Hehe! I have a Balinese (sp?) Rangda mask - I put that on one year and watched the kiddies scream and run....</font>[/QUOTE]the mask i use is painted black and has red filters for eyes. what people seeing this grgim visage don't realise is that originally it was a Stan Laurel mask that i trimmed a bit

What? You mean that you actually look different with that mask on? [img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img]

Heheheh, just kidding :D

What the f**k, the Halloween children really throw eggs at houses if they dont give candy!? That is pure vandalism!!
Ooh, in Estonia, we have something else instead of Halloween - Mardi Päev and Kadri Päev('Päev' is 'day' in estonian. Mardi(Mart) is a boys name, Kadri is a girls name). In Mardi Päev, all kids dress up as old men(mostly with mustaches and funny gray and furry clothing) and in Kadri Päev, we dress up as old women(Yes, even boys, lol, not joking [img]smile.gif[/img] ). Then we go on a poor victim`s doorstep but we don`t ring the bell. Instead, we sing the Kadri or Mardi Day`s song(judging on which day is it) and when the owner lets us in, we sing a few songs, ask riddles, tell poems and stuff like that(or the victim can just skip that part, if he wants to). Then, like all polite people, the house owner(or victim) says his "thank yous", gives the childen some candy, and the children go away. Thats it. No bastardly 'trick' or anything bastardly. Sorry, but i think Estonia`s tradition is way much better and more comfortable for the owner. Plus, the children have to do something to recieve the candy. [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color="#ff3399">
Well I played a lot of tricks in my mis-spent youth, but I was never a bastard..My birth certificate is quite authentic and names both my parents thank you very much [img]smile.gif[/img] The world has changed, but the tricks we pulled did no real harm nor did the rock salt we were shot in the ass with [img]smile.gif[/img] We all survived in tact. </font>

I think Halloween is celebrated a little differently in every area. Here in southern Illinois, some people still have hay-rides and bonfire parties. The schools only have Autumn festivals now. The local college (SIU) often closes down for Halloween because of riot-like parties that destroy public property. People seem to decorate more than they used to (lights and tinsel kind of stuff instead of just the traditional). I still plan on dressing up even if it's just to answer the door for the trick-or-treaters. The costumes are the best part of the holiday! It the only time of year I sew because homemade costumes are the best. Only one out of 6 years have I bought one from a store, for my son. And for the parents sake, I'm giving the kids a choice between candy or a little toy.
Happy Samhain everybody!!!

I don't think the Balinese celebrate Halloween, do they? :D Cool mask you got there BTW, Epona.

Heard a couple things before actually about Halloween being originally a 'pagan' Celtic festival. We Chinese also have this tradition about the Seventh Moon of each year being the time when the gates of the Underworld are opened and the spirits of the dead are free to roam the human world. We (not I in particular, though ;) ) do things like burning joss paper and incense to appease the dead, and staging live outdoor concerts at night (not sure about the purpose of this). We don't have kids dressing up in funny ways and going around asking for nice stuff, though. ;)

This is in "Celtic Myth & Magik": Samhain (SOW-in or SAV-ayn) marked the begining of the old Celtic new year, and many Celtic Pagans still observe Samhain as the renewal of the Wheel of the Year.
This was the night that the old God died, returning to the Land of the Dead to await rebirth at Yule, and a time when the Crone Goddess would go into mourning for her lost son/consort, leaving her people in temporary darkness.
As in days long past, Celtic Pagans believe that the veil between the world of the living and that of the dead is at it's thinnest on this night, and that the spirits of our departed loved ones walk the earth, visit family and friends, and join in the ritual celebrations. This makes Samhain a prime night for any type of spirit contact rituals.
The feeding of the dead is a widespread practice, even in modern Celtic lands. In Brittany and Ireland food is always left out for these spirit travelers, and candles are placed in windows to guide them along their way, and these were the origins of the modern Halloween customs of the jack o' lantern and trick-or-treat.
Also known as Hallowmas, Samana, Samhuinn, Samonios and All Hallows Eve

[ 10-02-2002, 05:34 PM: Message edited by: The Ornery One ]

Halloween here is your basic thing. Kids come to your door dressed up in all sorts of costumes, you open said door, kids say "Trick or Treat!" (although some don't even bother now just stand there looking at you with their candy bag held out). You then give them candy. Nowadays a lot of older teens show up at the door, which to makes the whole thing bogus. The cut-off age for trick-or-treating should be like 13 I'd say. After that you are just too old to be trick-or-treating. I always feel odd when I give candy to some guy that is way bigger and taller than I am LOL, I just think to myself "you are just looking for free candy at this point, you didn't even dress up, you just think 'tonight I can get free candy.'"

Blah either way most likely this Halloween I'll do like I usually do and buy tons of candy anticipating this crowd. But since 911 people just don't want their kids taking candy from strangers, so we don't get anywhere as near as many kids as what used to be the case years ago. So most likely, as in last year, I'll have four months worth of candy in my pantry LOL.