Halloween

[mcmasterdonia]

I've never really been exposed to Halloween and I have never been trick or treating. It isn't a part of Australian culture as a whole, however it is growing in popularity in some areas. I've only ever had one person come to my door on Halloween and asked for a treat, I felt bad as I had no choice but to turn them away as I did not have any candy or chocolate in the house at the time. I didn't think that giving a beer to a nine year old would have been acceptable, even in Australia.

I am too lazy to research it myself and I have never learned about it.

So beyond the dressing up and the trick or treating, what is it about? Where did it come from? What does Halloween mean to you, if anything...? Is it all just for a bit of strange fun?

 

[Merconitonitopia]

I didn't think that giving a beer to a nine year old would have been acceptable, even in Australia.

Ah ha ha ha ha.

Also, say "Hallowe'en" because it looks fancier.

 

[Chasmanthe]

It's different depending on your culture, e.g. in Mexico they have Day of the Dead which is a really big deal with hundreds of skulls and cool t-shirts and stuff.

The traditions I grew up with in UK have probably been influenced by the american brand of Halloween but from what I gather it goes something like this:

Before the Romans brought the Julian calendar, the end of the year was 31st October. The tradition goes that the pagan year's final day is the only time that lost souls can return to earth. So you may talk to Ghosts on this night. You may be haunted by supernatural forces. You may come across demons and other beings that are not allowed to see the light of day.

The next morning, would have been pagan new year. 1st November in the Church's calendar is All Saints Day, a day that celebrates not just one of their saints but all of them at once. Traditionally it was called All Hallows instead. The night before All Hallows is naturally All Hallow's Eve, which became known as Hallowe'en, or, in our apostrophe-averse era, Halloween.

The history of Christianity is half filled with instances of persecuting heretics, burning witches, etc, which probably peaked in the 5th century but was also prevalent in the puritan era both sides of the Atlantic. Practices which probably began as revenge for the persecution of early Christians under the Roman Empire. Hallowe'en is essentially the night for the other side to turn the tables on the God-fearing.

Witches and other scary people will come to your door crying Trick or Treat! The dilemma is whether you appease them with something delicious, or be liable for a penalty fare, which is whatever prank they have up their sleeves. In theory, they could burn your house down, but the worst I've come across is they pelt your front door with eggs.

Spoiler: addendum

Americans lose sight of true meaning of Halloween
Posted on October 31, 2013 by Raquel Woodruff

Today, Halloween evokes images of costumes and candy, haunted houses and hayrides, friends and fun. With $2.6 billion expected to be spent on costumes and $2.08 billion on candy for the holiday, it is clear Americans have lost sight of the true meaning of All Hallow's Eve - worshiping the dead.

A recent Pew poll reveals 93 percent of children ages 5 to 10 believe Halloween is about having fun and eating candy with their friends. That statistic is heartbreaking. It seems that an increasing number of kids have not been taught that Halloween is really about venerating the dead, glorifying their evil spirits and then performing a witch ceremony to incur black magic and other demonic powers.

The report cited that 80 percent of toddlers consider Halloween their favorite holiday. But when asked what the witching hour was, only 1 percent of respondents knew it is the time in which spawns of the dead feed off human flesh and offer a blood sacrifice to demons. This kind of secularization of Halloween as just a so-called fun holiday for dressing up is the direct result of two distinct societal failures. The first of these failures falls on modern day parents, who have not educated their children about the traditions of Hallow's eve.

A Gallup survey last week revealed 92 percent of children did not know that the purpose of wearing costumes is to appease the undead. Responses such as "because it’s fun" show a perpetuating ignorance in the United States about the celebration of Halloween. It used to be about getting together with your tribe or clan, huddling around a bonfire and performing witchcraft in the hopes of exalting lost souls from their graves. It used to be about what really mattered.

This tight-knit idolization of the dead has been virtually erased in modern American culture. And that is because of a second failure I mentioned, which is the mass media's commodification of Halloween. For too long television and online programming have reduced ghosts and goblins to mere decor pieces for a Halloween party, rather than apparitions who roam the Earth at midnight after a hard-won hundred of years of evil-praising incantations.

This Halloween, take a moment and ask a friend what the holiday means to them. I can almost guarantee they won't mention anything about certain ethnic groups coming together to celebrate the dead, evoking phantom spirits and using mystical powers to raise the souls of evil forces. Halloween must return to a time of dead-worship. How much longer will we let it remain a secular holiday where kids go out with their friends and families to have fun?

<sub>This story is part of our fictitious coverage in celebration of Halloween 2013. All people and events in the story are fictional.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Oct. 31 print edition. Rocky is Dr. Frank N. Furter's creation. Email her at opinion@nyunews.com.</sub>

 

[Democratic Donkeys]

So beyond the dressing up and the trick or treating, what is it about? Where did it come from? What does Halloween mean to you, if anything...? Is it all just for a bit of strange fun?

Candy candy candy! And it is an excuse for men to crossdress, and women to dress "sexy". Amongst adults anyway. Oh yeah, and in our alcohol fueld culture it is yet another excuse to drink to excess.

 

[mcmasterdonia]

Thank you for that Chasmanthe

DD: Is an excuse really required?

 

[Lennart]

It's an excuse to go partying even if I kinda more like the old forgotten Canarian Halloween "los finados" in which people used to roast chestnuts, light candles, tell scary tales and buy flowers to our deceased friends and relatives.

Anyway, this Halloween I did nothing special but the only thing I missed was the Community Halloween episode, I wonder if they will do another of those again since it keeps getting delayed every year.