Ship of Fools: Who's doing what for Hallowe'en?

Thread: Who's doing what for Hallowe'en? Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

And Dia de los Muertos, and spooky things during the month of October in general, of course!

Haven't yet put up decorations or the ofrenda, but we will!!

Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :

Nothing much here, having my brother over for company and waiting for Trick-or-Treaters to come by. Decorations are up though.

My daughter is having a party the Saturday before which I am allowed to drop in to for awhile.

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :

I plan to attend my town's Dia de Los Muertos celebration at a lovely downtown park. Last year I went to the one on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, but I have to tighten my belt this year. I've heard our local one has become a really nice event and I'm looking forward to it. I have a skeleton tee-shirt all ready to don for the occasion.

[ 12. October 2014, 04:00: Message edited by: Lyda*Rose ]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Last year I got my face painted by a very talented schoolmate, who now lives in LA [Frown]

I wanna do something....

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

I'm going with two friends to our favorite beach to watch the sunset. [Cool]

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

Nothing - it's pagan!

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

Taking a rehearsal - Hallowe'en falls on a Friday so there will be choir as usual.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

quote:
Originally posted by leo:
Nothing - it's pagan!

You say that like it was a bad thing.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

We are getting dressed up for puppy class - to get the dogs used to weird outfits!

[Smile]

Posted by comet (# 10353) on :

We usually "spook out" the house- glowing eyes in the bushes and that sort of thing- then hand out candy, then tour downtown in costume shaking down everyone for thier goods, then drop the sugared up freaks at home and go dancing or to whatever party is on offer.

I'm thinking the bar wench costume this year.

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

We are going to see Benedict Cumberbatch in FRANKENSTEIN, filmed from the National Theatre production.
Last year I wore my Jedi outfit, which was sewn by me to a fantabulous level of accuracy. (There are large websites devoted to this exercise if you want to do the same.) I swept up to the front door when the doorbell rang. Outside was a tiny little boy dressed as a Storm Trooper. I should have said, "You're a little small for a storm trooper, aren't you?" But instead I said, "The Force is strong in this one." There was an awed silence and then finally, from behind the little boy, his father said, "If I had a costume like that I would wear it every day."

Posted by Uncle Pete (# 10422) on :

How can All Hallows Eve be pagan? In any event it's nowadays for partying, and I will be ignoring it as usual.

Posted by Pomona (# 17175) on :

A (very chilled out) housewarming party.

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

I'm going to a Gay Gamers of Atlanta Halloween party. There's going to be board/card games galore and a costume contest. I'm too tired/sick to really go in for a lot of costume stuff but I did see a funny minimalist costume idea on the interweb: Take a t-shirt and with a permanent marking pen write, "Yay! Ceiling!" on it in big letters. Then when people ask you what you're supposed to be, you say, "A ceiling fan, of course!" and everyone groans and throws things at you. I might even get some pom poms to complete the outfit. Cheap but effective and then I don't have to feel out of place when every Gay man in the place is dressed in some outrageously fab costume! [Big Grin]

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

Comet: I misread your comment about dressing as a bar wench. I thought you had written: Bear wench! And I was thinking to myself, "Boy, those people in Alaska are really weird! Why would a female bear be considered a wench?

Yikes. I need to get a new pair of glasses tout suite.

Posted by comet (# 10353) on :

The sows around here are shameless.

Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :

I have no plans for myself, barring the supply of sweets. But I will spend a huge amount of time turning my nine year old into a zombie Doctor Who [Big Grin]

I might convince my eldest to be painted up too, he made a fabulous zombie last time.

Posted by OddJob (# 17591) on :

Not sure if this is this just a middle/northern England thing, but I thought Haloween suddenly went in the mid-1980s from being an often Church-centric community event to being despised as a pagan festival, which churches suddenly became ashamed of ever having been involved in.

At first, opposition to Haloween was met with the same ridicule as anyone suggesting that anti-Irish jokes were no longer acceptable. Then, within about two years, it seemed that no Christian or church in any denomination wanted anything to do with Haloween.

For a number of years we've run a competing All Saints' Day Party for the youngsters.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Heavenly Anarchist:
I have no plans for myself, barring the supply of sweets. But I will spend a huge amount of time turning my nine year old into a zombie Doctor Who
I might convince my eldest to be painted up too, he made a fabulous zombie last time.

Sick!!

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

I don't have a costume Idea yet, but a local German restaurant is having an Octoberfest type thing. I might go in costume.

Of course, the Castro is a ten minute streetcar ride away...

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by OddJob:
Not sure if this is this just a middle/northern England thing, but I thought Haloween suddenly went in the mid-1980s from being an often Church-centric community event to being despised as a pagan festival, which churches suddenly became ashamed of ever having been involved in.

At first, opposition to Haloween was met with the same ridicule as anyone suggesting that anti-Irish jokes were no longer acceptable. Then, within about two years, it seemed that no Christian or church in any denomination wanted anything to do with Haloween.

For a number of years we've run a competing All Saints' Day Party for the youngsters.

No, it happened here in the US too, though not in most mainstream churches as far as I can tell--just the more fundamentalist ones. But that perhaps should be its own Purgatory thread, since this is meant for fun and plans and things rather than debating it... (please?)

Posted by JoannaP (# 4493) on :

I have bought some treats, so just have to wait and find out if the kids round here go Trick-or-Treating or not. Perhaps we ought to get the outside light functioning by then, to be a bit more welcoming.

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :

I must confess to being a bit "bah, humbug" about Hallowe'en. It was never a particularly big thing when I was growing up (Guy Fawkes' Night was bigger, and Hallowe'en tended to be subsumed into it), so I don't really have the history.

We usually buy in a box or two of mini-chocolate bars for the kids who come round (there are always a few, and some of the costumes are really rather good), but if we can find an excuse to be out, we will.

D. and sundry other local organists used to do a Hallowe'en concert in the Cathedral, which started with him playing Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor in complete darkness, and a programme of spooky music and readings of ghostly poetry or stories, but the only other players who were any good have moved away, so he's kind of given up on it.

Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

When I was a child, we used to have bobbing apples or apples on strings, but that's about all. A big celebration for All Hallows Eve was not even considered - It seems to have been imported from America. My church used to run an alternative Halloween party - a Hallelujah party, celebrating light, not darkness.
I know it seems rather "bah, humbug", but we will not be answering the front door on Halloween - though it was tempting to get some of the chilli Gummibears from House of Chilli!

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

My granddaughter will be dressing up, as her father's place of work holds a Halloween party for all the children of employees.

I won't be doing anything except buy in sweets that I really like (in case there aren't enough Trick-or-Treaters and I have to eat them all myself - oh noes!)

My birthday falls very near to Halloween, so I used to have the perfect excuse for a themed party when I was younger.

Posted by Kitten (# 1179) on :

As usual, I'll be putting up the poster produced by the local police advertising that I do not give to trick or treaters.
I may look out some ghost stories to read.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
And Dia de los Muertos, and spooky things during the month of October in general, of course!

Haven't yet put up decorations or the ofrenda, but we will!!

Ooo, you make an oftenda? They have a public one in Bolinas, I think. Maybe I will head up there!

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

(After checking) ...aaand yes, they do!
New plan-- see if I can gate- crash my little cousins' party in Sonoma, then drive west in the morning to celebrate Dio de los Santos.

Posted by BessLane (# 15176) on :

I've got myself pretty much talked into entering a local costume contest. I've always wanted to dress as Princess Leia from Empire...yes the bronze bikini. I'm still in good enough shape to wear that in public, and I'm confident and brave enough now to do it....Plus I could win a hundred bucks so [Yipee]

(and last year I was Tom Cruise from Risky Business in the white button down, white socks and tighty-whiteys so I go this....)

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:

quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
And Dia de los Muertos, and spooky things during the month of October in general, of course!

Haven't yet put up decorations or the ofrenda, but we will!!
Ooo, you make an oftenda? They have a public one in Bolinas, I think. Maybe I will head up there!

Yes!

I realized that I wanted to celebrate it more seriously than just the fun spooky stuff (nice though that is). I have pics of last year's on my Facebook page. I've only done it once so far.

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

Probably staying home, dawning a hockey mask and a wig before I hand out candy....

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

quote:
Originally posted by BessLane:
I've got myself pretty much talked into entering a local costume contest. I've always wanted to dress as Princess Leia from Empire...yes the bronze bikini.

Can you post a photo in the Ship's gallery?

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

quote:
BessLane: (and last year I was Tom Cruise from Risky Business in the white button down, white socks and tighty-whiteys so I go this....)

I had to look this up.

Ah.

Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :

The British shops are full of Halloween gear, but the event still strikes me as very North American. Fortunately, if you don't have kids it's easy to ignore Halloween here!

I wonder if it's popular with Muslim children? There are a lot of Muslims living in the vicinity.

Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
And Dia de los Muertos, and spooky things during the month of October in general, of course!

Haven't yet put up decorations or the ofrenda, but we will!!

No. It's one of those horrible American things.

Posted by Felafool (# 270) on :

Bah Humbug! Horrible import from USA, and it is encouraging coersion with menacing. Also encourages small and not so small children to roam the dark streets (in UK) and call at strangers' houses.

I will either go out to the cinema or not answer the door that night. Though one year I may just snap and answer the door with a blood stained axe and invite the little darlings into my cellar!

(Note to those with a sense of humour bypass - just kidding)
...trick or treat. [Projectile]

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

...except that it went to the USA from Europe, and has now come back again. I'm not sure guising ever died out in Scotland, in fact, though I'm sure someone will correct me.

I've been meaning for years to scare a few village kids witless... never got round to it yet. Apart from anything else, the Knotweed objects to my suggestion of putting a red bulb in the outside light for some reason. [Confused]

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

In parts of the Netherlands, children already do some kind of trick or treating on November 11, St. Martin's Day. There is some commercial pressure to take on Halloween, but I'm glad that it doesn't seem to get much traction.

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :

Pretty sure there's always been guising here - I did it as a child, my parents did it, at least one of my grandparents did it....

The big difference now is that children seem to wear costumes bought specially, rather than putting a costume together. And pumpkins have replaced neepie lanterns.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sandemaniac:
...except that it went to the USA from Europe, and has now come back again.

Thank you.

It's neither horrible nor American. Some of the style might be rooted in the Americas, but All Saints' and All Souls' Days have been in the Christian Church for many centuries before Europe even made contact with the Americas at all. (Leaving Leif Ericson out of it, I mean.) And not to mention Samhain or other festivals commemorating the departed in every single culture.

One might as well say that harvest festivals are a bad copy of the US Thanksgiving.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

It has changed character since it went from Ireland across the Atlantic and then arrived in England. It's quite a recent import here, I'd say it wasn't widely known before the 1980s.

The "trick or treat" thing was never a feature of the Irish version as far as I know - that may have changed now of course - and in some areas in England it has been so misused that the police have had to be called to stop youths stuffing fireworks through letterboxes and vandalizing cars. It's also lost the element of fortune-telling and the older, less sophisticated fun of apple games and so on. You can't give children apples and nuts any more: they expect chocolate.

Anyway, come the day I shall be encouraging people to dress up for charity. For my own marking of the day I shall probably try to find a brack (like fruit tea bread). Even that isn't what it used to be, thanks to Health and Safety the various things that used to be baked into it like the ring or the sixpence (if your slice contained either of these you'd have luck for the rest of the year) are no more.

Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :

We all know that it has its roots in old European practices. But cultures change.

These days, there's nothing noticeably religious about the way it's promoted. It's celebration of morbidity, but made enjoyable for children. I wouldn't mind so much if we used it as a way of getting children to think about death, but of course death remains a taboo, regardless of how enthusiastic we are about Halloween.

To be honest, I can't understand why a post-Christian, secular, rational culture is so fascinated by dead bodies and witches, but perhaps that's just me!

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by SvitlanaV2:
We all know that it has its roots in old European practices. But cultures change.

Then the solution is to bring it back in full vigour rather than throw it away.

quote:
These days, there's nothing noticeably religious about the way it's promoted.

Again, we can work on that. I certainly do.

quote:
It's celebration of morbidity, but made enjoyable for children. I wouldn't mind so much if we used it as a way of getting children to think about death, but of course death remains a taboo, regardless of how enthusiastic we are about Halloween.

So... use it that way. [Confused]

That's what people do in Mexico with their celebrations. One specifically puts favorite foods of the beloved departed on the ofrenda, and many families have picnics at the cemetery where their family members are buried.

quote:

To be honest, I can't understand why a post-Christian, secular, rational culture is so fascinated by dead bodies and witches, but perhaps that's just me!

Because our fascinations know things our post-Christian secular "rational" culture would like to ignore? If anything all of this is a reason to me to emphasize these things even more.

Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :

As I said, Halloween exists outside of organised religion now, so I'm not convinced that the churches could convincingly set the cultural agenda for Halloween at this stage. They could of course offer alternative events for their own young people, which I think some of them do.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:

quote:
Originally posted by SvitlanaV2:
We all know that it has its roots in old European practices. But cultures change.

Then the solution is to bring it back in full vigour rather than throw it away.

Mmm... it's the end of the Celtic year, the one night when the gates of Hell/the Underworld are opened, and spirits are let out of the Underworld for one night, to revisit the places and people they knew when they were alive. Anything could happen. This is why you shouldn't step over the threshold after dark: you may get caught up in it.

On a cold, dark autumn night with the wind howling around the eaves of your standalone cottage, rattling the door and windows, and sending gusts down the chimney, this kind of thing can seem very real.

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :

Especially if you don't have electricity, only oil lamps and candles.

Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
It's one of those horrible American things.

How many Halloweens have you spent in the US?

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :

quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
Pretty sure there's always been guising here - I did it as a child ...

So did we, but only to the houses of people we knew, and our only expectation was some sweeties or maybe monkey-nuts. We'd have been horrified if anyone had offered us money.

When we lived in Northern Ireland the kids (who did expect money) would start coming round in mid-October, and while some of them dressed up and recited the poem about the goose getting fat, I remember one wee chap who wasn't in costume, and just stood on the doorstep and said "Hallowe'en".

I know it sounds mean, but I said, "no it isn't - it's not until next week" and shut the door.

[Devil]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by SvitlanaV2:
We all know that it has its roots in old European practices. But cultures change.

These days, there's nothing noticeably religious about the way it's promoted. It's celebration of morbidity, but made enjoyable for children. I wouldn't mind so much if we used it as a way of getting children to think about death, but of course death remains a taboo, regardless of how enthusiastic we are about Halloween.

To be honest, I can't understand why a post-Christian, secular, rational culture is so fascinated by dead bodies and witches, but perhaps that's just me!

I didn't get it until I started getting involved in local Dia De Los Muertos activities-- it's basically a day to say "fuck you, Death, you don't scare me." From a child's eye view, it's a time to drag out all those things that normally scare you and to make them a game-- something that can't hurt you.

The way it has evolved in America is that it's not just about pranking and scaring folk, it is about taking the kid around the neighborhood and introducing them to the neighbors-- a great way to teach then where all the safe houses are, and to concurrently teach the adults which kids go with which parent (so you know who to threaten to call when they are on your lawn.) It's also the kind of grand scale arrangement to "touch base" with the neighbors that you find in Las Posadas. (Which is a Central American thing, but I would be my last bag of candy corn it works back to being a continental Spanish thing at some point.)

(I don't expect everyone to do what I am doing on Halloween, or indeed celebrate it at all, but tell you what-- I would never dream of sailing onto (say) a Boxing Day thread for the sole purpose of saying "that's stupid British nonsense and I would never participate in it." Because I would fully expect y'all Brits to say, "why are you joining in, then?" in response.
And I would feel extra stupid if half 0f the positive respondents on said thread were not British.)

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

quote:
Piglet: We'd have been horrified if anyone had offered us money.

They offer money at Halloween?

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

Halloween (the way we spelled it when I was a sweet, young thing), is much tamer that it was when my parents were kids! [Snigger]

The worst thing we ever did was to toilet paper the mean neighbor's tree. My dad, however, has put outhouses and cows on the roofs of houses. He never explained how he and his friends got the cow up there. Or how it got down. (Don't worry! The cow was fine!)

My kids followed the rul...My daughter followed the rules about never going out unaccompanied (mostly with me) and only going to the known neighbors. Son, however, got into a bit more mischief. And one of his friends told all of us mothers that he was a sausage. We weren't born yesterday; he was a condom.

The kids now are just plain cute! They deserve to have some candy just because they are so darned adorable!!!

I think Hallowe'en is a fun celebration mostly because we have corrupted it into a vehicle for kids to dress up and pretend to be princesses, or zombies or Darth Vader. Tell them that they look awesome, and give the little things some candy, for Pete's sake!

Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :

I shall abuse any young ones who come knocking on our door. Then I'll tell them about the ghosts in the creek under Lower Gillespie, and how they come out at midnight haunting the suburb and in particular what they do to children under 10. That will teach them.

Halloween, by any spelling, was never a custom here until a few years ago commercial interests decided that there was money to be made out of it.

Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :

quote:
I shall abuse any young ones who come knocking on our door.

An advantage of living in a security block which needs the door to be opened by buzzer. I've seen no one here trick or treating in three years. It also keeps out a lot of other salesmen etc. although someone once did allow in one of those people offering discounts on gas and electricity.

Besides, it is spring here, not the eve of winter. The festival does not fit in, just as Easter Resurrection is out of place in autumn here.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:

quote:
Piglet: We'd have been horrified if anyone had offered us money.
They offer money at Halloween?

Yes, now it's money and/or chocolate.

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :

Mmm - as a Brit we had Hallowe'en parties when I was a child - bobbing apples, black magic trick*, buns on strings, night treasure hunts. It was midway between my and my next sister down's birthdays so we had a few joint parties with this sort of theme. That was the 70s. A few years later we did some worse things at another friend's Hallowe'en party - apple scrumping and trick and treating, but with flour.

* trick where you use a candle to blacken the bottom of a plate. Someone says they have some black magic to do and you have to copy them to work the magic. You get handed the blackened plate, they have a clean one. They rub fingers under plate and then in patterns over their face - you copy to get a lovely black pattern on your face.

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Uncle Pete:
How can All Hallows Eve be pagan? In any event it's nowadays for partying, and I will be ignoring it as usual.

All Hallows/Saints is a celebration of the church triumphant.

Hallowe'en seems closer to All Souls FDay - Nov 2 - prayers for the church expectant.

The current Halloween fad is about sup0ermarkets making lots of money, kids begging for money and trashing the fronts of any houses who send them away empty and is an American, capitalist import.

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

quote:
Originally posted by leo:
The current Halloween fad is about sup0ermarkets making lots of money, kids begging for money and trashing the fronts of any houses who send them away empty and is an American, capitalist import.

The only American kids I've ever heard of asking for money on Halloween, are Trick-or-Treating for UNICEF. It's too bad that I haven't seen that in my neighborhood for decades.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Yeah, trashing stuff and demanding money isn't part of any American tradition I have ever heard of.

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

When I was just a wee 5thMary, I attended Catholic school (kindergarten through part of seventh grade). Every Halloween we first and second grader (ages 6-8) were encouraged to dress up and the nuns threw a party for us. They had all sorts of candy and treats for us and then the whole school usually trooped across the street to the church and had a special Mass. We were still dressed up as little Batmen, Wonder Woman, princesses, cats, robots, etc. I remember a really cool cheetah costume my mother laboriously sewed for me. It even had a long tail that I could bend in a curve! The priests had no trouble with us and everyone chuckled at our outfits. So, some Catholic churches were okay with Halloween dressing up. No one dressed as a devil or a witch, though!

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Yeah, trashing stuff and demanding money isn't part of any American tradition I have ever heard of.

Trashing property isn't a tradition that most people subscribe to but there was always the "bad kids" who engaged in it, in my day. The worst thing about Halloween is the f*cked up folks who prey on black cats, either out of ignorance or just maliciousness. I know several people with black cats and they make sure to keep them locked up during Halloween. There are some truly sick f*cks out there.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Oh, if we are talking about hooligans acting like hooligans, sure.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by The5thMary:
So, some Catholic churches were okay with Halloween dressing up. No one dressed as a devil or a witch, though!

I worked at a Christian After-school care once and that was their rule, too-- costumes are OK< but no devils or witches, please. One defiant parent dressed in a bright red head-to toe Satan outfit, pitchfork and all. I was torn, because she was a consistent bitch regardless of the day, but I had to admire her spunk.

[Big Grin]

Posted by ExclamationMark (# 14715) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
[QUOTE] ... in local Dia De Los Muertos activities-- it's basically a day to say "fuck you, Death, you don't scare me."

is this the latest "development" of hallowe'en?

We're having a light party here - it will help keep vulnerable children off the streets and out of trouble.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ExclamationMark:

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
... in local Dia De Los Muertos activities-- it's basically a day to say "fuck you, Death, you don't scare me."
is this the latest "development" of hallowe'en?

Kelly would know, but It appears to predate Christianity in the Americas. The article refers to similar festivals in other cultures. So it is not so much a 'development' as a different strand, which you are free to prefer over other expressions dominant in the West.

[ 16. October 2014, 08:33: Message edited by: Firenze ]

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Yeah, trashing stuff and demanding money isn't part of any American tradition I have ever heard of.

Well, it's very violent in Portland

And this site says that trick-or-treaters vandalized the house if no treats were produced or if the treats met with their disapproval. (Warning of lots of noise on latter website.)

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:

quote:
Piglet: We'd have been horrified if anyone had offered us money.
They offer money at Halloween?

In Northern Ireland they recited the (paraphrased) poem:

Hallowe'en is coming, and the goose is getting fat
Will you please put a penny in the old man's hat?
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do
And if you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you!

So yes, you were expected to give money (and probably not just pennies either!).

I remember people coming round and asking for a "penny for the guy" coming up to Guy Fawkes' Day, but I really can't remember whether actual pennies were expected (as a reward for making a particularly good "guy") or if they wanted materials with which to make the guy.

In case any non-Brits are feeling puzzled by this, "guys" were burnt on a bonfire along with setting off of fireworks to commemorate the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 when Guy Fawkes and some others tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament, but were caught, and very horribly executed.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ExclamationMark:

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
[QUOTE] ... in local Dia De Los Muertos activities-- it's basically a day to say "fuck you, Death, you don't scare me."
is this the latest "development" of hallowe'en?

Dia de los Muertos is not at all a recent development. [Smile]

Oh, someone already beat me to it. [Hot and Hormonal]

I've always heard the song as "Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat."

Tonight we plan on finally starting Halloween season, and Cubby is going to pick out a spooky movie for us to watch. [Yipee]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

In California at least, it's been celebrated since the 1700's. It recent for my development as I only recently ( in the last five years or so) have taken advantage of the substantial local activities around Dia de los Muertos supplied by ( mostly) area churches and the huge Latino population that have been here since around the same time. ( California was once a Mexican state. The only way to avoid Mexican cultural influence in California is to hide in your house and never come out.)

i think the fesive, joyful, f-you to death, f- you monsters thing has always been present in Californian Halloween-- see the rise in Halloween festivals during the AIDS epidemic-- but you really don't get it until you see someone painting a loving, joyful depiction of their dead grandfather as a skeleton. Death does not remove beloved folk from our hearts, death does not prevent us from living while life is liveable, therefore, bite me, death.

At the same time, thank you, those who have gone on to dance with Death, for becoming a part of my heart.

( edit--and exactly what Firenze said about its indigenous Central American roots.)

[ 16. October 2014, 17:37: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by leo:

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Yeah, trashing stuff and demanding money isn't part of any American tradition I have ever heard of.
Well, it's very violent in Portland

And this site says that trick-or-treaters vandalized the house if no treats were produced or if the treats met with their disapproval. (Warning of lots of noise on latter website.)

Portand, Oregon? The peacenik capital of the New World? The whole reason that story would make headlines in Porland is that it is exactly the kind of place where people will not tolerate that bullshit. I had a woman in Portland stop me on the street and scold me because a Kleenex blew out of my pocket on the ground without me noticing it.

As for the video of hooligans trashing stuff-- I'm sure you can find videos of booze infused assholes doing assholish things on many holidays in many nations. Try Brazilian Or Parisian Carnivale. Any time you get large groups of people together to party, people are going to stir shit.

The only reason to judge an entire national holiday based on what the hooligans do with it is 1. You hate the holiday ( so don't do it) and 2. You hate the nation. (Indiscriminately hating an entire nation is usually called bigotry.)

[ 16. October 2014, 16:59: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

I don't see it as an F you to death or monsters, myself--perhaps more like St. Francis talking about Sister Death. And I like monsters, if they're nice, even if they're scary or weird. [Smile]

I myself am strange and unusual... [Biased]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Well, a friendly, f- you, then-- the main point being the fear is removed ( love the St. Francis quote). Death is being celebrated as quite literally a part of life. We dance with it for a day.

It is a big old f- you to Satan and his minions, though-- which is why I sort of approved of Bitchy Parent's Satan getup. The Devil ( or whatever you think the Devil represents) melts before ridicule.

[ 16. October 2014, 18:04: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

( note to self- bitchy parent might make a good costume...)

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :

Well I, curmudgeonly, will be making sure no light shows at the front of the house, and displaying the police's polite notice about not joining in.

(If I knew any of the local children, I might feel differently. And it's a bit late now, but it might be a good idea to have a neighbourhood do with apple bobbing and eating buns hung from strings (no hands) on the greens. And prizes for the best not shop bought costume. And lantern. Next year, maybe. Might have problems with the local Christian Fellowship types, though.)

Posted by St Everild (# 3626) on :

I have stocked up with sweeties. And I'm wondering how to make it really scary for the little darlings to reach in their hand to the receptacle to get some....

I don't really "get" Halloween in the UK. It looks like a great community event in the USA and the Day for the Dead looks terrific in Mexico and other places. But here in Blighty it seems very odd that 364 days of the year kids and adults are wary of one another, and one the 365th day lots of kids who I don't know knock on my door demanding sweets with menaces, unaccompanied by their parents. And I don't really appreciate raw egg on my windows, car and brickwork - it a b****r to get off again.

Perhaps I shall have to think about a really good costume. At least that way there'd be some fun....

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Like I said, maybe it's that we picked up,some of the premise of Las Posadas-- where you don't just beg for treats, you actually walk in the house and have punch and nibbles. Halloween is a little tiny progressive dinner-- it is just as much about seeing the neighbors as it is about treats and costumes.

Having said that...I'm positive that residents of some of the more industrial areas of San Francisco's downtown will not do trick or treat. Too much shady stuff happening there to have kids wandering around in it. My guess parents there will have house parties, or maybe even outsource to the suburbs and tag along with relatives in safer areas.

Regarding unaccoompanied youth-- we shut our house down after 9:00 or so, because yeah-- hooligans. I'm not opening the door to a burly 17 year old in a Jason mask.

[ 18. October 2014, 19:32: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

It's interesting to see the different views on Halloween across the pond. So far, it seems that most of the Brits dislike what we see as the Americanisation of All Hallows Eve, yet most of the Americans are disowning some of the "traditions" we seem to have inherited. (and I know that is a generalisation).
We'll be joining the "Bah, humbug" faction in not opening the door after about 5pm unless we know that people are visiting for a purpose.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

quote:
Originally posted by St Everild:
I have stocked up with sweeties. And I'm wondering how to make it really scary for the little darlings to reach in their hand to the receptacle to get some....

How about filling a bowl with sweets/chocolate coins, but including some cubes of raw jelly (the green kind), covering the bowl so they can't see what's inside and getting them to do a lucky dip?

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :

Hallow what?

Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :

I think I will look out my copy of All Hallows' Eve by Charles Williams.

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

quote:
Originally posted by St Everild:
I have stocked up with sweeties. And I'm wondering how to make it really scary for the little darlings to reach in their hand to the receptacle to get some....

Peeled grapes, and tell them they're eyeballs?

AG

Posted by St Everild (# 3626) on :

Oooh, Sandemaniac, I like the idea!!!

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :

quote:
Originally posted by St Everild:
Oooh, Sandemaniac, I like the idea!!!

Or it might be quicker, if you've got the right gadget, to have scooped out melon balls.

Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:

quote:
Originally posted by St Everild:
Oooh, Sandemaniac, I like the idea!!!
Or it might be quicker, if you've got the right gadget, to have scooped out melon balls.

The Nanny Ogg Cookbook states that to make eyeballs you need a pickled onion stuffed with an olive; not so good for small children though. You can make marzipan ones using food colouring (also bleeding severed limbs should the mood take you), but they lack the correct sliminess.

I have a standing Halloween date at the house of a friend I'm educating in the way of the horror film. So far it's looking like 'Nightmare on Elm Street' (the original) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode 'Hush'. There may also be the wearing of dangling bat earrings.

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :

Soggy tubular pasta for intestines.

Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :

I'll be visiting a friend. We will be watching "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and adding sugar to passing urchins to watch them accelerate.

There's always been a legend of mayhem in Halloween when I grew up, but very little actual damage. At most some toilet paper or soap. I've read that attempts to transplant Halloween to the U.K. haven't done well, and it reminds me of the attempt in Seattle to do a Mardi Gras celebration which ended in someone being killed. You would think that getting drunk and rowdy wouldn't be that hard, but the traditional restraint can get lost when a tradition is transcribed and relocated.

In the old days in several big cities, Halloween was the one night it was legal to cross dress and there were big gay drag balls. There are stories of the Chief of Police driving the a Drag Queen to the ball in a feast of fools reversal. We'll be drinking a toast to those folks while we watch Rocky Horror.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Lothlorien:
I think I will look out my copy of All Hallows' Eve by Charles Williams.

I should re-read that, in general as well as for the season.

I did get Volume I of the collected Eerie, to go with last year's Volume I of the collected Creepy, and Paquito y Abuelito to go with last year's Rosita y Conchito (both available here from Muertoons).

Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :

It is such a non- event in Australia, I am not even sure when it is. So I guess I will be doing NORMAL.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

You celebrate Christmas, right? [Biased]

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

Found stuff for you in Victoria! [Smile]

http://www.coalcreekvillage.com.au/events/halloween/#

https://www.facebook.com/dotdfest

http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Melbourne/Events/Art-and-exhibitions/Exhibitions/Dancing-with-Death.aspx

http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/Whatson/Festivals/Multicultural/Pages/f0361761-262b-4970-a9a8-4a7a44ef5137.aspx

So fear not, you need not miss out. [Yipee]

Posted by Rowen (# 1194) on :

Thank you.
And yes, we do do Christmas! In mid-summer of course... And have a blast!
But I am unaware of any trick or treating here in my town. I did it once, in my sister's town, in the USA. Great fun.
Our pumpkins are differnt and uncarvable, although I know in big, big cities, you can buy American ones, especially introduced and expensive and carvable

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

I saw a newspaper headline today 'Pumpkin misery for children'.

Apparently there is a shortage of pumkins.

If this causes 'misery' then I can't imagine what word they used if there was a shortage of anything important.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:

In the old days in several big cities, Halloween was the one night it was legal to cross dress and there were big gay drag balls. There are stories of the Chief of Police driving the a Drag Queen to the ball in a feast of fools reversal. We'll be drinking a toast to those folks while we watch Rocky Horror.

"Don't dream it..be it..."

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I saw a newspaper headline today 'Pumpkin misery for children'.

Apparently there is a shortage of pumkins.

If this causes 'misery' then I can't imagine what word they used if there was a shortage of anything important.

It probably was because "woes" was too short and "displeasure" was too long.

Seriously, that's often how headlines get made up. We got lots of mileage out of "woes" and "irks" when I was a copy editor.

Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :

Wheee, I just got back from my daughter's Halloween party. Not only did she not ease me out early, she seemed happy to have me stay until after 10. And when I did leave she made a comment about how weird it was that her mother jelled so well with her friends. [Big Grin]

Of course the party is still going on afaik, but this was a good time for me to come home anyway.

[ 26. October 2014, 03:41: Message edited by: Nicolemr ]

Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :

We don't really do Hallowe'en. But we're enjoying watching the Food Channel's "Halloween Wars" which is a crazy challenge involving cake, pumpkin carving, sugar work and all sorts of creative stuff. So far we've seen light-up devils and zombie proms. Wish they did a Christmas edition too!

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :

We've had a bit of early Mischief Night - in a place where it is not traditional, and on the wrong date. Last night, a huge tyre* turned up outside, parked between the drives of a neighbour and me. We heard nothing, so it must have been done silently. I thought it was dumped. She thought it was lads having fun. We have moved it to a more convenient place for collection and put it more safely on its side - it was poised to roll at a fairly gentle touch, but not to stop without some force.

*About 1.5 m tall on its tread, and with a lot of water slopping about inside.

[ 26. October 2014, 12:57: Message edited by: Penny S ]

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :

Turns out it was "stolen" from the Rugby Club, where it is used for training. Two veterans from the club attempted to retrieve it by towing it behind a Land Rover. I did not see this attempt. When I got back from leaving a message with the neighbourhood Chairperson that the problem was sorted, I found the tyre on the verge a few metres up the road, and a length of rope left in the road, and no sign of anyone...

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

Toad in the Hole is on the menu.

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :

If you did it with sausagemeat blobs instead of sausages, they would be more toady. And if you stuck the ends of chipolatas in to represent the eyes, even more so. And served with stirfried shredded kale for water weed.

Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Gill H:
We don't really do Hallowe'en. But we're enjoying watching the Food Channel's "Halloween Wars" which is a crazy challenge involving cake, pumpkin carving, sugar work and all sorts of creative stuff. So far we've seen light-up devils and zombie proms. Wish they did a Christmas edition too!

And oh, Kelly - a psycho bunny!

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Gill H:
And oh, Kelly - a psycho bunny!

That's the spirit.

Posted by bib (# 13074) on :

Thank goodness the halloween extravaganza hasn't taken off here despite some of the supermarkets trying to flog garish looking stuff. There are even pumpkins which contain nothing edible - what a waste! I am very partial to a piece of pumpkin roasted with the Sunday roast dinner. To me, All Souls and All Saints are days when we think of and honour those who have died, some famous, many that we loved. I can't see what witches and ghouls have to do with such memorials.

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

I'll be on an island in the Amazon River from Wednesday until probably Saturday. No trick or treat for me, I'll probably be drinking a beer looking out over the river before I'll go to sleep in my hammock.

Posted by saysay (# 6645) on :

Did anyone else just think about the episode of Buffy where everyone's favorite vengeance demon dresses up as a giant bunny and Giles has to use a chain saw to break into the house where the party is?

I was lucky enough to be on the tail end of the group who was allowed to accept home-made treats from the neighbors we knew. So there were lots of home-made candy apples and cookies and things. Although there was that one neighbor who was a dentist and gave out tooth-brushes. Lots of people who gave out boxes of raisins. Some pennies. If someone didn't have anything to give out you either told them a riddle or did your best stupid human trick for them because if they weren't participating it was probably because they couldn't afford to.

I miss the way it used to be.

Don't know what my current neighborhood is going to do or what I'll be doing. Though having read the Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches recently, the classic witch or ghost thing is tempting.

I'm fairly certain I still have a black light around here somewhere. But not necessarily any scary posters to light with it.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

quote:
Originally posted by bib:
Thank goodness the halloween extravaganza hasn't taken off here despite some of the supermarkets trying to flog garish looking stuff.

Perhaps the Dia de los Muertos approach will become more popular, then. [Smile]

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

I've sort of started the ofrenda with a couple of skull candle holders and a sort of happy-spooky metal candle holder between them. It's a start, anyway. (Since Cubby is still room-ridden, neither of us are spending much time in the living room.)

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:

quote:
Originally posted by bib:
Thank goodness the halloween extravaganza hasn't taken off here despite some of the supermarkets trying to flog garish looking stuff.
Perhaps the Dia de los Muertos approach will become more popular, then.

I hope so. I can't wait for Sunday to attend the local Dia de los Muertos celebration. [Yipee]

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

Maybe I should put the ofrenda in Cubby's room...? We're hoping he will improve quickly but still.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

My one concession to seasonality was to go round the exhibition on The Gothic Imagination at the BL. All the usual suspects, from Otranto onwards. But, still, to see a page of the ms of Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's handwriting, with marginal notes by Percy Bysshe....

Posted by Anesti (# 18259) on :

When I was a kid back in the seventies, I really enjoyed Halloween. Dressing up like monsters and wizards was great fun.

I have read that it is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals,with possible pagan roots (i.e. Samhain.)

But I have also heard that many Christianized feasts contain elements of pagan traditions: Easter eggs, Xmas trees etc.

That does not make the holiday pagan, in my opinion.

In fact I have also read that Halloween developed independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots: i.e the day before All Saints and All Souls.

While I lived in Japan, Halloween was celebrated by kids who had little knowledge of either Christian or Western European Pagan traditions: it was merely a commercial event with a spooky theme akin to a ghost train in Disneyland.

As for the "It's American". Well it has certainly been influenced by America but its origins celarlyprecede that.

Personally, I think people reagard it on their own terms and as they wish to. Certain elements of the Christian community seemed to regard it as spiritually dangerous but I disagree. No more than Harry Potter, Sleepy Hollow or the Italian Carnivale tradition in February.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! [Yipee]

Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :

Happy Halloween to all!

Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :

First year in about 10, no snow on Halloween. It's actually above freezing! Lots more trickers and treaters.

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :

260 trick-or-treaters (based on candy outflow). Including an adorable little 2 or 3 year old bat and (later) a 2 or 3 year old witch. Seriously, if both had come to the door together I would have melted into a pool of cooing. They were SOOOOOOOOOO cute!

Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :

We are in a hotel at Gatwick, and the staff have really gone wild with costumes and makeup.

Our lift door opened to reveal a zombie with an axe in his head. He was superb, staring and whispering all the way down to reception.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Obviously Gatwick is a party town.

Last night I shared a train compartment with a very cute, very gay Latino man who was dressed as Sexy Franco. * I shit you not. I could not stop grinning at him.

*As in the horrible cruel dictator, only Sexy.

As for trick or treat-- neighborhood was dead! We had the Giants World Series celebration to compete with.

[ 01. November 2014, 05:08: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by not entirely me (# 17637) on :

quote:
Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
When I was a child, we used to have bobbing apples or apples on strings, but that's about all. A big celebration for All Hallows Eve was not even considered - It seems to have been imported from America. My church used to run an alternative Halloween party - a Hallelujah party, celebrating light, not darkness.
I know it seems rather "bah, humbug", but we will not be answering the front door on Halloween - though it was tempting to get some of the chilli Gummibears from House of Chilli!

We used to have Hallelujah parties too! and we bobbed for apples (that's more of a harvest type thing maybe).

I always view Halloween in it's current form as a very Commercial American thing. I think in Northern England we get far more into Bonfire night. Watching fireworks, treacle toffee, parkin, hot dogs, freezing despite wrapping up....etc. Some people, mainly kids do dress up for Halloween and some even go to a couple of houses TorTing but it's not a big thing really.

Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Obviously Gatwick is a party town.

It's at the airport - so there's not a lot else to do. The staff were raising money for charity. All our servers in the restaurant were plastered in horror make up, and the lobby was full of giant spiders etc.

Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :

Well, no trick or treaters around our way last night, as per usual. We do hear random fireworks going off for about 3 weeks either side of 5 November, but that's about all.

We used to have fireworks in the garden when kids were small, but that has tailed off now. When I was young making a Guy out of dad's old shirt & trousers was the big thing to do, and then we would burn him on the bonfire on the 5th.

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :

The Mexican Embassy in London are providing Day of the Dead celebrations

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
Probably staying home, dawning a hockey mask and a wig before I hand out candy....

I ended up dressing as a university professor going to a sporting event (with no wig) and sitting on my front walk with a full salad bowl of treats because I was the only one on my block handing out candy! I went through nearly seven pounds of candy!

(My outfit was the same one I had worn to school while teaching 7 and 8-year-olds earlier that day: Real U. S. - made Sperry Topsiders with no socks, blue jeans with a brown belt and a USC t-shirt in the school colours of maroon and gold that I bought more than ten years ago for $9 when I got it as a bonus after buying my late mother a sweatshirt for a gift. She was an alumnus of The University of Southern California and graduated with a degree in International Affairs. Sadly, she had been born too long ago to have been int the running for Madeline Albright's job...)

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

We ended up having a Mexican meal - chicken and cocoa seems an odd mix but was very tasty.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Sounds like chicken with mole sauce. Mole is divine. Heck, I may go out and get so,e tonight, thanks to you.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

Happy All Hallows' Day!! <3

We watched Nosferatu last night.

Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :

Went over to friends' house to eat chili and cornbread, drink wine, hand out candy, and watch "Hocus Pocus" and "Nightmare Before Christmas."

And it rained! [Yipee]

Posted by daisydaisy (# 12167) on :

I invited a few toddlers around for non-scary trick or treat - I wore a wolf hat that worked out fine, and was visited by couple of cats and Doctor Who and his Tardis plus parents.

Later on I change the wolf for a spider and around 15 other trick-or-treaters were happy to take a sweet and a goodie (pencil, eraser, balloon etc) with "God loves you", and some parents went away with a cup of mulled cider; I had enough left over to have a very mellow evening after the pumpkin light had gone out!
The mob of 12 or so little ones that come around every year (I think one of them was a Halloween Baby & this is her party) went away empty-handed - I've explained every year that groups of 3 or 4 are welcome. Is that bah humbug of me? I can't think that I'm the only one terrified by mobs of small people - they don't even need to dress up.

The firework season got of with lots of bangs yesterday - this will now go on until early January [Roll Eyes]

so my cats are now under a curfew although one of them sits on an upstairs window sill watching them.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
Went over to friends' house to eat chili and cornbread, drink wine, hand out candy, and watch "Hocus Pocus" and "Nightmare Before Christmas."

And it rained!

Didn't it, though!

Mulled cider. Daisydaisy, you're sweet.
ETA: ... Unless you were dressed as
Lucrezia Borgia. [Devil]

[ 01. November 2014, 23:02: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
The Mexican Embassy in London are providing Day of the Dead celebrations

Squeeee! Lookit those skulls! [Yipee]

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

About to clock out of grading papers so we will see ... some other spooky movie tonight. Not sure what.

I did a brief morning prayer for the departed this morning.

Alas, we missed the 5 PM church service. [Hot and Hormonal]

(I did the World of Warcraft Halloween and Day of the Dead stuff...)

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

I don't now if you have TCM On Demand, but they have "Eyes Without a Face."

EEEEEK!

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

This is what I did Halloween evening!

*sigh* One of my happy places!

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Sounds like chicken with mole sauce. Mole is divine. Heck, I may go out and get so,e tonight, thanks to you.

Yes - that's what we had - just didn't know it was called that.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

Mole tonight! Dishes being washed for it even as we speak, and after more grading and stuff I will go get the ingredients.

After a couple of false starts, we finally wound up with "Paranormal Whacktivity," a sort of erotic spoof of those found-footage horror movies. It was amusing enough for ... well, once.

Today we watched the Dia de los Muertos episode of El Tigre! It's called "The Grave Escape."

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

Something that made me think about concerns--and definitely this does not apply to genuine hooliganism or threatening at all!--regarding teens trick-or-treating is here on HuffPo.

I know that myself I have, as an adult, gone to places where anyone can trick or treat, though this has really been less festive and more of an opportunity for local-ish businesses to advertise themselves, giving out pamphlets and the cheapest candy possible (i.e., mini Tootsie-rolls).

I think something where adults all dress up and go trick-or-treating would be awesome, but of course being the only one doing it would be weird. [Frown]

And I have no intention of unnerving strangers by being The Weird Guy (at least, in that sense).

It would be kind of cool, wouldn't it, to have not-just-candy items, like mini-flavored-coffee/tea packets, etc.? Or if one could afford it (but yikes, not easily) wee bottles of liqueur?

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

quote:
Originally posted by leo:

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Sounds like chicken with mole sauce. Mole is divine. Heck, I may go out and get so,e tonight, thanks to you.
Yes - that's what we had - just didn't know it was called that.

But, on a second look, the recipe is called 'Chicken Mole.'

[ 03. November 2014, 19:19: Message edited by: leo ]

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :

I went with a group of friends to the local Dia de los Muertos fest and had a great time. Five blocks of downtown were blocked off. There was ballet folklorico dancers, Aztec dancers, and young people doing choreography to Thriller. And the park was filled with memorial altars. The taco lines were packed, though, so when we left we went home and made our own.

Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :

Well, today (the festival continues in our apartment, somehow) I did get a wee bottle (one of those $2 ones) of tequila, some Pan de Muertos (yay, still available at a local Mexican bakery, which I must go back to as they have all kinds of cool stuff), but still no mole as Publix didn't have it.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

Could make for an interesting blog line somewhere: 'Back to ChastMastr's where he was, as usual, celebrating Dia de Los Muertos. It is now April....'

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :

quote:
Originally posted by leo:

quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Sounds like chicken with mole sauce. Mole is divine. Heck, I may go out and get so,e tonight, thanks to you.
Yes - that's what we had - just didn't know it was called that.

Mole is the Nahuatl (Aztec) word for sauce. It is generally applied to several different sauces from the regions which claim to originate mole. Only some of these contain chocolate.
What you two probably had was mole poblano. It seems to be the widest spread version.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

The Tesco on S Clerk St has a large Christmas tree in the entrance today. Hallowe'en must be well and truly over. (But do feel free to continue discussing Latin American cuisine on the recipe thread.)

Firenze
Heaven Host

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