I'm from Singapore so I don't know much about Halloween or how you folks in the States celebrate it. Care to share what you know about Halloween (its origins, significance etc), how you celebrated it before and how you intend to this year, etc? [img]smile.gif[/img]

THANK YOU OH SO much for reminding me... bloody children comin around begging for money/sweets etc. bah! an annoyence. lol. I'd completly put that outa my mind... [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Oh, you mean they celebrate it in England, too?

To my enternal disgust, yes. its annoying. and pethetic... and I wish these children would do something else. bah! Basically, these children "dress" up in "scary" costumes, and go around begging for money/sweets. they say "trick or treat" and if you DONT give them anything, they play a "trick" on you. of course, some of them take it to extremes, believing the meaning to be "egg" you, you're house, you're car, and generally be abusive. or similar

[ 10-01-2002, 10:18 AM: Message edited by: Calaethis Dragonsbane ]

Come on, Calaethis, don't be so stingy, you can surely give the 'annoying brats' a couple little things, can't you? ;) Say a few lollies...

Right... I require my sword and bow outa BG.. (ME stingy? I'm an addolescent male of 17... what do you expect?! besides, I am "distainful" of all of the "kids" around my area. [img]tongue.gif[/img] they're annoying. [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) lol, heh, its funny, whenever I go out to pizza hut with my friends I'M always the one (and my mate) that have the curtosy to leave a tip [img]tongue.gif[/img] lol. ;) erm, but thats besides the point... to be honest, I dont like being threatened. And some "kids" find it funny to use it as an excuse to egg ya house. grrrr. vandalism. lol.

Hm, I was rather under the impression that England did NOT celebrate All Hallows Eve, but waited until November 5th for Guy Fawkes day. Apparently the trend has changed.

Oh, and Calaethis, being a "17 y.o. adolescent male" is a recoverable condition. Trust me on this. ;)

-Sazerac

[ 10-01-2002, 10:45 AM: Message edited by: Sazerac ]

lol, we celebrate "bonfire Night" as well, that IS the 5th of nov. Hellowene is on the 31st of oct? :| lol.

Recoverble contintion?! NO! Tell me it ISNT so! : O lol [img]tongue.gif[/img] ;)

<font color = lightgreen>As I tell <font color = white>TJ</font>, Halloween has no meaning anymore, which is why we don't bother with it. If his school has some sort of festival we'll let him go, otherwhise we won't do anything special. Too many years of increasingly wild behavior and nut-cases doing twisted things have spoiled what used to be an enjoyable holiday. *sigh* Oh, well. There are plenty of other holidays to celebrate. </font>

<font color="#ff3399">LOL I was about to lament the lameness of todays All Hallows Eve celebrations. When I was a kid [img]smile.gif[/img] hehehe sounds like it was sooooo long ago ;) Anyway..When I was a kid, we did all kinds of stupid but fun at the time things. Of course while you were young you collected treats, and if you were older (10 or so) You would sneak out and steal corn from a local farmers field and you would corn cars and houses...(ie shuck the corn and throw handfulls of kernels) at them or you could egg them, or TP their lawn or soap their windows...ahhh good times :D Of course we only did this to creepy houses and mean old people. There was the very real danger of catching a load of rocksalt from a shotgun though...And one old coot tossed lit firecrackers at us [img]smile.gif[/img] That was acutally fun. </font>

i love halloween! even when i was 17 i still dressed up and went trick or treating! we never vandalized, so maybe it's just you brits that have that problem. i want to get my three yo a princess costume cause we tell her she's a pretty pretty princess, and the newborn, i'm not sure. maybe there will be something at walmart for her. i usually do a witch. and after juat having a baby wearing all black isn't a bad idea, slims the waist y'know! i have so much fun with and decorating, everything!!!! pumpkins and candles and black cats (even tho my gray and white one is scary enough!) witches and all sorts of fun!!!! oh it's so exciting! and candy, all that chocolate!!!! ahhhh...i can't wait. thanks for reminding me it's so soon!

No Saz, we have always celebrated it - as an old pagan festival it has a long history in these isles ;) I have happy childhood memories of going trick or treating with my mates dressed up as a ghost or somesuch, and apple-bobbing, carving out faces in pumpkins etc.

What's it about KT Ong?
It's Samhain - the old pagan New Year, when the 'veil' between this world and the next is thin and spirits of the dead can come back to feast with their loved ones still in this world. At least that's the origins of the festival. Candles in carved out turnips and cabbage stalks (and when settlers went to the US they used native squashes and pumpkins instead) were set alongside pathways and in windows to light the way home for good spirits, and to ward off evil ones. Places were set at the dinner table for all members of the family, living or dead. It was a time to celebrate a 'reunion' with loved ones long gone and to strengthen bonds with those still living. Similar to the 'Day of the Dead' festival in Mexico, which has similar origins, and like Halloween is now a mix of pagan tradtion and modern Christian belief.

Some of those traditions survive, and Christians have their own take on the modern festival of Halloween involving saints and somesuch, sorry that's not a good answer but hopefully someone who knows anything about Christianity will come and explain that bit of it!

As far as what happens at Halloween these days? Kids dress up and go door to door demanding money/sweets with menaces - they say 'trick or treat' and you have to give them sweets unless you want to end up with dogshit through your letterbox.

[ 10-01-2002, 12:41 PM: Message edited by: Epona ]

by scaring the kids away from my door same as last time [img]tongue.gif[/img] - I make an excellent scythe-wielding wraith ;)

I love Halloween. Why? The parties. Heh, as soon as I hit 16 they started rolling in. Sometimes its a proper one, and sometimes its just damn funny, with a few people apple bobbing and getting totally soaked. Saz, here (England) we celebrate both. I prefer bonfire night though [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
I don't get many trick or treaters around here. Mainly cos I live in London ;) :D Not many 8 year olds wandering around.

Hehe! I have a Balinese (sp?) Rangda mask - I put that on one year and watched the kiddies scream and run....

Halloween is my favorite holiday. When I'm luck and it falls on or near a weekend, I find a costume party, or even better a masquerade, to go to. I must admit the munchkin-brigades annoy me, but as I currently live in a downtown high-rise, that won't be an issue this year.

Epona summed it up rather well, I loved celebrating by watching old corny monster movies, and new ones, reading something from Steven King, like Cycle of the Werewolf, and generally spooky things like that (maybe I'll play werewolf: the apocalypse this year to celebrate)

<font color="#ff3399">Yeah I thought Epona was quite eloquent...right up to that last little bit [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

Not just England, Scotland too.

We have a Danish version of Halloween, it's in February I believe. Instead of dressing up and going out to beg for candy, kids here in Denmark dress up and smash barrels filled with candy. Some do, anyway.

In ancient days it was a tradition where there was a black cat inside of the barrel. And then once the barrel had been smashed the poor creature would run off, then the barrelsmashers would hunt it and kill it with whatever they had been bashing the barrel with. Apparently it was good to kill such a bad-omened creature.

I'd prefer the american version, honestly. Sounds like so much more fun.... And like you'd get much more candy, too!

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.