Haven’t seen a post so titled yet this the 31st of October, but perhaps my computer is acting up again, or I’m just spacing out and not seeing it (both real possibilities). So just in case it hasn’t been said yet…
Happy Halloween!
So what are you doing this Halloween?
We are trying to stay warm. Earlier this week it was nearly eighty degrees outside, and yesterday it got drastically colder and started snowing. It’s snowing again right now. Several inches on the ground. Burrrrrr! My son is four, old enough to really grasp the “exciting” concept of what trick or treating is (at least the treat part). He is dressing up as a fireman. He kept saying he wanted to dress up as something scarey like a monster, but as soon as he saw the fireman costume he got very excited and all thoughts of monsters flew out the window. Fortunately his outfit will fit over his winter coat… he’ll need it.
Nothing exciting other than that. Carved pumpkins last night, so they are all ready to set out tonight. When it gets almost dark, my son and I will bundle up (I’m skipping the costume this year… except for glitter in my hair) and we will go around trick-or-treating. Hubby will stay home handing out and eating candy. When we get home we will endevor to unthaw and look over the loot. Sometime during the evening, Grandma and Grandpa and some friends of ours will pass though our door. Who knows what else… probably not a whole lot, may even get to bed early. (Boring? Perhaps. Fine by me though. I’m easily amused.)
So that’s the unfrightening tale of what’s going on at my house today. What do you folks plan on for this Halloween (exciting, boring or otherwise)?
Sara (runs off to clean house in preparation for tonight)
i’m curious where in the world they are celebrating halloween. i have been living in germany for the last 20 years. only in the last five has halloween entered the public consciousness.
it took german kids two years to discover the joy of smashing pumpkins. we speculated at work today whether japanese kids would ever smash a pumpkin, although it is very likely that halloween has reached that island that is into everything american (whilst somehow immune to cultural imperialism).
here in my german home, my wife still refuses to recognise halloween ("children should be going to all saint’s mass tonight, instead). we are sitting with lights off and windows darkened. the doorbell has rung four times without tricks, nor treats.
to all of you in europe, asia, south america, africa (or whereever you are): any signs of halloween?
Probably off to the downtown watering holes tonight to watch the extraterrestrials. Only difference is tonight they’ll be kitted out in sillier outfits than usual.
Stayin home for first time in years. Kids will go to respective friends, one for a party (his first year NOT t-or-ting he’s 13) and other will go with school friends.
Curious to see if I can keep from eatin’ the Snickers.
Halloween, though precious to many, is a waste of pumpkins, a celebration of vandalism and the only time huge kids in street clothes can show up at my door with a pillowcase and extort something they normally couldn’t get.
Oh yeah, and here in BArea, “kidults” show up at big parties and go about nearly nekkid and spread STDs.
I wish it was just for little kids. Then it’s cute.
In Luxembourg Halloween wasn’t known either until a few years ago, maybe 5. My daughters are both having Halloween parties with their friends. They will watch horror movies and have junk food & drink. Some people have their houses decorated with pumpkins and candles. No trick or treat, as it is not a local tradition, rather an imitation of Hollywood movies.
But the luxembourgish children have a similar custom. On february 2nd they go from house to house singing songs, carrying lanterns and collecting money and sweets.
November 1st is a day of mourning and remembering the deceased. Families gather in cemetaries around the gravesites, and there is a religious ceremony where a priest is blessing the graves. Silence, serious faces, prayers, the smell of incense, and furtive gossip. For some people this was also a welcome opportunity to show their new winter clothes.
“True Halloween” or the Quarterly “mid-point” or “Estbath” between the Summer Equinox(Sabath) and the Winter Solstace(Sabath) happens in a few days on the full moon.
Pre-Christian Europeans celebrated the 4 seasonal points of the Solar year and the 4 quarterly mid-points between them with community celebrations. These were so popular and traditional that the Church demonized them. Halloween was banned in favor of the Judeo Christian “All Saints Day”.
The True meaning of “Halloween” or “Holy Evening” was celebrated in much the same way as the Mexicans celebrate “The Day of the Dead”. It is a time to remember those who have passed on, sort of like a Celtic Memorial Day.
Why costumes? On Halloween, the spirits of the dead can pass through the thin veil or web of life between worlds. If you had enemies that were now dead, it was wise to protect yourself by hiding behind a mask and costume.
Why Jack-o-lanterns? This was borrowed from “Yule Tide” or the full moon/solar solstice near Dec.22. The yule log or homefire was renewed from a ceremonial fire and the best behaved child was allowed to carry the sacred coal from the central fire in a hollowed out turnip or rutabega (pumpkins are native to the Americas). This turnip had to have air holes and a scary face was carved in it to frighten away any Faeries or Goblins that would extinguish the coal on the run home(bad luck!).
There are many more Halloween traditions, do you know any?
Well, Shannon and I have our own tradition, involving the horrible mutilation and subsequent ritualistic vivisection of pumpkins, so that various faces or other seasonal symbols are displayed upon their hollowed-out bodies.
We then separate the pumpkin’s reproductive materials (some call 'em "seeds) from the viscera, spread 'em out on a cookie sheet, lightly brush them with vegetable oil and salt, and then roast 'em for about 15 minutes at 250 degrees.
Well, as usual, we’re all dressed up. I’m in my Ren Faire garb this year, my hubby’s reprising his popular role as Tigger, and my daughter is a gothic vampiress. I’ll be leaving in a bit to help at my daughter’s school’s Halloween carnival. After school, I’ll pick her and her best buddy (who is coming to our place for a sleepover) up and we’ll go to the local comic shop, which is giving away free comic books to kids in costume.
This evening, we’ll all go trick or treating up in Scott’s Valley. The people of this particular neighborhood know how to do Halloween right…all the houses are decorated (some set up with haunted houses or mazes, or with a “witch” dispensing “witches brew” (aka hot cider) from a cauldron. When we’re done trick or treating, we’ll go for pizza so the kids can gloat over their goodies in public. Then we’ll come home and either watch “The Addams Family Values” or play “Munchkin”…or maybe both!
This year, a friend of my hubby’s from Ireland is in town, and will be meeting us for trick or treat. She wants to see what an American-style Halloween is like!
Two years ago, we had an exchange student from Germany staying with us. She’d never experienced a Halloween like ours before, but she really, really got into it.
On Sunday, we will observe the Feast of All Saints in the morning with a children’s mass, and in the evening we will observe All Souls at choral evensong.
Our neighborhood blocks off several streets where most folks with wee ones carouse from door to door for tricks and treats - all the houses are fully decorated for the occasion, revelers in all sorts of costumes, and plenty of haunted dwellings to explore. Last year we had a pumpkin carving contest, a witches’ and goblins’ gathering, several haunted houses, and old horror films projected onto a screen (fashioned from oversized bedsheets) on the side of a neighbor’s house. In contrast to other parts of San Francisco that are becoming notorious for getting perhaps a little too out of control, our neighborhood has a creative, fun, and safe time celebrating the holiday. Happy Halloween to all of you in C&F-land!
I’m going to go help one of my friends pass out candy at the bookstore she works at downtown. I WANTED to go trick-or-treating but apparently some shmuck decided that 19 was “too old” for it.
tonight i assisted a psycho-therapautic woman in a sound healing concert.
we had 10 people lying on mats.
we used a rainstick, ocean drum, a large gong, tibetian bowls, medicine drum, burke low D,…
we like to bring people in a balance, sort of trance state of mind that way.
I live in the woods now so no trick or treaters to be seen or heard- however I carved a huge pupmkin and set him on my porch all alit, and got a fake pumpkin (plastic with a light in it) and its in my bedroom window. Otherwise it is quiet. Tommorrow I will decorate my alter and prepare it for the Day of the Dead (I’m Mexican-American).
My college was in a wealthy communiy- so it was not uncommon for the students to dress up and go trick or treating like the kids because most of the people gave out full-sized candy bars. That and our dorm would through a huge Halloween party in the dining hall with tons of fun food and treats, and decorations.
At home (where my parents live now) there are tons of trick or treaters (we live in a neighborhood that is condsidered “safe”) My dad and I used to decorate our house in a big-time way, with bats and ghosts on wires- crazy music and flickering lights- most of my neighbors had fun decor too- the whole area got into it. I went trick-or treating until I went to college- that is just what kids on our block do- it also was not uncommon to get adults in costumes, I loved seeing how people decorated their homes. My dad used wear these crazy masks and scare the kids when he opened the door.
Now though, since I am not there anymore, he doesn’t pull out all the stops anymore. He just carves a pumpkin and gives out treats- he says he’s getting to old and its too hard for him to do all the decor without me to help.
I love Halloween- its always been lots of good clean fun in my experience
In the past 10 years, since I left grad school and started living the life of a real person, I haven’t had a single trick-or-treater. Ever. Very sad. However, this year my wife and I bought a house, in a town, with kids all around. We had loads of them tonight! Lots of fun. Of course there are the silly teenagers who go around in their regular clothes, but we also had some kids in very cute costumes, and some very clever ones too, and also a few teens who really dressed up. We went through about 3 1/2 large bags of candy. Wow!!
Our new dog (got her on Thursday) was incredibly excited that all these people were coming by to see her, but after a couple of hours she was peopled out. She’s having a nap now.
Just as I suspected… it snowed the whole evening! Reminded me more of Christmas than Halloween with those big flakes swirling. Hubby stuck a three hundred and fifty watt light bulb inside the pumkin he carved… made it look like there was flames coming out of the face and it lit up our yard, no need for a porch light with that. Didn’t catch fire but it’s one way to cook a pumkin, steam eminated from the top and all.
We went trick or treating in two parts. Up and down the street one way from our house then home to get thawed out and eat dinner. Then back out to go up and down the block the other way then home. Was going to go again, but it’s just so cold, and it’s getting late. Less kids out this year than last because of the weather… normally we get a lot more. Still have a fair amount of candy that didn’t get handed out this time. But my boy and I had fun. My nose is still froze, but I wouldn’t miss taking him out and seeing his excitment and having fun like that for anything.
And a sweet little old lady gave me a piece of candy too… that was nice. Still trick or treating at twenty-six!
I dressed as a witch and sat on the porch swing, with 4 carved pumpkins, a skull with a flickering light inside, Mannheim Steamroller’s Halloween CD playing and various glowsticks and candles set around. It was great fun handing out treats, even to the “big kids” ~ hey, they like candy too!
My hubby took the boys over to a friends house, where they were having a block party. They had a great time.
I have always loved fall and Halloween ~ and I still like to dress up, too!
Sara (runs off to clean house in preparation for tonight)
(substitute chocolate candy for chocolate beer; briefly)
