Cabbage Night

Before moving to Mass as a preteen in the '70s, I lived in NJ where they called the night before Halloween "Mischief Night".

Has anyone ever heard of putting bologna and mayonnaise on cars on cabbage night? Supposedly it does someting to the paint.

Im from Jersey and we call it mischief night. If you put salomi on the car, it takes off the paint.

I lived in NJ (Bergenfield) as a pre teen and we called it cabbage night.We had a ball. Halloween was great, we would start trick or treating as soon as we got home from school. None of this wait until it gets dark stuff.

I lived in Dumont, NJ until 1974, and we called it Cabbage Night. I remember lots of shaving cream all over the place: egg-throwing did go on, but was no longer accepted behaviour after one kid had serious damage to one eye as the result of an egg thrown from a car. Like Susan wrote, Halloween was a blast: I can never forget the pillowcases filled with candy I managed to haul home!

I lived In LittleFerry,NJ till i was 8 and i was never allowed out till this year 04 and have to be carefull for the copz i rember the cops pulling up next to me and my friend and telling us about the 9:00 Curfue and we said jus to get out of the trouble i went up to my friend and was pretending that he was my boyfriend and Hugging him and wiping the shaving cream off of him back. as soon and the Cops left I remeber getting arested for having shaving cream all over me. It was horrible.

i jus came baq frum cabbage night i had fun but lots of cops were around we all wore black soo they couldn't see us we put shaving cream on cars,garbage dump,streets,n signs.We also threw eggs my friend threw one and some guy was chasin us luckily we escaped him.We finely got caught but we threw our stuff in bushes n they didnt find it they sed toilet paper was alright so we've done that for the last couple of hours. it was really fun i just wanna sae thanks reagan,ben,nick,cris,matt,mike p.,jimmy i.For a FUNNN night.

Here in northern ct we call it leaf night because as a teen we would hide in piles of leafs in the front yard and spook the passer-byers it was a blast!

I fondly remember ghostly night (that's what we used to call it in Canada)!! We would break into people's houses dressed in sheets (ghosts) and scare the heck out of them!!! It was great!!!!!!!!!! Until one fateful ghostly night in 1987, when we were all arrested for causing someone to get so scared they shot one of us!!! No sense of humor, I guess!!! Oh well!!

I'm from (originally) Ridgefield Park, NJ...until around 1995. Cabbage night!!!!And the eggmobile! (Which I was convinced was an actual egg shaped car when I was young...not a car full of teenagers with eggs...)And Nair!

I'm from upstate NY and it's called Cabbage Nite. But it goes too far in my town. The people go out the nite before Halloween, the nite of, and the nite after. They smash about 8-10 dump truck loads of pumpkins a nite, and they hit every car that goes by with about three dozen eggs. But once the cops are called because there is damage done to a vehicle, then they all run and try to say that they didn't do anything. But they are all just trying to cover up for themselves.

Hey I love Halloween!!!!!!

I remember cabbage night, also mischief night.I knew someone from Long Island who called it "gate night."

I'm from Baltimore, MD, and here we all call it Moving Night (not sure why). Its funny, cuz everyone in Baltimore calls it that, but i dont think anyone outside of Baltimore does.

Here is a link to Official Cabbage Night in Bergen County

I'm from Texas and my fiancee is from Upstate NY and we were talking about Halloween, and he brought up the term Cabbage Night. I knew nothing of it and so I looked it up on the internet, and got this site as a refrence. We're going back to his home for Halloween, and now I'm more excited about Cabbage Night than I am about Halloween!

Well I'm sixteen and I've lived in Hunterdon County, New Jersey for all of my life. Hunterdon County is supposedly a really rich area, although myself and many of my friends are not really rich, just middle class. A few of my neighbors are lawyers and such. Anyway, my friend and I used to go trick-or-treating every halloween. We quickly became the mischief makers of the area, along with a few other guys who we never actually saw in action. My friend and I recently parted, as he opted to go to another high school. But we started when we were about nine, taking toilette paper off of one tree and putting it on another. The year after, we dared enough to bring our own rolls and had a blast. We never DID go out on mishief night. Instead, as was customary in my area, all mischief was done on halloween, not the night before. The obvious reasoning is because our parents would obviously not let us suspiciously leave on the notorious mischief might. Even if we could sneak out, the area was patrolled by cops, and it looked very suspicous seeing two hoodlums roaming about on mischief night. We did on a few occasions attempt to do it, but the results were rather crappy, and our parents pretty much knew and got mad at us. And so went mischief night in my country Jersey neighborhood. It seemed as if all the other kids were the same, because mischief night was generally wiped out after a few years. Halloween was a different story. My friend and I, along with many other youths, would hide toilette paper, shaving cream, silly string, and other items in our pillowcases. The idea was simple: Whoever didn't give out candy and didn't answer the door got "rolled" with toilette paper or egged. It was so easy, since all the other trick-or-treater were also out and about, so it wasn't suspicious at all. We would even tp trees in the headlights of cars that had parents in them. Why would they care? They never did. As I said before, I am 16 and i still go trick-or-treating on halloween, mainly for the mischief. I use about ten rolls of tp, not much else. Maybe eggs. I am deeply concerned that mischief is waning out, since i notice a lot of the mischief is done by myself and one of my friends, which is sad because we are getting old. In fact, there are hardly any trick-or-treaters at all! Halloween used to be such a huge event in my area, but now the holiday seems to be growing up, along with me. I only have maybe one or two more halloweens in me, being a Junior in High School. I'm pretty sad about that, since halloween is so much fun, with all the mischief and festivities. Thinking about my halloween past with my old partner brings back a flood of memories that I will remember for the rest of my life.Read all of this...it took a long time to write!

its cabbage night//mischief night right now & im going out! lol hopefully i dont get caught or anything so yeah.its a really fun night. its a time to get revenge on an appropriate event. im not gonna put bologney or anything. just eggs. im not THAT mean to permanent damage something...hehe so yeah

I'm from Vermont and we called it cabbage night. My husband is from western New York and has never heard of it. We live in The Woodlands, Texas and our neighborhood has post-poned Halloween due to rain. I've never heard of this!!!!!

ITS CALLED GOOSY NIGHT! I DONO WHERE U GUYS GOT THESE OTHER NAMES FROM! I JUST HAD A HEATED ARGUEMENT WITH MY ROOMMATES ABOUT THE NIGHT BEFORE HALLOWEEN, AND NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW ABOUT "GOOSY NIGHT" EXCEPT FOR ONE PERSON ON MY FLOOR, PLEASE TELL ME SOMONE ELSE HAS HEARD THIS TERM!!PLEASE IM ME ON AOL AND TELL ME WHAT U CALL THE NIGHT BEFORE HALLOWEEN!!MY SCREEN NAME ISSNOWBOARDINGRL13OR [email protected]

I'm originally from Tenafly, NJ and we called the night before Halloween "Cabbage Night". My husband is from Hunterdon County and he calls it "Mischief Night". I still call it "Caggage Night" even though I live in Ocean County. Maybe I can start a trend down here but I think it's a Bergen County thing.......

It's called mischief night and the teens go out and egg,TP or ding dong ditch people all night untill hallowween.You got to watch out or the cops will catch you. my suggestion is to TP high in the trees so they cant get it out.

The posters that want to destroy either people proprty need to do this fist.Try it out on your own car and house. wake up in the mourning and see how it feels.see how it feels to dish out a 500.00-1000.00 deductable to your insurance company to fix the damage you created as well missing work to get dameged fixed.Bottom line your actions are uncalled for and what you feel is funny/Fun/cool is really dumb.You kids need to grow up and start being adults.Start respecting yourself and eithers

75 years ago in Westlake, Ohio, then called Dover....cabbage night was the week before Hallowe'en and all the kids old enough to go out at night would go to the farmers'fields and kick over the cabbages, or whatever. .. Not very nice, but very memorable.

I grew up in Northern Kentucky, my folks are from southeastern Kentucky&Ilearned the term cabbage night from them. I thought every one knew that, but apparently Devils Night is taking the lead. I thought it was because in the fall the cool weather crops are coming in, one of which is cabbage, and that this had something to do with it.A harvest festival maybe?

I just turned 48 yesterday on October 30 (Cabbage Night)! I grew up in Ramsey, NJ at 51 E. Oak St, and we always called it "Cabbage Night"...so I agree that it must have been a Bergen County thing. When I moved to Atglen, PA when I was around 13 they called it "Mischief Night". I also lived in San Diego, California for 2 years (8th & 9th grades) and they also called it "Mischief Night", I believe. Cabbage Night in NJ meant ringing doorbells and running away, toilet papering trees and bushes, throwing eggs, soaping up car windows, and shaving creaming cars (although the last one stopped when it was found that it was bad for a car's finish.) Some people smashed pumpkins. My mother told me that some big kids came to our house when we were very young and took our pumpkins and smashed them. My dad didn't like that because he's an artist and liked carving the pumpkins. So the next time he carved the pumpkins, he booby-trapped them. When the big kids came and took them, the pumpkins exploded with fireworks. The big kids dropped the pumpkins and hopped the picket fence and never came back! My parents still get a kick out of that. I wish I was old enough then to remember!

i live in Vermont and we call it cabbage night because some year i throw cabbages at cars ant paiant filled ballons.

hey...uh i'm french and i've never been in the US but i've always heard 'devil's night' for the night before halloween...think that's what they call it in Detroit

Here in North Central CT, we call it Cabbage Night

I grew up in Washington Township, NJ and we called it mischief night. When I went to college at Rowan University, down in South Jersey, they called it cabbage night. It comes from the Irish tradition that if you wanted a child born to your family you put cabbages outside your door on that night the fairies would come and grant your wish.

I live in a suberb of Baltimore MD and I grew up in Tall. FL. I have always known the night before Halloween to be "Moving Night". My husband thought i was nuts and he grew up here in Baltimore but he has always know the night to be Mischief Night.

i live in florida and we call it cabbage night we egg stuff and put salomie on cars it takes paint off them me and my 5 sisters go out it is so fun!!!!!!

I'm a life long Vermonter of quite a few years and we called it Cabbage Night. My Dad, who grew up here in the 20s and 30s doesn't remember any particular name. I hesitate to say that it has died out, because that means I will probably wake up in the morning to read that someone has revived the practice downstate, or to find 27 smashed pumpkins on my doorstep, but it seems to be waning at any rate. I think the reason for that is that teens and older now dress up and have parties and are part of Halloween and you don't have to quit the fun when your mother or your peers decide that you are too old to go trick-or-treating. In my experience (limited) dressing up and going to parties are generally more fun that sneaking around in the cold throwing eggs or what not.

Oh, and in addition, it is WAY more fun to celebrate a World Series win that to either throw eggs or have costume parties.

I grew up in Midland Park, NJ and we always called it Goosy Night. All the kids on my street would come out and, with permission from our parents (sometimes they would join us), would toilet paper the trees and use soap to draw spooky images on the street. We had so much fun and never destroyed anyone's property in the process. The next morning I would come out to watch the cars driving through the curtain of toilet paper hanging from the trees.Good memories and harmless fun.

I grew up in Northern KY and we called it cabbage night and we would go out and soap up car windows or use wax and mark up car windows.

Im from Connecticut and thats what we call it.

Ok - I grew up in Yonkers, NY and I never heard of cabbage night. We always went out on Halloween and threw toilet paper etc. Since I moved here to Bergen county, my husband said Cabbage night is a tradition. My kids are 10 and 7 and begging me to go out with their friends and do these things - I think they are too young - maybe I just don't get the tradition.......sorry....

We just got home from celebrating Cabbage Night! In our neighborhood, we have a community shaving cream fight at the local playground. Adults, teens and children all get to have a great time. It is surpervised and it has lessened the wreakage of property in the neighborhood. We have a great time squirting shaving cream at each other and toilet papering the park, then we clean it up, go home and shower! It is a win/win situation!

I grew up in Rochelle Park, NJ (Bergen County)and the night before Halloween was called Cabbage Night. We armed ourselves with eggs, shaving cream, and socks filled with flour. It was more fun than Halloween. I live in Texas now and was wondering it is still celebrated.

i had fun at cabbage night did you know if u lick a jollie rancher and stick it on a window who ever tries to take it off the window will brake

WOW, I can't believe this site exists!! I'm from Dumont N.J. (same as the posting form Phyllis on October 28, 2004 06:55 AM),and I remember fondly Cabbage Night!! I now live in NE Pennsylvania, and everyone thinks I'm nuts when I talk about Cabbage Night. This Cabbage or Mischief Night I was driving through a small town by me, Hawley PA, and there was no toilet paper or anything, it was quite a let down!! I can remember getting ready buying eggs and shaving cream like a week earlier, cause the stores wouldn't sell them to kids that night!! Did anyone used to melt the tip of their shaving cream can so the shaving cream would fly farther?? And does anyone remember the Great Cabbage Night in Dumont of 1986?? I swear there had to be 400/500 people just going nuts!! It was awesome! I guess today that would be called a riot! The cops from 5 towns had to coral us all to Memorial Field till we cooled down! I moved away that Thanksgiving, but I'm glad I got to spend that Cabbage Night out with the crazies!

I grew up in Mamaroneck, NY and we never called it "cabbage night". I thought that was only used in the boondocks of western Mass.

In Dumont NJ we called it CABBAGE NIGHT. You went out with a sock filled with flower (hopefully not rocks), toilet paper, eggs and shaving cream. Mostly, you froze you ass off and hoped not to get hit by the EGGMOBILE! That was our big fear. Hahah. Good times. I'm too old for it now, but the kids still do it. I love to see the toilet paper hanging from the trees.

So this one time i went to band camp. It just happened to be around the halloween time. the night before that everyone called sock night. I still dont know why. But we went around the entire campus with pumpkins on our heads and socks on our hands. It was fun but some how i wound up completely naked. I think it might have had something to do with all of the advil and other prescription drugs that we all took. yeah. it was awkward the next morning when we found that it was parents day. My parents decided to bring me a nice pink flamingo for a present. I thought it was a nice gift. i mean its the thought that counts right? But back to the original story. After we took the advil and what not, we ran around with cabbages and threw them at people and cars and cabins. It was a lot of fun. Well thanks for reading my little blurb.

what does this have to do with the boston language. first, it is not relevant and second, we don't do this stuff. we wait until halloween itself. what another 2 day holiday? In reality we don't touch someone elses car in southie. too many eyes, laser ights, solar lights and you would get busted with or without the police. just plain stupid

I grew up in Northern Kentucky in the 50's and 60's. We definitely called the night before Halloween Cabbage Night. My brother and I were talking to our kids (thirty somethings) and mentioned it. They had never heard of it, nor had they heard of parafin!! My brother in law said that his father would frisk him before he went out on Cabbage Night. If he had soap in his pockets, he was okay, but if he had parafin, he was busted. I have been surveying my friends and none of them called it Cabbage Night, but it seems everyone has a name for this night. What a hoot!

Yep - In Bergen County NJ we called it cabbage night. I will never forget my brother used to hide behind our bushes at our house with the hose and when someone came close to the house he would spray them and get them all wet. Because it was NJ and the end of Oct it was sometimes very cold and the water was freezing and most of the teens avoided our house after a few good sprays. When I was a teen it was mainly soap, eggs and toiet paper. Sometimes we'd tie a button at the end of a string and tape it to someones window where it would tap against it in the wind and drive them up the wall all night trying to figure out what was making the noise.

I grew up in Park Ridge NJ and we called it cabbage night. My husband grew up in Oakland Nj and called it goosey night. We live in Massachusetts now and nobody knows anything about the night before Halloween. We talk about the things we did and they think we're crazy.