it's been lovely seeing all the Halloween stories folks have been sharing from around the world! here's one from close to where i grew up (less of a story and more of a fun fact, really).
so, i grew up in a small town in Missouri, not too far (relative to standard u.s. midwest driving times) from St. Louis. and in St. Louis, when you go trick-or-treating, the tradition there is that instead of just having someone open their door and you yelling "trick or treat!", you must tell a joke to receive your candy. (really!)
these jokes are usually spooky-related puns, something like: "what's a vampire's favorite form of transportation? (a blood vessel!)" or, "what do witches put on before a night out? (mass-scare-a!)" but, from what i gather, the jokes can really be anything. (since i didn't live in STL proper, my town never participated in this particular tradition, but i had a number of friends who lived in the city who did, and from whom i heard many things about it.)
and, like, i really love this!! for multiple reasons— for one thing, this has apparently been going on for decades now and nobody is really sure where the tradition comes from, although Irish and Scottish immigrants seem to be the most oft-cited. but also, my STL friends swear to god that this tradition instilled many of them with greater confidence in public speaking from a young age. i mean, think about how much more high-stakes it is to have to tell a well-crafted joke than just saying "trick or treat!" especially as a young kid! it's good, wholesome, nurturing, fun. i love it.
St. Louis is the only place (at least in the u.s.) that does this, so far as i'm aware... but i'd love to be corrected, or hear if you did something similar in a place where you grew up. or maybe we can help spread this tradition to more places together starting next year :)
and hey, look at me jumping in on this microblogvember thing! thanks to @NoelBWrites' post for setting this up, looks like a lotta fun :)