Every year at Halloween I tell this story to my children. Even though they’re older now, they still love to hear it. I sit in the big recliner in the house, surrounded by Halloween decorations and the girls sit around my feet as I once again tell the heartwarming family tale we call “The Halloween We Almost Didn’t Have a Jack-O-Lantern.”
It goes like this:
One year we waited too long to buy a pumpkin and then it was hard to find one but at the last minute we did find one so we had a jack-o-lantern after all. The end.
Happy Halloween,
Dale
COming soon: The Thanksgiving We Almost Didn’t Have a Turkey
and
The Christmas We Almost Didn’t Have a Christmas Tree
[ This Message was edited by: DaleWisely on 2002-11-01 19:54 ]
That touching tradition brings to mind another story, with the same emotional richness and sense of a living past:
“The memories of my family outings are still a source of strength to me. I remember we’d all pile into the car - I forget what kind it was - and drive and drive. I’m not sure where we’d go, but I think there were some trees there. The smell of something was strong in the air as we played whatever sport we played. I remember a bigger, older guy we called “Dad.” We’d eat some stuff, or not, and then I think we went home. I guess some things never leave you.” --Jack Handy, Deep Thoughts
Halloween is much bigger in the USA than in the UK, maybe because we stopped burning witches a bit sooner (and took to electing them Prime Minister instead), or whatever. Anyway, any kids coming Trick-or-Treating got the idea off imported American TV shows like Buffy the vampire Slayer.
Well, after the first year in my own home, when I had nothing to offer but a broken up bar of Dairy Milk chocolate, I usually go to Woolworths and lay in bags of funsize Milky Way, M&Ms and the like.
This year I have about 20 party bags of treats for the little scallywags who come knocking. I can then spend the next six months scoffing the stuff I couldn’t give away, and feeling permanently bloated & nauseous.
On 2002-10-31 09:35, Martin Milner wrote:
Halloween is much bigger in the USA than in the UK, maybe because we stopped burning witches a bit sooner (and took to electing them Prime Minister instead), or whatever. Anyway, any kids coming Trick-or-Treating got the idea off imported American TV shows like Buffy the vampire Slayer.
Well, after the first year in my own home, when I had nothing to offer but a broken up bar of Dairy Milk chocolate, I usually go to Woolworths and lay in bags of funsize Milky Way, M&Ms and the like.
This year I have about 20 party bags of treats for the little scallywags who come knocking. I can then spend the next six months scoffing the stuff I couldn’t give away, and feeling permanently bloated & nauseous.
Bless them.
So that’s what it’s all about! I had three kids knock on my door last night saying “trick or treat!”, and when I asked them what trick or treat was they didn’t know, but said “you’re supposed to give us some chocolate”. I gave 'em some coins to go off and buy some.
Now on this very point of hallowe’en, let us not forget that it is an ancient celtic (maybe pre-celtic) tradition, since adopted by Christians. Originally “all souls night” or “Samhain” in gaelic, it celebrated death and the passing of souls, symbolically after the harvest when the growing season ended.
Now, how “trick or treat” fits, I’m not quite sure…
my how things change…when i was but a laddie growing up in kansas (yes, i was there with dorothy and toto), we would canvas the neighborhood getting goodies and save two houses for our last visits. the first was a house where the owner every year came up with a new way to frighten the beegebers out of us. we loved it! then we would go next door where for a block party. there the owner would cook hot dogs for all us kids while the parents “ooohed” and “ahhhed” over our general cuteness. i tell my children about this and they roll their eyes and report that i’m not in kansas anymore!
On 2002-10-31 10:41, Martin Milner wrote:
Nick, did you ever see those Good ol’ Charlie Brown cartoons?
When he and the gang went trick-or-treating, he always got a rock, while Linus, Lucy, Patti, Snoopy etc got candy.
I always thought that was so mean. He never got to have anything good happen to him.
On 2002-10-31 10:41, Martin Milner wrote:
The other theory is, if you don’t give them a treat, they play a trick on you. Like slashing your car tyres or throwing rocks through your bay window.
Or soaping your windows, smashing your pumpkins, or toilet papering your house and yard.
Going from house to house collecting “apples or nuts” is part of the Hallowe’en tradition in Ireland.
The “trick or treat” dimension seems to be a specifically US twist on it, though possibly, given its protection-racket aspect, it was inspired by those warm-hearted people that made Chicago a name to conjure with in the good old days.
Now the new and improved tradition has recrossed the Atlantic (a bit like C&W music!), and one of the delights of modern-day Hallowe’en in Dublin is dropping firecrackers through the letterbox into the hallways of frightened old people.
Actually, before I left Ireland ~ many years ago~ the tradition of going from door to door had gotten so out-of-hand that kids started to do the rounds two or three weeks prior to Oct.31st. And, they were only interested in money ~ no candies or fruit/nuts. Hopefully it has changed since.
Actually, “All Souls” (November 2) is the Christian tradition. Together with its companion feast of All Saints (November 1), it comprises the Feast of All Hallows (which is when we commemorate those who have died), which is why we now call the day before All Saints Hallow e’en (“All Hallows Eve”).
The Celtic feast was Samhain (“sovven”)…which recognized the turning of the year. Supposedly, at this time, the veil between the worlds grew thin, and the departed could pass freely between this world and the next. Depending on where you were, you might welcome these unearthly visitors (with food and drink) or fear and seek to either frighten and confuse them (with costumes and lanterns) or appease them (food and drink again), which is where the modern practice of trick or treat comes from.
On 2002-10-31 09:35, Martin Milner wrote:
Halloween is much bigger in the USA than in the UK, maybe because we stopped burning witches a bit sooner (and took to electing them Prime Minister instead), or whatever.
We don’t burn them anymore either. Now we give them really bad TV shows…
Isn’t St. Stephens day somewhat similar, going around in costume asking for money to bury a wren?
Halloween is much bigger in the USA than in the UK, maybe because we stopped burning witches a bit sooner (and took to electing them Prime Minister instead)
Martin, How can you be sure? I mean… did you (English) have a scale AND a duck handy?
Slan
-Paul
(edited to change “qutoe” to “quote” so that the quote thing works)
[ This Message was edited by: paul on 2002-10-31 22:59 ]
I watched a really intresting program on the History Channel about the origins of Halloween and Redwolf is right according to this program. The Celts had their Samhain, the Roman conquerers had Pomona(that’s what started bobbing for apples) at the same time of year. Then the Pope decided to blend these with Christianity and there you have it. According to this show, much of what we know now as modern halloween stuff(carving pumpkins, dressing up in costumes,etc. came over to the US with the great Irish immigration.
This may be all blarney, but isn’t there an element in Hallowe’en of frightening the malicious spirits away? I thought that the treats were offered up to the (substitute) goblins in hopes of keeping evil from your home and family, so that the Trick is the threat of misfortune and the Treat is the propitiation. That’s the purpose of the firecrackers, too, the frightening away of bad spirits.
This is called up from dimly remembered explanations I’ve heard and may mean nothing.
LOL!