Why do we celebrate holidays like Halloween? (1 Viewer)

[JonZ]

"For one thing, Halloween is fun. Plain old simple fun."

Yup.

"why American adults have muscled in on what is a kids' thing."

Last year I dressed up for the first time since I was 13. A friend was having a party and I had 3 friends demanding I put aside my Worf-like personality for one night and dress up. So a buddy went as Hunter Thompson and I went as a Black Panther, 2 60s radicals - fro,sunglasses,leather jacket and gloves, all black attire. 3 dozen people in costumes,we drank and sat by a huge fire and ate and laughed. I had a great time. Its all in good fun.


"Halloween ain't what it used to be which was real fun for the kids. The days of trick or treating for 3-4 hours without your parents worrying whether you'll be coming back home safely are long gone."

I used to think that way as well until I moved into the development I live in 2 years ago. I get swamped where I am now. There are 3 large develpments of homes near each other and 5 bags of 120 pieces of candy may not be enough.

And for me, its a ball watching these kids dress up and show up at my door. After I dont know how many years of thinking Halloween was dead, Ive enjoyed it the past 3 or so years again.

 

[Brian D H]

As far as taking Halloween away from the kids; I REFUSE to let that happen. I am the parent of two daughters and they love Halloween. It is arguably their favorite holiday. Our house is still flooded with trick-or-treaters every year and if the price I have to pay so my kids can still have a Halloween is to take them out trick-or-treating that's fine by me. There are too many up-tight adults who think it is in the best interest of the kids to take away this "unsafe" holiday. Whether the motive is religeous fervor or fear it is just plain wrong. (See below)

Now, adults muscling in on the holiday? I have no problem with that. As long as everyone has fun and the children still get their holiday, then fine.
______

To answer the question: Why?

Why is Halloween so big? Why does nearly every culture seem to have a holiday or festival that glorifies the macabre? Simple - because we are all scared. We are all mortal. And, of course, because it is fun to dress up as someone else.

We all are scared to die someday. Children have their own unique set of fears -fear of being alone, fear of the dark, etc. Halloween is a chance to face those fears; to become that which we fear; to take back the night. If you are one of the ghouls for a night, then the ghouls can't get you (or, if you're Superman you can just crush them). When a child goes out in the dark, safe in a group, safely disguised as someone else, they can find the strength to face their fears. As we become adults we simply remember with fondness the fun and escapism of being someone else - we adults still face our fears in a safe environment, but more in the context of horror movies rather than by trick-or-treating.

The real crime comes when we tell our children that it really isn't safe; that they can't go out. That they have to hide indoors on Halloween or the monsters really will get them. Please don't do that. Go with them. Walk 20 feet behind if you must, but don't let them be afraid. As a side note - if we raise a generation of kids who can't celebrate Halloween, we'll have a generation of kids who live in fear, and a generation of adults who don't go to these parties (OK, so the second one is no big deal).

(Now, I'm not going to go down the politics route for obvious reasons; But look around at certain segments of the population at what a society living in fear will allow to happen. - Something to ponder, but you probably shouldn't discuss your thoughts on this subject in this forum since you'll violate the rules.)

 

[MarkHastings]

Great post Brian!

I never realized it as a kid, but a few years back I dated this girl who had young cousins and we went trick-or-treating with them. It was great to see so many families out on the streets at night. It made the neighborhood seem so friendly. The whole "Taking back the night" was definitely the feeling I got. Too bad it only feels like this one night a year.

 

[Colton]

"You don't really know much about Halloween... you thought no further than the strange custom of having your children wear masks and go out begging for candy. It was the start of the year in our old Celtic lands, and we'd be waiting... in our houses of wattles and clay. The barriers would be down, you see, between the real and the unreal, and the dead might be looking in... to sit by our fires of turf. Halloween... the festival of Samhain! The last great one took place three thousand years ago, when the hills ran red... with the blood of animals and children." -- Halloween 3: Season of the Witch

Anyhow, Halloween origins come from a Pagan worship celebration ...

"The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Pope Gregory III moved the old Christian feast of All Saints Day to November 1 to give Halloween a Christian interpretation."

So, that's kinda like taking an occult idealism and mixing some Christianity to make it "wholesome". Almost all American holidays have Pagan origins - yes, including Christmas.

- Colton

 

[Brian D H]

Colton, You are absolutely correct. And I, for one, am fascinated by the origins of various holidays and, in some cases, wish that they could go back to their origins.

However, I think you might be missing the point. The origins don't matter except where they might help us understand the current meaning. Halloween is no longer Samhain (though that would be cool), is no longer a pagan holiday, it isn't about our dead ancestors anymore, and it never was about Satan. What matters is what it means NOW. What it is now is more detailed in my previous post #22.

By the same token, while Christmas trees might have previously had a pagan meaning (and still do at my house), I'd be the first to admit that today they are all about Christmas, Santa, and a certain Victorian ideal of an imagined English/Dickens holiday.

 

[Jay Taylor]

I saw this the other night and thought it gave a fascinating explanation of the history of Halloween as well as present day Halloween.

It's also available on DVD:


http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Histor...970097-4925436

 

[andrew markworthy]

Not the same thing over here. The nearest Brit equivalent of what you call 'trailer park trash' is probably chavs. Have a look at the following website: http://www.chavscum.co.uk/ to see what I mean. The jokes about country folk really are nothing more than gentle ribbing.

Incidentally, my remark about adults muscling in on kids' activities wasn't the happiest choice of phrases. I didn't mean you guys were spoiling kids' fun, just wondering why you were joining in quite so enthusiastically. Though I've got to say that if American streets are full of attractive young women in the costumes shown in sites like http://www.haloweencostume.com/ then I can begin to see the appeal.

 

[BrianW]

Halloween is the only holiday (okay, celebration) that comes with no obligation whatsoever. Try letting any other holday pass by without so much as a present, or a card, or a phone call. Halloween is exactly what you make of it, even if that is nothing at all.

I celebrate with abandon. I like to decorate my porch, dress up, and pass out candy to the kids. My costumes are elaborate and home-made, always with a few surprises. Kids older than toddlers are always in for a scare at my house, and the more who drop their candy and run away screaming, the better. I've lived in this neighborhood for 15 years, and there are more than a few who have donned costumes all the way through their high school years just so they can come by to see my house and costume. And the adults escorting their younger children have said that they'll miss coming by when their kids grow up. I'm sure they'll find a way.

I'll never forget a group of girls who came by every year until four years ago. That year they dressed as Josey and the Pussycats. (Man, talk about making a guy feel old! I thought Josey and the Pussycats were hot 40 years ago. ) They dold me that this was their last year of Trick-Or-Treating. They gave me a tearful hug and thanked me for always giving them something to look forward to on Halloween.

That was really, really nice, and I'll never forget them.

Am I muscling in? I could argue that I do it for the kids (and I certainly do), but the truth is that I do it because I enjoy it. Our neighborhood has more Trick-Or-Treaters than most in the area, and I'd like to think I have had something to do wth that.

Ths year, I'm dressing as an escaped ventriloquist dummy. I made a mold of my face using modelling clay, then poured plaster into the clay to make a replica of my face. I then used that to make a form-fitting mask of paper mache. Then I sculpted an oversized ventriloquist dummy mask to go on top of that. I attached the dummy mask to the form-fitting mask in sections so that the oversized chin and lower lip of the dummy mask moves with my jaw. It's not as sinister-looking as I had hoped it would be, but it's still effective. It has that "whittled" wood-caring look to it. I then made a shallow wooden box with wires hanging from it, and tangled a foam-rubber severed forearm in the wires. The box attaches to my back, and I will carry a bloody hatchet so there's no question how I freed myself from the ventriloquist. For the older kids, I'll produce a severed head and do a short "Who's the Dummy Now?" ventriloquist act of my own, using the severed head of the ventriloquist as the dummy. I even have business cards with the ventriloquist's ad on one side ("A Laugh Riot!"), and the dummy's ad on the other ("You'll Die Laughing! Or ELSE!").

Yes, my wife is a saint.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

 

[MikeH]

I hate Halloween.

Boo Humbug!

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

I think horror in general is enjoying a big resurgence, and Halloween is going along for the ride. Halloween is also one of those rare holidays that has potential appeal for all demographics (even sulky teenagers). I am a confirmed horror nut and Halloween nut:
http://www.gatewaynewspapers.com/woo...rogress/37237/
But I can't say why Halloween is so popular, I just know it is. Some say it's because baby boomers are adults now and their kids are just as into it as they were.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Halloween is many things, mostly unrelated, smooshed together.

1. Pagan Customs. Dead ancestor related activites, while certainly not related to European pre-Christians, has dictated the time for Halloween (End of October). Nothing else we modern Americans traditionally do on Halloween would likely be recognized by these ancient Pagans. Fake gravestones maybe...... although they'd wonder why we don't just do everything in a cemetery and make our lives simpler.

2. Giving away candy. This, according to the all-knowing Wikipedia, is a modernized "souling" in which the poor would beg for food door-to-door in exchange for saying prayers for the deceased. Only now its done by children to avoid.....

3. Tricks. Since giving away candy is so widespread, I think several generations of people have grown to forget about or ignore the "trick" half of trick-or-treating. In the last 20 years the only related occurences I have involve teenagers (too old for T&Ting) throwing eggs at cars. Also the occassional ass is going to upend a porch candy-dish, because the household should at least go to the trouble to passing-out candy. Leaving it in a open conatiner on the "honor system" is seen as incredibly lazy.

4. Costumes (children). Popular myth seems to be that wearing a costume would scare away evil spirits (or at least confuse them so they would bother someone else). But many modern historians argue that evil spirits (ghosts, goblins, vampires, etc etc etc) didn't have anything to do with the Pagan Samhain festival. This is largely a tradition that just seems to have appeared. (see below).

5. Costumes (tricksters). Costumes are about anonimity. So if you're going to be playing practical jokes (in various degrees of severity) on people who don't give you candy, it makes sense to wear a costume. Thus I believe trick-or-treating and costumes belong together.

6. Costumes (adult). People like wearing costumes. While elaborate costume social parties may largely belong in yesteryear, Halloween, with its built-in child costume event, was going to spread to adults (who have no intention of begging for candy) eventually. It allows people a standardized time to wear costumes and socialize (usually large amount of alcohol are consumed). Given the large number of erotic and fetishized costumes available every year, Halloween also allows "normal" people to indulge their habits by buying the costums without appearing as a sexual deviant (wanna buy some chaps & a 10-gallon hat in may? I didn't think so).

7. Jack O'Lanterns. Pumpkins and other large gourds with faces carved into the sides have been a common harvest-time folk art for centuries (Most rinds are inedible, and you might as well do something with the garbage). Available pumpkins and halloween just kinda happened at the same time on the calendar year.

8. Candy. Historically cakes & other homemade foodstuffs were given away to beggers (or from extorsioners). But since the industrial revolution started putting thousands of people into cities, and medicine all but wiping-out terminal childhood disease, we simply have too many people looking for foodstuffs to make "homemade" practical. Bulk pre-wrapped candy is really the best way to do it. In some communities with few T&T'ers, people can produce enough of their own foodstuffs that buying in bulk isn't required. Candied apples, caramel popcorn balls, and chunks o' fudge are perennial favorites of sparsely populated areas.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

If anyones intrested: my personal Halloween plan..

*Wear simple costume. Skull half-mask & cowl serve to fit with spookyness, and allow for unrestricted breathing. Also allows me to wear warmer clothes. (It tends to be snowy on Halloween here).

*Loiter out-front of my building (so kids don't have to walk up to the 2nd & 3rd floors) and pass out candy.

*Drink large amounts of hard cider while doing it.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Are you the guy that had pictures last year of his house with a 18 foot spider taking up nearly the whole roof?

If so, you are a God!

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Good points Colton. I think it's a documented fact from numerous respectable sources that the celebration of Christmas is pretty much a fraud w/ it's origins coming from the winter solstice and the worship of the ancient Roman Sun God Saturn. And as for Easter, could someone please tell me what the correlation between bunny rabbits and eggs are? There are kids today who actually think that rabbits lay eggs.

 

[MarkHastings]

I like Carlos Mencia's bit:

"Jesus is Coming! Quick, Hide the eggs!!!"

 

[Greg_R]

All of these holidays are popular because of MONEY. Card, costume, and candy manufacturers want to keep their profits rising so creating holidays (secretaries day, etc.) and hyping holidays (Holloween, Easter, Christmas, etc.) keeps them in business. People listen to the T.V. or follow what they read and thus feel the need to participate (i.e. buy stuff) in these celebrations.

That is why they are popular, not because they can be fun. Remember, you can have a costume party at any time during the year.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

BOTTOM LINE truth.

 

[Alex-C]

I love Halloween. I've got my porch all spooked out. I carved three killer pumpkins from http://www.zombiepumpkins.com, I am using some really good spooky music I put together from a combination of three eerie tracks from Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Vol 2 combined with some "spooky" sounds all warped out in Soundforge (think evil laughter, slowed down and reverse wind sounds, like a Ghost, hard to explain, but I got 30 mins looped that really set the mood) pumped out through my Kilpsch reference speakers including the subwoofer (maxed out for the heartbeat) near the door. Blacklights galore. Tons of "scary fabric" from Walmart ($2 ea.). I wanted to do this bad, this year since I havent done it in a while, since our daughter was born.
So...I went out and got a 1000 watt fog machine, built a fog chiller, got some graveyard headstones.
It's looking pretty good. Red lights and black lights. spider webs. Hang some black thread at the entrance (makes them think their walking into the webs, in the dark), I got this gargoyle looking thing, then got some red L.E.D. lights and replaced the eyes...that cost about $2 total.
It's been fun staging this, I wish it were for more than 1 night, and it got me off the couch. haha.

 

[Eric_L]

I never realized we are all such mindless sheep. I always presumed supply met demand. What you're saying explains why movies like Gigli, Showgirls and Battlefield Earth had such poor box office earnings; because they didn’t advertise enough!

 

[Jeff Gatie]

To this post.

To those that have so serious an outlook on life; anything that involves the evil virus of capitalism is automatically cause for scorn and derision. Me, I usually save my scorn for those who are miserable and try to keep people down with their bleak outlook on life, not economic systems that have been proven to be the best at raising people up to their unique potential.