Wanna Hang Out With Me This Halloween?
Discussions about Cabbage Night...
The best and coolest word used to describe the night before Halloween. Cabbage Night began in the middle ages. People would wrap each others horses with papyrus and throw rooster eggs at their neighbors. It remains today the primary word to describe the night before halloween. Recently, there has been an uprising of anti-cabbage night protesters aka the "Cabbage Deniers." The protesters will soon back down after they experience the force of Cabbage Night for themselveSome of my best memories from Halloween do not come from Halloween itself, rather they are from the night before. Mischief night, witch's night, or as we used to call it, Cabbage Night.
I know in different areas of the country, there are different names for Halloween eve or cabbage night as I call it. I also know that in some parts of the U.S. cabbage night is not celebrated. I wish I knew the facts behind the start of mischief night, I think it had something to do with the witches coming out the night before Halloween to try and cause some mischief. But since I do not have the facts there I will just leave it that.
When I was a kid, we lived on a dead-end street that was just filled with kids. Kids ages ranged from newborn up to 16 years old. When I was 5,6,& 7 years old, I would just watch from the window as all the kids were out front on cabbage night. They had shaving cream, eggs, tomatoes, ketchup, floured socks and toilet paper. I would beg and beg for my mom to let me go out, and each year she said no. Then one year she decided I was old enough to participate in the cabbage night activities.
When I was a kid, the object of cabbage night was just to make a mess but not to destroy people's property or hurt each other. We would bomb each other with shaving cream, throw toilet paper all around the trees, bang our socks that were filled with flour onto the street, leaving a big white powder mark, we sometimes would egg each other and then top it off with ketchup.
My first night out, my mom sent me out there with some old clothes on and a hat. I guess she figured the hat would protect my hair so that it wouldn't be that hard to wash. Yeah right, Mom! She sent me out there with a sock filled with flour, a roll of toilet paper, and 1 can of shaving cream. Well all the kids already out there knew this was my first cabbage night. So they made sure they let me have everything I had missed in the past years. On their count, I had missed getting covered with about 10 cans of shaving cream, 3 bottles of ketchup, 8 tomatoes, 3 rolls of toilet paper, 12 eggs, and 1 flour sock opened and dumped on me.
Some may be reading this and thinking this is down right cruel. But it's not. These were my friends that I had played with every day. It's not as if I walked outside and they all ganged up on me. All that I mentioned had happened in about a 2 hour time span. And of course I would never go down with out a fight. For each person that bombed me, I made sure that I got a good one in. Whether it was an egg down their back, some shaving cream in their hat, or some ketchup in their shoes, I made sure they got theirs too.
Most of the parents would watch us kids from the window. If there was any sign that we were hurting each other or hurting someone's property, then we were punished. I knew better than to do that. I guess because my mom had drilled into me about my punishments if I were to be destructive to someone's belongings. It also could be that she let me participate at such an early age. Instead of keeping me in until I was 13 years old and then when I get out I go and spray paint people's cars out of bitterness for not letting me do all the cabbage night's before. In other words, she didn't restrain me. She let me experience it and taught me right from wrong.
Cabbage night is still celebrated in that town that I just moved away from. Of course now their are some changes. There is a 9:00 curfew for cabbage night. Some of the kids back then and today insisted on being trouble makers. For instance, when I was a kid, there were older kids (15 yrs old or so) that would hide in the park on cabbage night. If you went walking over there, they would throw some Nair on you. There were also kids who would have their flour socks filled with quarters. So there is always a few bad apples, no matter where you are.
For the past 2 years, I have taken my older son outside on cabbage night with some shaving cream. I would let him play in front of the house and cream me. I would also cream him. He wasn't allowed to go out into the street and play with the big kids. This year I will do the same with both of my boy's as long as where I live now celebrates cabbage night.
My article is not about what is right or wrong. If cabbage night is bad or not. It's supposed to be about my memories o Halloween as a child. And that is what I wrote about.
"Has anyone heard of “Cabbage Night”??? Apparently its the night before Halloween and Adam told me they celebrate it in his hometown in Vermont. I don’t know too much about it except that you throw cabbages and vegetables at people’s cars???? Anyone?? This sounds very peculiar so I was wondering if anyone had heard of it."
celebration where little kids dress up and get candy, teens dress up, get drunk, and go get candy, and adults dress up, get drunk, and give out candy, funny how things all work out.
So how do you look at Cabbage Night, Mischief Night. Did you go out and cause trouble that night or just wait for the candy on Halloween. Depends on your age and gender I suppose. But I will admit to throwing a few eggs at trees. Damn Mrs. Williams I am so sorry. I would have stopped my brother from putting the bag of dog poo on your porch and lighting it afire.
Shoot it was funny as hell at the time. But today, I am sorry.....Ssnnniiickkker. Really.
Halloween Witch
