A Different Take on an Old Tradition
October 29, 2007 by Sandy Renshaw
Filed under Des Moines Dictionary, Guest Writer: Friedrich, Brenda, History, Iowa
What do Des Moines and Dayton have in common?
Give up? The answer is “Beggar’s Night,” a substitute for the more commonplace tradition of Halloween. While the actual celebration dates vary from location to location, cities in central Iowa, central Ohio and along the New Hampshire seacoast stand apart from the rest of the nation when it comes to the holiday. Instead of featuring night-time activity on a day associated with pranksters, they moved it forward on the calendar. And rather than have children parade from home to home begging for candy in the melodious call, “Trick or Treat,” municipalities in these areas ask youngsters to “earn” their treats by sharing riddles, jokes or other “talent.” In the Des Moines area, the rules have been in place so long that by now they’re unspoken.
What Halloween and Beggar’s Night have in common is this: the children wait until evening, then descend upon their neighborhoods costumed as angels, vampires, story-book characters and more. I still remember the year my two nephews revved up the horror-quotient: one nephew as dressed as Death and the other as Taxes.
But costume isn’t the only similarity between the practice of Halloween and Beggar’s Night. With either celebration, the kids receive candy — or pennies, floss or boxed raisins — from friendly neighbors who’ve left the porch light on as a beacon to sugar-seeking youth.
How did it all begin? Well, in central Iowa the origins of Beggar’s Night are well-documented and stemmed from the need to curb vandalism associated with Halloween. Kids these days! There’s no respect any more, right? Except that, according to the oft-published facts by The Des Moines Register, the violence reached its peak in 1938, when “Des Moines police answered a record 550 calls concerning vandalism.”
We hope this level of destruction remains a thing of the past, but it still pays to take precautions, to safeguard children collecting candy. So, before allowing anyone to head out the door, be sure to review expert tips and advice offered by the City of Des Moines. Then, brush up on those jokes and riddles.
Guest Writer: Brenda Friedrich is an Iowa-based writer and business communications consultant. You can also find her blogging at Enroute365.
Sandy Renshaw is Sandy Renshaw is a self-employed communications consultant. You will also find her blogging at Purple Wren.
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Whoever thought up beggars night and schedules it wrong, messed up Halloween for everyone. Iowa begs to be thought of as a cosmopolitan place as opposed to just hogs and corn. When people move here from other states and see stupidity like beggars night, they realize all the more that Iowa has a long way to go to get out of the cornfield. Get it right: Halloween is October 31.
HEre’s what I think about Beggar’s Night… it is a joke, and a slap in the face to people who celebrate Halloween. I refer here to Pagans. We hold Samhain in high regard because it is a time to honor our dead, and for a municipality to change it because of not wanting to deal with vandalism is a joke.