The children of Des Moines, Iowa, will get to trick-or-treat on Halloween night for the first time in 80 years. It sounds preposterous, but for nearly a century, donning a costume and knocking on doors begging for candy was not an Oct. 31 activity for children in Des Moines. Instead, they had a different Halloween celebration the night before.
In 1940, to curb vandalism and mischief that plagued Halloween celebrations, Des Moines established a version of Halloween that took place on Oct. 30 called Beggar’s Night. There really isn’t much difference between Halloween night and Beggar’s Night if you’re a trick-or-treater. You don a costume and paint the town red with your buddies as you knock on doors collecting candy. The only difference is the date when it happens. Halloween night, sometimes referred to as Devil’s Night, can be a little rowdy and dangerous in some parts of the country, as some folks use it as an opportunity to act like assholes. So, some cities around the United States shifted the childhood portion of it up a day so kids could have their fun, and then the next day, adults could reenact the Purge movies.
Videos by VICE
Des Moines isn’t even the only city in the United States with a Beggar’s Night. Buffalo, New York, and Columbus, Ohio, have their versions, and Washington, D.C., used to have one, too. It should be noted, however, that Des Moines didn’t shift its Beggar’s Night festivities to Halloween in an attempt to get with the times and cast out old, outdated thinking. They only did it because severe weather warnings were in place for Oct. 30.
Des Moines established its Beggar’s Night back in 1940, but the origins stretch back a couple more years to 1938, when acts of violence and vandalism, including arson and property damage, led local officials to find a solution so kids could safely partake in the Halloween festivities. So they moved the kid’s portion of the day and built some mythology around it to make it feel special. Like making kids earn their candy by having them perform a “trick” like telling a joke or reciting a poem before they could have their bags loaded up with treats.
