parents should be teaching things which make their children smart and such amount of sweet stuff isn’t smart in the least. Where are the brains of these parents for goodness sake? I know that in lots of cases children are accompanied by an adult, however, there are still children who go trick or treating without adult supervision, and that is a great danger to young ones on various fronts. Grow up and stay well and stay safe.
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In Charlestown, it happened for the first time that I remember, when neighbour kids had gone with parents to the US, and come home with stories of Halloween, which were then pressed on teachers, who picked it up for the entire school and made a HUGE thing of it. However at that time, the trick or treat thing didn’t happen for a couple of years. THat was around 1992, IIRC. I’ll alwys blame those kids!! LOL
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I would like Halloween if it wasn’t all spooky but more like in America where kids can dress up in all different dress ups.
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We’ve been celebrating Halloween for 20 years in our area.
I even had the day off work this year and it should be a public holiday. We could even replace one of the lesser holidays like the Queen’s birthday with Halloween.
Our street is one that has many houses decorated and we get hundreds of kids from 4pm till 7.30pm.
Most hoses run out of lollies after an hour or so, but some of us have worked out that we need at least 10 kilos of lollies to make it through the evening.
Most kids dress up, but don’t understand “trick or treat”, they just know that they can have a lolly if they say “trick or treat”. We had one girl this year do a trick, she pretended to steal her friend’s tongue.
Next year will be the first year we won’t be participating, so it will be weird not decorating the house or buying lollies as we are going on holiday to the USA.
UGH. Nt much else to say
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Tricked me.
It will be the King’s birthday next year. 
Traditionally the second Saturday in June in the UK, who also have the good sense to not make it a public holiday.
Given that June is a poor choice of time of year to “Troop the Colours” in Canberra, perhaps 31st Oct offers finer weather across the nation, most years. Dress up done properly, Charles could even attend his own party out here. BYO Charles, in keeping with another great Aussie tradition. And red cordial all ‘round for the kids. They’ll soon give up on Halloween. More red cordial over here please sir! Mine is made from grape juice. 
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I actually love the fact that Halloween has become a thing in Australia. Both of my kids are Canadian, and it’s a great way for them to participate in something that is a key part of a Canadian childhood (it’s not just an American thing). I do wish we’d mature beyond the “it’s ALL about the spooky” thing we seem to have stuck on here. In Canada kids dress up as all kinds of things, not just “spooky/gore”… Book characters, tv shows, anything (my eldest was a fireman for his first “old enough to go trick or treating” Halloween).
Nothing wrong with playing dress-up. There are going to do as adults any time they go to a ball or presentation dinner and the childish version is likely to be more benign.
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Agree. It is too Americanised. Halloween is not what it was meant to be
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In the US, Halloween aligns with pumpkin season. Not a lot of pumpkins in Australia at this time of year. Probably just as well, since it also doesn’t get dark until 8pm, so all the trick or treating happens in daylight.
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Yes, Halloween has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain which means ‘Summer end’. It was the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the colder and darker months.
We are at the antipodes: the colder and darker season is at an end and the days are getting longer.
For supernatural beings and the souls of the dead to go about during daylight hours doesn’t make that much sense 
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Troll much? 
I’m sure you can find somewhere in the US to participate.
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It’s a pity that Halloween has crept into our culture. I am an import, back in 1961 my parents bought me to this wonderful country. I aspired to become an Australian to fit in and be a part of something great.
I did not sign up to be an American celebrating Halloween or Irish St Patricks Day or whatever else. I do subscribe to respect and enjoy many of the flavours that other nations from around the world bring to the table and when I want too (my choice) to participate I will choose to do so.
When it starts to take over and over write what I have grown up to love and respect, I can’t stand it. If we as Australians can only do the best by having a BBQ in the back yard then so be it, because that belongs to us.
Don’t shove it down our throat, how about we celebrate a day any day about the great things this country has to offer things that belong to us embracing that which makes us unique.
Once upon a time we used to stand up for our elderly in public transport and we used to sing Christmas Carols, walking past places and seeing the Nativety scene, but now adays we seem not to be able to do the things that made us a great country for fear of offending someone.
I’d rather chase a Bunyip with my Aboriginal brothers than have to contend with a Michael Myes style halloween.
Common Aussies we have more to offer!!
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As a pagan, with rituals attuned more to the cycles of nature throughout the year, I adhere more to Samhein than Halloween. Of course, at this time of the year it is Beltane in the Southern Hemisphere. So it doesn’t make sense to me to celebrate Halloween in the Southern Hemisphere. That’s aside from it being a commercialised, Americanised, bastardised version of Samhein.
It doesn’t make sense to me to have Christmas decorations full of snow and reindeers either. It would be a rare day, if ever, that we had snow in late December in Australia. Maybe Cradle Mountain? No that time of the year is Midsummer Solstice to me (or near enough). And Christmas in July is ridiculous. If you wanted to celebrate Christmas/Yule in winter, it should be in late June, 6 months from December, not 7 months. I celebrate midwinter solstice. Shall I go on? Probably not.
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