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This is still pretty common in Scotland - I've done it mostly every year since I was a child. They give you a much creepier lantern than pumpkins do, but they c
by james_a_craig 5y ago
This is still pretty common in Scotland - I've done it mostly every year since I was a child. They give you a much creepier lantern than pumpkins do, but they can smell awful as the candle cooks them a bit, and they collapse spectacularly over the next few days.
- GordonS 5y agoFellow Scot here - it was always turnips where I grew up, but even in rural areas it's mostly pumpkins nowadays. There are still a few holdouts though, mostly those adverse to the "Americanisation" of traditions.
- m-i-l 5y agoYes, it was turnips (known as swedes in England and rutabaga in the US) when I was young too. We also did guising, i.e. the dressing up and going around houses, which turned into trick or treating when it was exported to the US. The US-style trick or treating was starting to be re-imported when I was young, but (certainly where I was) it wasn't looked upon very favourably because it was usually practised by the rougher sorts who used it as an excuse to throw eggs at peoples homes (the traditional guising hadn't had the "trick" element).
- GordonS 5y agoJust for info, we call them "neeps" here in Scotland, but they are actually swedes as you say.