a dumb halloween question...

[Blaupanzer]

Poor Dis

Hallowmas was very popular in Europe as noted in the article prior to the Plague years. Nobody "got together" and did anything in those times and the traditions died out. Not sure quite how it emerged as a "trick or treat" holiday in the US.

Not surprised to see it spreading now. Seems an awful lot of folks in the Western world have the time to party and will do so at any excuse. The American greeting card industry has come up with all kinds of holidays so as to sell cards. American holidays are catching on in Europe.

[Thedrin]

Originally posted by LordShiva

Samhain (pronounced sow-in)

Gaelic

[Cort Haus]

I don't think we consider Halloween to be an American import in Britain. Dis will be claiming that George III was invented by America next.

[Kaak]

so....where can one find a good masquerade party in europe for halloweeen?! that's the question :-p

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Kaak
so....where can one find a good masquerade party in europe for halloweeen?! that's the question :-p

If it's that what you are looking for, well, forget it detail are tryying to make it yet another high sale time, but not with succes.

[Dinner]

Re: a dumb halloween question...

Originally posted by Kaak
I'm probably a moron for asking this, but do they celebrate halloween in europe?

Not really. It's catching on though via people watching American TV shows or hearing about on the internet.

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by Wittlich
Actually, when I left Germany in 1995, Halloween was actually starting to catch on with the locals...of course, I was then stationed in Kaiserslautern - which has a high population of U.S. servicemen/women - so it might have been an isolated situation...

Wittlich were you at Bleidorn Kasserne?

(Its been 26 years so I am a little forgetful of all the Kasserne's in USAREUR)

Gramps

[CerberusIV]

Halloween is quite big here, partly because (unlike the UK) Bonfire Night is not celebrated (no prizes for guessing why ).

It's quite a relief compared to the UK actually. The shops all sell Halloween stuff during October and don't start getting Xmas stock in until November - unlike their UK counterparts that start the Xmas stuff at the end of August!

[Kropotkin]

In Sweden there's the "real" holiday called All Saint's Eve (as All Hallow's Eve) and then there's the americanized version. There's a lot of confusion about the dates of these holidays. Partly because it has been moved several times in the past and partly because most people don't care that much about it I guess.

As a tradition, at least where I came from, you light candles on the graves of your dead relatives. Quite the opposite to wild parties. Then there's those that celebrate Halloween as a good and solid excuse to have a masquerade, like students.

Finally, there's young kids that have been confused by to much intake of to much american tv and thinks that those traditions are as valid here, or sees it as a good way to get candy. Maybe both I suppose. I don't think this group are very successful. Pehaps it works in middleclass suburbs, but in most areas people don't take not and buy candy for other peoples kids. As far as I'm concerned, anyone that comes to my door, demanding anything and using threats, is not much better than a mobster.

[Dis]

shameless promotion of my state.

It's also my state's birthday.

[DRoseDARs]

And considering the Nevada State Legislature moved official observation of Nevada Day to the last Friday of October, it's gonna be like a 5-day weekend this year.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Dis
I remember when I was a kid they had a big scare one year about men putting razors and pins in the candy. So one year I ended up doing some school function. Lame.

Those have all turned out to be false. Only one pin ever turned up, and that was put there by the father himself. Snopes can be useful sometimes. Although the rumors of dangerous things in the candy seem very much a part of Halloween tradition itself. After all, it is supposed to be a scary holidy.

[Locutus]

Re: a dumb halloween question...

Originally posted by Kaak
I'm probably a moron for asking this, but do they celebrate halloween in europe?

No.

In parts of the Netherlands there is St. Martin's Day (Nov 11) which is pretty similar, but it's very much a local event and even then one that's very much in decline.

In recent years I have heard of some kids that go trick and treeting (is that what it's called?) but only to immediate friends and neighbours -- if they would go ringing strangers' doorbells asking for candy they'd probably just get a lot of strange looks. If there's more to Halloween than free candy noone over here knows or cares about it...

[chequita guevara]

You're supposed to dress up in costume, preferably a scary one.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Spoken like the Frenchmen we've all come to admire and respect.

Most parents are taking their children to school, or other, functions. At least here they are.

Up here in the North, we still celebrate Halloween with parties but we also still do the traditional neighborhood activity of kids going trick or treating.