[OT] Halloween ettiquette

On 01 Nov 2004 07:43:59 GMT, omcom
(dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) wrote:

snip
The bit I honestly find strange is how much hallowe'en is celebrated in the
USA, given it's very much a pagan festival & the States seems to be getting
more & more right-wing Christian, I see a strange contradiction there :-) Over
here we get churches which are more right-wing, evangelical churches going
public about *not* celebrating hallowe'en. Mind you they do try & hijack it as
"All Hallows" claiming it has nothing to do with anything pagan, never existed
in pagan ritual but is an entirely Christian festival.

I think the reason it's so big here is that it's so commercialized,
and merchants plan on making bucks selling costumes and candy. Seems
all the stores have aisles that they fill with stuff months before the
holiday. Recalling a thread a while back, some stores have had their
Christmas stuff for a couple months already. Besides, I wonder how
many parents even consider the origins.
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I think the reason it's so big here is that it's so commercialized,
and merchants plan on making bucks selling costumes and candy. Seems
all the stores have aisles that they fill with stuff months before the
holiday. Recalling a thread a while back, some stores have had their
Christmas stuff for a couple months already. Besides, I wonder how
many parents even consider the origins.

I doubt that most parents are even aware of the origins. I know for a
fact that the few churches I used to attend don't have a clear picture.
Likewise with such traditions as the Easter bunny, Christmas trees, yule
logs, etc.

I think the reason it's so big here is that it's so commercialized,
and merchants plan on making bucks selling costumes and candy. Seems
all the stores have aisles that they fill with stuff months before the
holiday. Recalling a thread a while back, some stores have had their
Christmas stuff for a couple months already. Besides, I wonder how
many parents even consider the origins.

I doubt that most parents are even aware of the origins. I know for a
fact that the few churches I used to attend don't have a clear picture.
Likewise with such traditions as the Easter bunny, Christmas trees, yule
logs, etc.

I think the reason it's so big here is that it's so commercialized,
and merchants plan on making bucks selling costumes and candy. Seems
all the stores have aisles that they fill with stuff months before the
holiday. Recalling a thread a while back, some stores have had their
Christmas stuff for a couple months already. Besides, I wonder how
many parents even consider the origins.

I doubt that most parents are even aware of the origins. I know for a
fact that the few churches I used to attend don't have a clear picture.
Likewise with such traditions as the Easter bunny, Christmas trees, yule
logs, etc.

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers wrote:

Well, ummm, All Hallows *is* Christian

Yes it is, but my point was that the origin is pre-Christian - All Hallows is a
"hi-jacked", for want of a better word, a pagan festival. Christianity has been
very good at taking over pre-Christian holidays and many an old Christian
church over here stands on what were orginally Roman and pre-Roman sites of
temples worshiping the gods.

Good point. Even Christmas is itself a hijacked holiday. Doesn't bother
me, as I celebrate the pre-Christian meanings of these holidays anyway,
but I do find it amusing sometimes.

Dan

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers wrote:

Well, ummm, All Hallows *is* Christian

Yes it is, but my point was that the origin is pre-Christian - All Hallows is a
"hi-jacked", for want of a better word, a pagan festival. Christianity has been
very good at taking over pre-Christian holidays and many an old Christian
church over here stands on what were orginally Roman and pre-Roman sites of
temples worshiping the gods.

Good point. Even Christmas is itself a hijacked holiday. Doesn't bother
me, as I celebrate the pre-Christian meanings of these holidays anyway,
but I do find it amusing sometimes.

Dan

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers wrote:

Well, ummm, All Hallows *is* Christian

Yes it is, but my point was that the origin is pre-Christian - All Hallows is a
"hi-jacked", for want of a better word, a pagan festival. Christianity has been
very good at taking over pre-Christian holidays and many an old Christian
church over here stands on what were orginally Roman and pre-Roman sites of
temples worshiping the gods.

Good point. Even Christmas is itself a hijacked holiday. Doesn't bother
me, as I celebrate the pre-Christian meanings of these holidays anyway,
but I do find it amusing sometimes.

Dan

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers wrote:

The bit I honestly find strange is how much hallowe'en is celebrated
in the USA, given it's very much a pagan festival & the States seems
to be getting more & more right-wing Christian, I see a strange
contradiction there :-)

Oh, I think that, with the exception of people who are practicing pagans,
Halloween is considered to be a pretty secular holiday here. If anything,
it's an anti-pagan, anti-witchcraft holiday. "Witches" are considered to
be frightening and ugly, hardly the objects of celebration or respect.
Actually, anything "scary" is fair game, whether witches, ghosts or
goblins (shades of Dia de los Muertos?), or characters from popular
horror/slasher/serial killer movies. I doubt the average American thinks
of Halloween as anything other than an opportunity to get into a costume,
eat gobs of sugar, and possibly play some pranks (either innocent or
malicious).

Now the fundie churches *are* up in arms about it, but the response I've
always heard from average folks is on the order of, "HUH??? What are they
talking about?? Halloween is an innocent children's holiday!"

Joyce

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers wrote:

The bit I honestly find strange is how much hallowe'en is celebrated
in the USA, given it's very much a pagan festival & the States seems
to be getting more & more right-wing Christian, I see a strange
contradiction there :-)

Oh, I think that, with the exception of people who are practicing pagans,
Halloween is considered to be a pretty secular holiday here. If anything,
it's an anti-pagan, anti-witchcraft holiday. "Witches" are considered to
be frightening and ugly, hardly the objects of celebration or respect.
Actually, anything "scary" is fair game, whether witches, ghosts or
goblins (shades of Dia de los Muertos?), or characters from popular
horror/slasher/serial killer movies. I doubt the average American thinks
of Halloween as anything other than an opportunity to get into a costume,
eat gobs of sugar, and possibly play some pranks (either innocent or
malicious).

Now the fundie churches *are* up in arms about it, but the response I've
always heard from average folks is on the order of, "HUH??? What are they
talking about?? Halloween is an innocent children's holiday!"

Joyce

dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers wrote:

The bit I honestly find strange is how much hallowe'en is celebrated
in the USA, given it's very much a pagan festival & the States seems
to be getting more & more right-wing Christian, I see a strange
contradiction there :-)

Oh, I think that, with the exception of people who are practicing pagans,
Halloween is considered to be a pretty secular holiday here. If anything,
it's an anti-pagan, anti-witchcraft holiday. "Witches" are considered to
be frightening and ugly, hardly the objects of celebration or respect.
Actually, anything "scary" is fair game, whether witches, ghosts or
goblins (shades of Dia de los Muertos?), or characters from popular
horror/slasher/serial killer movies. I doubt the average American thinks
of Halloween as anything other than an opportunity to get into a costume,
eat gobs of sugar, and possibly play some pranks (either innocent or
malicious).

Now the fundie churches *are* up in arms about it, but the response I've
always heard from average folks is on the order of, "HUH??? What are they
talking about?? Halloween is an innocent children's holiday!"

Joyce