Comments on: Halloween, what is it really?

By: Alan

Alan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:05:19 +0000

You tell ‘em!

By: James Frost

James Frost — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:24:11 +0000

Alan – interesting stuff. Now I’m back off to shout at the kids telling crap jokes on the doorstep. LEAVE ME ALONE YOU BRATS.

By: Alan

Alan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:21:33 +0000

Aw, stop it. You’re making me homesick!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:29:22 +0000

For me, this time of year is a time of plenty. I have already been foraging for (edible) mushrooms over The New Forest (full of ancient mystique) for a few weeks now. I have collected blackberries and wild crab apples are dropping from the trees, ready to be collected and preserved. Damp, misty mornings and wet leaves on the road are a hazard to motorbikes, but as the landscape mellows and settles down to sleep for the winter, something deep and visceral calls me out into the woodland looking for nuts, berries and the illusive chanterelle, cep and deceiver …. all exceptionally tasty when eaten with seasonal game in a heartwarming stew. I also have a log-burning stove. As the evenings draw in, a crackling log fire sends malevolent spirits on their way and makes my home feel safe, warm and comforting, with a pervading (but pleasant) smell of woodsmoke.

Thanks for sharing a little about the origins of All Hallow’s Eve, as it is, for me, a strangely magical time of year.

By: alan

alan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:11:11 +0000

It’s fair enough for Americans to enjoy the cultural event that Halloween is for them. But it would be good if they also knew more about the roots of it – I bet many don’t, which is a shame. Just as many don’t here in Australia or elsewhere.

As for the Americanisation (note the ’s’ in that word ) it’s not the Americanisation of Halloween so much as the Americanisation of Australia that bothers me!

In truth, if we were going to honour the roots of the festival here in the southern hemisphere, we should have it in April, not in the Spring.

We all co-opt things. I just like to remember where things came from. Why we do the things we do is fascinating, and very important.

By: Laura E. Goodin

Laura E. Goodin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:24:44 +0000

Me, I’m a big, big fan of the candy-and-costumes thing. For me, it’s what my people do. It has its own identity, regardless of its origins. If Americans have co-opted it, we’re no different from any other group that’s co-opted it to meet *their* needs. And, I must say, it is entirely possible (even probable) that the autumn festival predates even the whole Samhain thing. So everyone co-opts, based on cultural and personal need. And I really, really need Halloween as celebrated by my own people — ESPECIALLY when I am diametrically far from home.

Don’t stress about the Americanization. Come by my place. Have some chocolate. You’ll feel better.