It was in December 2004 when we relocated to Utah County, the predominant place for the Latter Day Saints also called Mormons. We had our first Halloween in 2005. I’m not a fan of Halloween – I never dress myself different to celebrate this. But it makes you sad when the kids from the neighborhood knock at your door and ask for trick or treat – you have to give them candies. In the year 2005, the number of kids who came to our home was at least 100 – we ran out of candies.
We never wanted to be shameful, so in the year 2006, we bought three bags of candies to feed all the kids from the neighborhood. Surprise! The number of kids came to our home for candies were only less than 10.
The 2007 Halloween was yesterday. We came home little early, cancelled my sports for a day, to help out my wife to give candies to the kids. We had pumpkins on our doorstep, the light was on, and the window blinds were open too. Want to hear the number of kids to our home? It was only 3 kids.
I wanted to find out what’s happening with the neighborhood. This is what I found out from a neighbor who is a Latter Day Saint and goes to the LDS Church close by – we have been to that LDS Church before for parties. The neighborhood Mormon families are sending their children to the LDS Church close by – few blocks away from my home – to celebrate Halloween. The kids exchange candies at the LDS Church. I don’t know is this a recent change in the LDS Church, but this has stopped children coming to the homes of non-LDS who live in the neighborhood and keep them away from non-LDS children and people. Out of the three kids that came to my home, two were from a home who are not active Mormons. The other kid was less than 3 years old, so seems like he could not go to the Church to celebrate the Halloween.
I shared this incident with some Mormon friends. They told me this tradition is called Trunk-n-Treat. It is not trick-or-treating as celebrated by the secular people, but an alternative. The Mormon magazine Ensign (1987) says the Halloween is a Satan Worship, and is a game on the “dark side”.
There were few instances when my Mormon neighbors visited our home with their kids this and last years. One neighbor visited last year for the first time for the donation to the Scout. The other two neighbors came with their kids to sell $50 coupon book to support their kid’s activities. Another neighbor visited with their children last week to collect donation for the Scout.
In a Mormon neighborhood, you should have so much to give – money for their scout, time to attend their LDS Church and parties, time to attend their Monday family time, time to read their Book Of Mormon – but expect nothing from them.
We’re left with three to four bags of candies – thinking about whom to give?