Children across the country will be scurrying door-to-door on Thursday, dressed in costumes and hunting vigorously for that house giving out full-size candy bars. And for the first time since 1938, that will include kids in Des Moines.
The Iowa state capital, some 86 years ago, did away with Oct. 31 trick-or-treating in an effort to curb vandalism. Instead, the city came up with Beggar’s Night, which is held on Oct. 30 and is essentially the same as Halloween, except kids traditionally have to tell jokes before they receive their candy.
