Halloween - is it just me?

[Sasha Distan]

It's October, and the world seems to have gone orange-pumpkin-scary-ghost crazy. What the heck is it with Halloween?

 

I'm in the UK, and even when I was a kid (20 years ago), I never remember Halloween being A Thing. I've never been trick or treating, and no, I don't feel any less blessed for it. But now everywhere and everything is all Holloween centric, and I'm wondering, is there something I'm missing? I just don't get what the fuss is for and why everyone cares so damn much.

 

Also, please, what the heck is this pumpkin-spice nonesense the internet is apparently going crazy over?

 

- signed, someone waiting for November

[Cia]

I like all the paranormal fun of it since I adore fantasy, sci-fi, and paranormal genre stories anyway. This is just a time of year when it's okay for everyone to say they do too. Plus, people LOVE to be scared, as evidenced by the stories throughout history that prey on the fight or flight center of the brain. As far as pumpkin spice, though, I think all the blame for that belongs to Starbucks. Bah. 

[Valkyrie]

I love Halloween and fall and everything to do with it.  The colors, cooler temps, fall food.  I unashamedly love anything with pumpkin spices in it.  Cia is right that Starbucks started the whole "pumpkin spice latte" trend, but those spices have been used in fall foods for ages.  

[Efmaer]

There are a lot of "new age" Wiccans who have spurred a bigger interest in All Hallows Eve (Halloween) and its co-celebration of Samhain. That and the movie A Nightmare Before Christmas.

 

As for the pumpkin spice thing, it has been done to death but if you're a cook it kind of makes sense. The things that are coming into season such as butternut squash, acorn squash, corn, pumpkins, etc blend beautifully with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. 

[wildone]

Halloween was always probably my favourite time of year as a kid and into being an adult. The idea of getting to dress up as a kid was fun, then in your twenties you could get away with dressing up as anything you wanted too, and now, to watch the excited kids getting ready for Christmas.

 

I do think that the over protectiveness of the parents have put a wet blanket over what I remember as a kid. Malls where it is element free and controlled candy giving seems to have taken even a bigger chuck out of what communities used to stand for.

 

Also, my best memories as a kid was going out and coming home with the biggest pillow case of candy and then pulling out the things like bags of sunflower seeds and then Dad driving me to the Children's Hospital to donate anything with sugar in it. I have been a type 1 diabetic almost all of my life, so to see how happy other kids would be made by the fact that I couldn't eat the candy made a great day all day.

 

 

[MrM]

The British tradition used to have an All Hallows thing it did waaay back, but I think it fell out of favour at some point. Protestants have always had a fear of Halloween since it was such a blatant mix of the pagan slathered with a thin veneer of Christianity.

 

Samhain is not uniquely Celtic as we might think, though our Halloween tradition seems to anchor itself there in America.  I'm afraid that is your biggest culprit in England, Halloween caught on big here in the States, probably because of candy manufacturers, but, also, because it was an Irish tradition that sort of caught on.  Similarly to how our Christmas tradition follows a lot more with the German celebration over the British one.  it's a part of the melting pot thingie. We then exported the idea with movies and pop culture, etc.

 

Here in SoCal, however, we have an even more potent elixir of Dark Magick that brings Halloween a particular power here that is deeper than other places.

 

Here in the Southwest of the United States, Halloween is enhanced by Dia De Los Muertos, the Mexican holiday commemorating the ancestors who have passed beyond and yet have a chance to come and visit on the Day of Souls, a Catholic holiday.  This is also an ANCIENT tradition in Mexico dating to the pre-Colombian age where the ancestors were venerated daily and death and life were a mixture of the same reality.  The palpable feeling of the Thinning of the Veil between the living and the dead has had a profound impact on our understanding of Halloween here in San Diego and other parts of the Southwest of the US.  There is a real sense of mystery that those we love are near to us once more!  Even Euro Americans here feel it this time of year. So it is rather special and not at all macabre or spooky (except in a fun way). It is the celebration of All Souls! A time to remember that death is not the end of all things and that life goes on in a myriad of different ways.

 

Since Coco came out by Pixar, this gift to us from Mexico has become better understood and enjoyed in the parts of the United States with a Mexican population and beyond. In a lot of ways for us, it's as big a holiday as Christmas or Easter, or . . . dare I say it:  PRIDE! 😮

[northie]

10 hours ago, Sasha Distan said:

I just don't get what the fuss is for and why everyone cares so damn much.

I'm with you, Sasha. I enjoy writing scary stories, and I don't mind eating themed biscuits and such, but generally? Yeah, I don't get it either.

[Sasha Distan]

11 hours ago, northie said:

I'm with you, Sasha. I enjoy writing scary stories, and I don't mind eating themed biscuits and such, but generally? Yeah, I don't get it either.

Oh northie, I knew I could rely on you

 

thanks for the feedback guys, and the cool southwestern halloween traditions, that's kind of cool.

[clochette]

I never cared for it. I'm not a big fan of scary/paranormal in general. I think I went trick or tritting only once with friends when I was a kid (plus i hate wearing costumes)

But I noticed a degrease of interest the last couple of years in France. No more shelves full of costumes at the stores, and no pumkin flavor everything (pumkin are for soup/purée and that's about it) and only a couple of kids at the door (we jump right to christmas) 

[Krista]

Halloween is actually seeing a bit of a comeback of sorts. It was becoming a forgotten holiday. Christmas being the one that everyone/every business are already preparing for. Aside from all the pumpkin based foods I am glad to see it coming back. Although, back when I was a kid we had to work for our candy - there was no such thing as designated Trick-or-Treating stops. We actually had to go door to door and people were generally happy to see us coming down the sidewalk. It used to take us all of the 7 - 9pm to get our sacks full of candy. Now it takes all of about 30 minutes to drive to your designated spot and get in line and just get the candy when it is your turn... 

 

But anywho, I've always liked dressing up. With kids it gives me a reason to do themed costumes.

[comicfan]

Halloween - gateway of the holidays. As a kid from the Northeast United States, the months of September, October, November, and December held very different meanings.

 

September meant the end of summer and back to school. Classes were set, new lessons, everything scheduled.

 

October meant autumn arrived. The colors changed, you got your heavier jacket. Schools would begin talking about the class Halloween party. You made plans to trick or treat with your friends. Mom would begin baking her desserts with apples and pumpkins and they had all sorts of spices. The yards were decorated with witches, ghosts, and skeletons. Horror movies and the first holiday cartoons would show.

 

November first meant goodbye to scary as suddenly pictures of pilgrims, Indians, turkeys, and a cornucopia would appear. Conversations revolved around family you hadn't seen in a while coming for Thanksgiving, football season, and the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, which would start the Christmas season. 

 

That lead to Christmas. The day after Thanksgiving the malls became a winter wonderland. Santa sat to take pictures. Schools had art projects for Christmas and Hanukkah. You barely functioned waiting on the holiday parties in school.

 

Now come September you'll find Halloween and Christmas both in the stores. Pumpkin spice coffee, muffins, and God only knows what else, is sold in every coffee shop and store beginning September first. November first pumpkin dies and Mint everything is out. The joy of each holiday is blended and the almighty dollar rules.

 

Some still have Halloween parties, and there are pockets where the old joy of horror, scary, and fantasy still lie for kids, but in places it has become just gore or commercial. Some barely get out of their Halloween costume and the Christmas tree is up. Oh well. 

[Former Member]

In the Bay Area, The Castro used to be the place to go on Halloween (and even the weekend before the Holiday – because they spent so much effort on their costumes they needed to show it off more than just the one night!) – in costume, of course. They used to shutdown several blocks to traffic, including Market St. But more and more non-costumed heteros started showing up to gawk and cause problems. There were a few shootings by out of town troublemakers before the event was shut down for good.  :–(

 

I remember eating at The Patio Cafe back in the ‘90s. Suddenly, a guy in a blue gingham dress and a shepherd’s crook ran into the restaurant and yelled, ‘I’m Little Bo Peep and I’ve lost my sheep!’ And then he ran out again! Everybody had been startled into silence, but then we all started laughing when we realized what had happened.  ;–)

[Former Member]

On 10/7/2018 at 2:51 PM, Sasha Distan said:

It's October, and the world seems to have gone orange-pumpkin-scary-ghost crazy.

In the US (and possibly Canada), the pumpkin-everything is probably more related to Thanksgiving. Canada’s Thanksgiving is today and US Thanksgiving is at the end of November. Pumpkins are not just associated with Halloween.  ;–)

[Thorn Wilde]

I love Halloween. Like, all of October is Halloween to me. Mostly, I think this is because I'm still kind of a goth at heart, and I just love everything spooky and weird, and Halloween is the best time to express that without people thinking you're crazy. I mean, Halloween actually wasn't a thing here in Norway at all until a couple of decades ago when it slowly started to seep in. At that point, I had already been exposed through various media, including novels I liked, and jumped straight on the bandwagon. Again, goth. Spooky and weird is my jam.

[Former Member]

We can’t conquer the entire world with our army, so we’ll do it more subtly. We’ll export our culture through our movies, music, and food. We’ll convince you to buy iPhones, Mochachino Grandes, Big Macs, California Rolls, and pizza! Muahahaha!  ;–)

[Thorn Wilde]

6 hours ago, droughtquake said:

We can’t conquer the entire world with our army, so we’ll do it more subtly. We’ll export our culture through our movies, music, and food. We’ll convince you to buy iPhones, Mochachino Grandes, Big Macs, California Rolls, and pizza! Muahahaha!  ;–)

 

You so did not invent pizza.  

[Former Member]

21 minutes ago, Thorn Wilde said:

You so did not invent pizza.  

No, but we’ve changed it from what it originally was!  ;–)

[Thorn Wilde]

23 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

No, but we’ve changed it from what it originally was!  ;–)

 

Yeah, but so has every other country. Norwegian pizza is Norwegian.

 

[Former Member]

5 hours ago, Thorn Wilde said:

 

Yeah, but so has every other country. Norwegian pizza is Norwegian.

 

It’s obvious that Norwegian pizza is more like pizza from the US than the original pizza just from looking at the picture.  ;–)

[Former Member]

17 hours ago, Thorn Wilde said:

Yeah, but so has every other country. Norwegian pizza is Norwegian.

And just wait until someone decides to start selling Chicago-style Stuffed Pizza in Norway. It’s not deep-dish or stuffed-crust pizza. Chicago isn’t quite as full of itself as either NYC or LA, so they don’t do as much self-promotion.  ;–)

[Thorn Wilde]

9 hours ago, droughtquake said:

And just wait until someone decides to start selling Chicago-style Stuffed Pizza in Norway. It’s not deep-dish or stuffed-crust pizza. Chicago isn’t quite as full of itself as either NYC or LA, so they don’t do as much self-promotion.  ;–)

 

Actually, a lot of pizza shops in Norway sell what they call 'Chicago pizza', but it's kind of not quite it.

 

Mostly, Italian pizza is the popular thing now, though. More and more Italian pizza places cropping up.

Edited October 12, 2018 by Thorn Wilde

[MrM]

On 10/10/2018 at 6:40 PM, Thorn Wilde said:

I love Halloween. Like, all of October is Halloween to me. Mostly, I think this is because I'm still kind of a goth at heart, and I just love everything spooky and weird, and Halloween is the best time to express that without people thinking you're crazy. I mean, Halloween actually wasn't a thing here in Norway at all until a couple of decades ago when it slowly started to seep in. At that point, I had already been exposed through various media, including novels I liked, and jumped straight on the bandwagon. Again, goth. Spooky and weird is my jam.

 

Halloweird is my fav too, now. Christmas and Easter hold too many sad memories for me now that my family is gone. But, Halloweird and All Souls is a celebration where I feel like they an be with me in spirit. I suppose I am becoming more part of that world beyond than the one I'm in now. I suppose that's why a lot of my stories deal with the theme of life surviving death. Halloween is every day for me.

 

I am also an aging Goth. I'll actually be going to my monthly coven Sabbat tomorrow night (nightclub) to dance again to Bauhaus!

 

9 minutes ago, Thorn Wilde said:

 

Actually, a lot of pizza shops in Norway sell what they call 'Chicago pizza', but it's kind of not quite it.

 

Mostly, Italian pizza is the popular thing now, though. More and more Italian pizza places cropping up.

 

I've been seeing more 'authentic' Naples style pizza places cropping up here in San Diego and LA. Pizza Margherita has become the favorite flavor of pizza lately over pepperoni. We have one Uno's for Shytown style, but it's weird it doesn't catch on down here too much. NYC style pizza has held rein here in California for too long and now brick oven 'California' style has replaced that thanks to Wolfgang Puck at Spagos. My NY and Jersey friends keep telling me that I need to move out of SoCal and come to where they are because I'm more of a NY Pizza snob than they are. LOL. I tend to like NY style pies and frequent the 'old' pizza places where I can still get that. I HATE BBQ Chicken Pizza! YUCK!

[Thorn Wilde]

2 minutes ago, MrM said:

Pizza Margherita has become the favorite flavor of pizza lately over pepperoni.

 

I theorise that this is because vegetarians.

[Former Member]

47 minutes ago, MrM said:

NYC style pizza has held rein here in California for too long

That’s not necessarily true of the Bay Area.

 

The East Bay has the award-winning, four-location, employee-owned Zachary’s Chicago Pizza (but the Berkeley and Oakland restaurants have ambiance that the two newer suburban locations just don’t have).

[Thorn Wilde]

...We've hijacked this thread about Halloween and made it about pizza.