England

All Saints' Day (All Hallows Day) became fixed on November 1 in 835 and All So!ls' Day on November " circa ##8$ %n All So!ls' &ve families stayed !' late and little (so!l ca)es( were eaten by everyone$ At t*e stro)e of midni+*t t*ere was solemn silence amon+ *o!se*olds w*ic* *ad candles b!rnin+ in every room to +!ide t*e so!ls bac) to visit t*eir eart*ly *omes and a +lass of wine on t*e table to refres* t*em$ ,*e tradition contin!ed in areas of nort*ern &n+land as late as t*e 1#3-s wit* c*ildren +oin+ from door.to.door (so!lin+( (i$e$ sin+in+ son+s) for ca)es or money$ ,*e &n+lis* /eformation in t*e 10t* cent!ry de.em'*asised *olidays li)e All Hallows Day or All So!ls Day and t*eir associated eve$ 1it* t*e rise of 2!y 3aw)es Ni+*t celebrations in 14t* cent!ry &n+land most remainin+ Halloween 'ractices es'ecially t*e b!ildin+ of bonfires were moved to November 5$ 5n 'arts of nort*ern &n+land t*ere is a traditional festival called 6isc*ief Ni+*t w*ic* falls on t*e November 7$ D!rin+ t*e celebration c*ildren 'lay a ran+e of (tric)s( (ran+in+ from minor to more serio!s) on ad!lts$ %ne of t*e more serio!s (tric)s( mi+*t incl!de t*e !n*in+in+ of +arden +ates (w*ic* were often t*rown into 'onds or moved far away)$ 5n recent years s!c* acts *ave occasionally escalated to extreme vandalism sometimes involvin+ street fires$8179 Halloween celebrations in &n+land were 'o'!larised in t*e late twentiet* cent!ry !nder t*e 'ress!re of American c!lt!ral infl!ence incl!din+ a stream of films and television 'ro+rammes aimed at c*ildren and adolescents and t*e discovery by retail ex'erts of a mar)etin+ o''ort!nity to fill t*e em'ty s'ace before :*ristmas$ ;etween "--1 and "--0 cons!mer s'endin+ in t*e <= for Halloween rose tenfold from >1" m to >1"- m accordin+ to ;ryan /oberts from ind!stry analysts ?lanet /etail ma)in+ Halloween t*e t*ird most 'rofitable *oliday for s!'ermar)ets$8159 ,*is led to t*e introd!ction of 'ractices s!c* as '!m')in carvin+s and tric).or.treat8109 (see below)$ Nowadays ad!lts too may dress !' to attend cost!me 'arties '!b 'arties and cl!b 'arties on Halloween ni+*t$ ;obbin+ for a''les is a well.establis*ed ;onfire Ni+*t c!stom now also associated wit* Halloween$ 5n t*e +ame attem'ts are made wit* one's mo!t* only to catc* an a''le 'laced in a water.filled barrel$ %nce an a''le is ca!+*t it is sometimes 'eeled and tossed over t*e s*o!lder in t*e *o'e t*at t*e stri's wo!ld fall into t*e s*a'e of a letter w*ic* wo!ld be t*e first initial of t*e 'artici'ant's tr!e love$ Accordin+ to anot*er s!'erstition t*e lon+er t*e 'eel t*e lon+er t*e 'eeler's life wo!ld be@ some say t*at t*e first 'artici'ant to +et an a''le wo!ld be t*e first to marry$ %t*er 'ractices common to ;onfire Ni+*t and Halloween incl!de firewor)s tellin+ +*ost stories and 'layin+ c*ildren's +ames s!c* as *ide.and.see)$ A''le tarts may be ba)ed wit* a coin *idden inside and n!ts of all ty'es are traditional Halloween fare$ ;older c*ildren may in some areas 'lay a +ame called (t*!nder and li+*tnin+( w*ic* involves lo!dly )noc)in+ on a nei+*bo!r's door t*en r!nnin+ away (li)e li+*tnin+)$ However traditions are bein+ lost !nder t*e relentless 'ress!re of t*e American media and some of today's c*ildren will arrive at a door and intone (tric).or.treat( in order to receive money and sweets$

,*ere *as been increasin+ concern abo!t t*e 'otential for antisocial be*avio!r 'artic!larly amon+ older teena+ers on Halloween$ :ases of *o!ses bein+ (e++. bombed( (es'ecially w*en t*e occ!'ants do not +ive money or +ifts) *ave been re'orted and t*e ;;: re'orted t*at for Halloween "--0 'olice forces ste''ed !' 'atrols to res'ond to s!c* misc*ief$8149