Beggars’ Night is a night current teenagers know very well, but younger generations have not been getting the same experience. Kids dressed up as monsters, princesses, superheroes, and pop culture icons, to name a few, make their way from house to house trading a trick for a treat. Current generations are experiencing a much different Beggars’ Night, but there is not a clear answer as to why.
KCCI reports that the city of Altoona has moved Beggars’ Night from October 30th, to October 31st. Members of the community started to reconsider changing the date in 2024 when weather postponed Beggars’ Night to October 31st
Other communities have voted to hold Beggars’s Night trick-or-treating on the last Saturday of October each year. In an interview with WHO 13, Bondurant Communications and Events Coordinator Katie Klus talked about the benefits of Beggars’ Night being on a Saturday night.
“It really promotes a sense of community because people, of course, then don’t have to get up and go to work the next day. They don’t have sports that night with the kids, things like that. So they set up lawn chairs in their front yards and it becomes this whole block party/community event, which is really amazing. And frankly, that’s what we want in our community,” Klus said.
Communities around Bondurant could change Beggars’ Night to the last Saturday of October as well which could possibly increase the number of trick-or-treaters seen on the streets. Neighborhoods are seeing less and less kids dressed up to trick-or-treat while events such as Trunk or Treat are becoming more popular.
Since COVID-19, Trunk or Treat has become a safe space for parents and children to get a similar experience to what Beggars’ Night has been. COVID-19 has not been the only reason that communities see less kids going door to door on Beggars’ Night. As parents get younger, the worry for children grows but with rational reasons. The amount of times that people that were thought to be trusted have handed out candy containing various dangers have increased, as well as dangers on the streets.
Communities seem to enjoy the shorter event as they don’t have to stay out as late on what can sometimes be a week night, but parents also enjoy the ability to socialize with more parents knowing their children are in a safe environment.
Some community members are upset with the decrease in trick-or-treaters because of Trunk or Treat events expanding. Communities can find ways to make Beggars’ Night more enjoyable for both the kids and the parents but communication about events like these is the only way Beggars’ Night can really come back full force after COVID-19.
