British Expatriate Network

:???: It's the same day because it's the same holiday, just celebrated in a slightly different way

There's always been something not quite right to me about the way the americans celebrate this pagan festival with such gusto...one minute they're piling into the churches in my neighboiurhood by the suv load, the next they're in Party City buying up skeletons, coffins, and all manner of what I would class as fancy dress gear, although here it's 'halloween garb'...

However. In answer to your question, we will leave candy out this year. We live in a quiet neighbourhood so not many kids about, but last year we left a load out and it all went so this year we'll do the same. We always go off to a friend's neighborhood where it's all totally wild. But as I said I can never square the religious thing going on with this spook stuff.

Have fun guys grin

Americans celebrate *anything* that can be comercialised with gusto. Otherwise - Christmas would merely be like an extra Sunday with Churchgoing, right??? There would be no point in pushing all those diamond-encrusted rings and new Lexii (plural of Lexus?), right??

But - equally rightly - why shouldn't they celebrate Halloween??? I was raised by a Christian mother and I didn't ever get the concept of us children being interested in undermining the Christian faith by merely enjoying Haloween. It was about being scary, and getting sweeties. Anything more deep, in my opinion, is asking more of our children than they can understand.

KR

now that sounds more like it. I fancy a bit of Pagan celebration
Can I come please. :smile:

FWIW I think so few of the "holidays" celebrated here bare any relevance to their religious/other origins that it's not worth getting your knickers in a twist about. Halloween in th USA today has as much to do with religion as Michael Jackson has to do with ageing gracefully.

Are the kids who come to your door dressed in costumes and asking for candy really going to "trick" you if you refuse? Do they represent the undead or just Bob the Builder and Scooby-Doo? Will they still call and curse you if your porch light is off? Are they really worshipping all things bad and non-Christian, or are they just having fun? Today's Halloween is no more a religious thing or a demand for candy with menaces than Valentine's day is a demand for diamonds with menaces including the wrath of St. Valentine himself.

If you don't enjoy it or approve of it, fine, leave your porch light off. I love the way that is respected. But it's just a night of costume and fun. Let the rest of us enjoy it -we are not all making demonic statements through our children!!!!! lol

Hear hear! I agree with you absolutely, monster. mrgreen

I won't be giving candy. Having lived in a very rural area, this is something I never did before I came here and as yet I don't feel sufficiently Americanized to jump on this particular bandwagon.

Did that last night. Hadn't had lamb in ages. And I'm having a horrible horrible time with breathing right now so whisky was brought out to "help" with that. 8)

Just read this in the August 2005 issue of History Today (paid link unfortunately)

"In July's History Today, David Prior had referred to Bonfire Night as 'the historic English festival' which now 'faces competition from the brash American import, Halloween'.

Having been brought up in central Scotland, this came as a bit of a shock. We have always celebrated bonfire night with the traditional fireworks, penny for the Guy etc it was James VI that the conspirators were trying to blow up.

As for Halloween, there are many ways of celebrating this event north of the Border which have been passed down for hundreds of years. The main one is to go 'guising' children and young people dress up as witches, ghosts and other characters associated with Halloween and knock on the doors in their neighbourhood, saying 'please help the guisers'. They are then invited into the house to perform a song or poem. Their reward is either a handful of nuts, an apple or a few coins. Traditionally their way was lighted using a turnip lantern."

With Professor F J Lewis, overites professor at All Souls' College, Oxford

Observe this haggard ghoul with matted hair and rotting teeth

Yes, I see

you fancy her, you wish she was your girlfriend and oyu could give her a big Kiss


If you never saw The Mary Whitehouse Experience, then that means nothing, suffice to say I nearly died laughing at History Today.


Halloween, it's just a fun excuse for a dress up day.

We do Thanksgvivng too, and we're not Amercian, it's a good excuse to take the free days off, have a big meal and a fun day with family and friends. 8)

We have an American firend who 'does' Hannukkah, she not the slightest bit Jewish. :shock:

St Pat's day, green Beer corned beef and cabbage, only in America :roll:

By the heck, you guys are sophisticated. Round here if you don't give candy you run the risk of having your house TP'd. Couple of years back they did the house of one of the local teachers. The house, the trees, the garden, the lawn, the cars in the drive. If they could have caught one of the pets they'd have TP'd that too. :mrgreen:

You Californians need to relax your gun laws. :wink:

A 12-gauge and rock salt would solve the problem. Technically non-lethal but it really, really hurts.

/yea verily speaketh the voice of experience

TP'ing a house here is usually reserved for coaches of sports teams, generally the football coach.

I think the origins of holidays are always there, just subsumed in commercialism. But that doesn't mean that religious origins aren't of any merit or interest to consider. It's not about being a killjoy or indeed getting knickers in a twist, it's just about giving thoughts & opinions on a very interesting subject.












think discuss.