Do the French Go Trick-or-Treating?

“Do they celebrate Halloween in France?” I have been asked by my friends in the States more than once. Yes. Okay, article done, right? Well, yes, if that’s all you wanted to know, but there is more to it if you are interested.

When we first arrived in France, we thought that there would be no trick-or-treating as we had read that this was an American phenomenon. It was Halloween day when we moved into our rented accommodation. We had just settled down to dinner when the doorbell rang. Who could it be? We didn’t know a soul in our village. We hadn’t even finished unpacking all our bags yet. And it was Halloween night. With trepidation, I opened the door on the pitch black street where the wind was howling. Two boys in makeshift costumes stood holding out their empty hands. I was surprised. In the best French I could manage, I said, “Nous ne sommes pas prêt!” (“We are not ready!”) I turned and called to my husband, “I think there are candies left over from our flight in my purse!” He found the roll that held 4 wrapped candies still unopened. We gave them to the boys and they thanked us and ran down our steps and out into that dark, unlit night. I worried all through dinner about what we would do if more children arrived. We decided they would have to have cookies from the box we’d bought at the store earlier that day. I was relieved when the rest of the evening passed without incident.

The next day, we met up with our friends in the nearby town and told them about our surprise visitors. They told us it must have been children of a British family who had done this. According to my French neighbors, when they were young, Halloween was celebrated in France by adults going to masked balls. An older woman told me that they would never open a door after dark on Halloween as evil spirits were on the loose that night. A more important holiday here is Toussaint (All Saints Day) celebrated on November 1st. There are still many more chrysanthemums bought and placed on graves to mark that day than there is candy bought for Halloween. However, over the years, television, movies and advertising have brought the idea of trick-or-treating and parties for children to the nation.

More and more “trick-or-treaters” come to our door each Halloween. Last year we must have seen 15 costumed children at the door. A few years ago, the group in charge of village festivals decided it was becoming something that should be organized for the safety of the children. They sent every household a note explaining that children would come around, accompanied by adults for le “Farce ou Frisandies”. Anyone who was not interested did not have to worry; they would be “opted out” automatically. Those who were interested would have to put up a sign. The notice included a little witch outline to stick on the door. Without the witch, the children would not ring. My husband took one look at the little silhouette and said, “I see she’s a very French witch!” And I could see his point. Since we love seeing the costumes and the joy on their faces, we cut out the little witch and have participated every year so we could wish all the children a “Heureux Halloween”!

Now you may think this sounds like Halloween as we know it. But there was one thing that surprised me when I spoke to my neighbors the next day. They told me that after doing the rounds, all the children gathered at the mayor’s office and the candy all went into a great pot. Then there were games, dramas, poetry readings and costume contests. At the end of the evening, the candy was divided up equally among all the children at the party. And so, now you know that the French do celebrate Halloween and, more particularly, how they celebrate it in a small village in the South of France.


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