halloween??
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No it has nothing to do with Guy Fawkes day. Guy Fawkes is British and very cultured ;). Halloween is as American as apple pie, Adam Sandler or Ren and Stimpy, and very uncultured. Here is a brief history from the kind folks at Ben & Jerry. My take on Halloween is a bunch of kids (hey I am a bitter adult because I never got to do what they do now) running around begging, bribing, stealing sweets from adults. The kids are normally dressed in scary costumes (like the Pamela Anderson body kit, or the Bill Gates mask etc.) or just covered in a sheet. Depends on the social class they come from. Guys with bandanas, guns and switch blades are not halloween kids, they are gangsters. Run away. When a kid gets to your door they scream "Trick or treat?". If you give them a sweet (or a whole chocolate factory, kids are demanding these days) it is considered a treat and they run away without even bleeding saying thank you, snotty kids. If you don't give them anything then they do a trick on you (and no not that kind of trick). Normally they cover your house in toilet paper and eggs. Or throw cherry bombs at your dog. All in all a dangerous time for all. I prefer Easter, Christmas and Punja! :) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge "In other words, the developer is dealing with an elephant, the accountant is dealing with a bunny rabbit." by Stan Shannon - 16/10/2001
Halloween is as American as St Patricks Day !!! Its a European Celtic & Viking Scandavian Tradition Regards Ray "Je Suis Mort De Rire"
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hey I dont think I even got the spelling correct.. But just whats this halloween thing all about? is it an American thing? or british? just curious... Nish p.s. does it have anything to do with guy fawkes day?
is it an American thing? or british? Arrrgggghhh! Don't blame us. It's a Yank thing (or is that thang?) :( It's sure gotten out of hand though. :rolleyes: Andy Metcalfe - Sonardyne International Ltd
(andy.metcalfe@lineone.net)
http://www.resorg.co.uk"I'm just another 'S' bend in the internet. A ton of stuff goes through my system, and some of the hairer, stickier and lumpier stuff sticks." - Chris Maunder (I just couldn't let that one past ;))
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Children pretending to be the Evil Spirits that the Bonfires drive off... BTW BonFires are light at Halloween, Children dress up as Evil Spirits and dance around the BonFire ... Regards Ray "Je Suis Mort De Rire"
Odd behaviour for a predominantly Christian country, doncha think? Andy Metcalfe - Sonardyne International Ltd
(andy.metcalfe@lineone.net)
http://www.resorg.co.uk"I'm just another 'S' bend in the internet. A ton of stuff goes through my system, and some of the hairer, stickier and lumpier stuff sticks." - Chris Maunder (I just couldn't let that one past ;))
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No it has nothing to do with Guy Fawkes day. Guy Fawkes is British and very cultured ;). Halloween is as American as apple pie, Adam Sandler or Ren and Stimpy, and very uncultured. Here is a brief history from the kind folks at Ben & Jerry. My take on Halloween is a bunch of kids (hey I am a bitter adult because I never got to do what they do now) running around begging, bribing, stealing sweets from adults. The kids are normally dressed in scary costumes (like the Pamela Anderson body kit, or the Bill Gates mask etc.) or just covered in a sheet. Depends on the social class they come from. Guys with bandanas, guns and switch blades are not halloween kids, they are gangsters. Run away. When a kid gets to your door they scream "Trick or treat?". If you give them a sweet (or a whole chocolate factory, kids are demanding these days) it is considered a treat and they run away without even bleeding saying thank you, snotty kids. If you don't give them anything then they do a trick on you (and no not that kind of trick). Normally they cover your house in toilet paper and eggs. Or throw cherry bombs at your dog. All in all a dangerous time for all. I prefer Easter, Christmas and Punja! :) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge "In other words, the developer is dealing with an elephant, the accountant is dealing with a bunny rabbit." by Stan Shannon - 16/10/2001
Paul, What's Punja? and thanks for the info. Nish
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hey I dont think I even got the spelling correct.. But just whats this halloween thing all about? is it an American thing? or british? just curious... Nish p.s. does it have anything to do with guy fawkes day?
Halloween is just one of those ancient 'holidays' hijacked by big corporations intending to make us buy silly costumes, sweets, decorations, cards etc. Sort of like Easter for Satan worshippers :-) Michael :-) >does it have anything to do with guy fawkes day? Nah, that when we Brits celebrate Guy Fawkes failed attempt to blow up the House of Parliament by burning things and exploding gunpowder. Only us Brits could celebrate failure. Michael :-)
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Halloween is as American as St Patricks Day !!! Its a European Celtic & Viking Scandavian Tradition Regards Ray "Je Suis Mort De Rire"
St Patricks day? Thats a new one there, huh? Nish
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hey I dont think I even got the spelling correct.. But just whats this halloween thing all about? is it an American thing? or british? just curious... Nish p.s. does it have anything to do with guy fawkes day?
Hey I got the spelling right :-) Nish
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Halloween is as American as St Patricks Day !!! Its a European Celtic & Viking Scandavian Tradition Regards Ray "Je Suis Mort De Rire"
:rolleyes: yes I know, I read the history I posted :) But I was referring to the Halloween celebrated by the modern world. Halloween is about as celtic now days as a dreamcatcher or the sickle moon. It has all been Americanised, worse than a caramalised onion. I don't see little kiddies running around scribbling ancient celtic runes, or chanting Scandanavian ryhmes. I see them in masks with "Toys'r'Us" printed on the label. Getting dropped off at the top of streets in SUVs and waving about light sabres which rattle "Use the force Luke!" with every swipe. That is the Halloween of today :) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge "In other words, the developer is dealing with an elephant, the accountant is dealing with a bunny rabbit." by Stan Shannon - 16/10/2001
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St Patricks day? Thats a new one there, huh? Nish
Kiss the blarney stone! (or have I got my rituals mixed up? is this the haggis one? hehe) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge "In other words, the developer is dealing with an elephant, the accountant is dealing with a bunny rabbit." by Stan Shannon - 16/10/2001
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Odd behaviour for a predominantly Christian country, doncha think? Andy Metcalfe - Sonardyne International Ltd
(andy.metcalfe@lineone.net)
http://www.resorg.co.uk"I'm just another 'S' bend in the internet. A ton of stuff goes through my system, and some of the hairer, stickier and lumpier stuff sticks." - Chris Maunder (I just couldn't let that one past ;))
erm ... 'tis true, but think about Christmas and Easter ... make very little either. Regards Ray "Je Suis Mort De Rire"
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and why do they wear looking masks ... - Kannan
As confused as me eh, Kannan? Well these guys won't understand if we told them we know as much about halloween as a chicken knows about the big bang and now they bring in St. Patrick's day just to confuse things :-) LOL Nish
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Halloween is just one of those ancient 'holidays' hijacked by big corporations intending to make us buy silly costumes, sweets, decorations, cards etc. Sort of like Easter for Satan worshippers :-) Michael :-) >does it have anything to do with guy fawkes day? Nah, that when we Brits celebrate Guy Fawkes failed attempt to blow up the House of Parliament by burning things and exploding gunpowder. Only us Brits could celebrate failure. Michael :-)
Sort of like Easter for Satan worshippers ROFTLMAO oh that is the most beautifully sick thing I have heard all day! Bravo! *wipes a tear from my eye* hehe that had me laughing so hard. I can just imagine this black eared bunny bouncing around handing out goat heads, hand grenades and DIY black sabbath kits to kiddies. :laugh: Only us Brits could celebrate failure Got to love you Brit lot. Best humour in the world :) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge "In other words, the developer is dealing with an elephant, the accountant is dealing with a bunny rabbit." by Stan Shannon - 16/10/2001 Happy halloween to all, or as Michael P butler says: "Halloween, sort of like Easter for Satan worshippers "
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Paul, What's Punja? and thanks for the info. Nish
hehe :-O I miss-spelt puja. As Amit Dey says: well the puja is 'Durga Puja' and it goes on for about 10 days (although only 6 days are really celebrated). The puja is all about the coming of godess Durga(and her 10 children) and reflects the ageold idea of good over evil. The demon 'Mahisasura' gets whipped by Durga in a war and eventually the good prevails. Anyway, the 6th day onward to the 10th(the immersion day) the idols of Goddess Durga and her children are worshipped very elaborately. The 10 th day is Dussera( kind of a new year) and people wish their friends and neighbours and distribute sweets. Actually this festival is the first in a whole string of pujas usually ending with Kali puja( in about a month's time), and celebrated throughout the night with fireworks. regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge "In other words, the developer is dealing with an elephant, the accountant is dealing with a bunny rabbit." by Stan Shannon - 16/10/2001
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Children pretending to be the Evil Spirits that the Bonfires drive off... BTW BonFires are light at Halloween, Children dress up as Evil Spirits and dance around the BonFire ... Regards Ray "Je Suis Mort De Rire"
It basically involves being interrupted every 5 minutes by little children dressed in binbags, who expect money in return for their shoddy effort. And what's trick or treat about? I normally just say "Go on then, trick. I f**king dare you". They usually haven't planned on people saying that so they just walk away and unroot one of your flowers from the garden. :) --- Simon Proud member of the RSPCT - The Royal Society for the Prevention of the Creation of any more TLA's
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:rolleyes: yes I know, I read the history I posted :) But I was referring to the Halloween celebrated by the modern world. Halloween is about as celtic now days as a dreamcatcher or the sickle moon. It has all been Americanised, worse than a caramalised onion. I don't see little kiddies running around scribbling ancient celtic runes, or chanting Scandanavian ryhmes. I see them in masks with "Toys'r'Us" printed on the label. Getting dropped off at the top of streets in SUVs and waving about light sabres which rattle "Use the force Luke!" with every swipe. That is the Halloween of today :) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge "In other words, the developer is dealing with an elephant, the accountant is dealing with a bunny rabbit." by Stan Shannon - 16/10/2001
But I was referring to the Halloween celebrated by the modern world. Halloween is about as celtic now days as a dreamcatcher or the sickle moon. It has all been Americanised, worse than a caramalised onion. Why do the people of the UK, Ireland, South Africa (or anyplace else) feel the need to celebrate/participate in an American holiday that they obviously don't understand or like? Just ignore it like we ignore your specific holidays. All these complaints of "Americanizing" this or that reek of petty jealousy. Or do they point to some deep rooted inferiority complex? I don't mean to be a prick here, but it gets old after a while. Mike Mullikin "It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level I'm really quite busy."
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But I was referring to the Halloween celebrated by the modern world. Halloween is about as celtic now days as a dreamcatcher or the sickle moon. It has all been Americanised, worse than a caramalised onion. Why do the people of the UK, Ireland, South Africa (or anyplace else) feel the need to celebrate/participate in an American holiday that they obviously don't understand or like? Just ignore it like we ignore your specific holidays. All these complaints of "Americanizing" this or that reek of petty jealousy. Or do they point to some deep rooted inferiority complex? I don't mean to be a prick here, but it gets old after a while. Mike Mullikin "It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level I'm really quite busy."
Mike, believe me I hate it as much as you do. I hate seeing kids in South Africa running around with American t-shirts, buying American pop-band CDs, speaking like Americans, pretending to be American. I cannot stand them wishing South Africa was America. You are probably dead right. Most of the world is simply jealous of the American way. Jealous of the wealth and life style. But America is also to blame. America does tend to advertise it's way pretty strongily. Peter Stuvesant ad's, Britney Spears posters, Budweiser trucks. Every day all day we are bombarded by "America, America, America. America the great. To be like us buy our stuff.". And the sad thing is that it works. It works very well on young impressionable minds who see their favourite movie stars doing rockstar things. Kids like to act out fantasies and well most of these involve Las Vegas or California or being Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. I am just frustrated that we cannot make our own identity and enjoy our own culture. Even at my old'ish age I get berrated for wanting to read a South African book when the latest Stephen King horror is out, or wear a pair of shorts when the latest trendy Levi Strauss jeans have hit the market. *shrugs* I don't want to be American, I want to be South African. But it is hard in an American world :) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge "In other words, the developer is dealing with an elephant, the accountant is dealing with a bunny rabbit." by Stan Shannon - 16/10/2001
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As confused as me eh, Kannan? Well these guys won't understand if we told them we know as much about halloween as a chicken knows about the big bang and now they bring in St. Patrick's day just to confuse things :-) LOL Nish
AFIK St. Patrick's day is an excuse to drink extreme quantities of Guinness and party until you fall over or get arrested (whichever comes first). :-D Andy Metcalfe - Sonardyne International Ltd
(andy.metcalfe@lineone.net)
http://www.resorg.co.uk"I'm just another 'S' bend in the internet. A ton of stuff goes through my system, and some of the hairer, stickier and lumpier stuff sticks." - Chris Maunder (I just couldn't let that one past ;))
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hey I dont think I even got the spelling correct.. But just whats this halloween thing all about? is it an American thing? or british? just curious... Nish p.s. does it have anything to do with guy fawkes day?
Just for the record, this site has the best overall history of Halloween that I have seen. http://www.locksley.com/halloween/ And everybody is right, it is a traditional holiday that was hijacked. Just like Christmas and Easter. The modern version is pretty much like the others described it. I just point this site out so you can read a firly accurate, more or less unbiased history. Have a good one! Jason Jystad Cito Technologies www.citotech.net >------------------------------------------------< "Luckily," he went on, "you have come to exactly the right place with your interesting problem, for there is no such word as 'impossible' in my dictionary. In fact," he added, brandishing the abused book, "everything between 'herring' and 'marmalade' seems to be missing." -- Dirk Gently (Douglas Adams) >------------------------------------------------<
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hey I dont think I even got the spelling correct.. But just whats this halloween thing all about? is it an American thing? or british? just curious... Nish p.s. does it have anything to do with guy fawkes day?
's a Microsoft thing - they've declared a standard and will be announcing activation details next week. It seems they had production problems and can't release it by the promised Oct 31 date. "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001
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Mike, believe me I hate it as much as you do. I hate seeing kids in South Africa running around with American t-shirts, buying American pop-band CDs, speaking like Americans, pretending to be American. I cannot stand them wishing South Africa was America. You are probably dead right. Most of the world is simply jealous of the American way. Jealous of the wealth and life style. But America is also to blame. America does tend to advertise it's way pretty strongily. Peter Stuvesant ad's, Britney Spears posters, Budweiser trucks. Every day all day we are bombarded by "America, America, America. America the great. To be like us buy our stuff.". And the sad thing is that it works. It works very well on young impressionable minds who see their favourite movie stars doing rockstar things. Kids like to act out fantasies and well most of these involve Las Vegas or California or being Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. I am just frustrated that we cannot make our own identity and enjoy our own culture. Even at my old'ish age I get berrated for wanting to read a South African book when the latest Stephen King horror is out, or wear a pair of shorts when the latest trendy Levi Strauss jeans have hit the market. *shrugs* I don't want to be American, I want to be South African. But it is hard in an American world :) regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass Cape Town, South Africa "The greatest thing you will ever learn is to love, and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge "In other words, the developer is dealing with an elephant, the accountant is dealing with a bunny rabbit." by Stan Shannon - 16/10/2001
But America is also to blame. America does tend to advertise it's way pretty strongily. Peter Stuvesant ad's, Britney Spears posters, Budweiser trucks. I'm sure our corporate culture and it's advertising/comercialization is VERY much to blame. FYI, it annoys the hell out of us as well! I do have a couple of comments/questions though: #1 - Who is Peter Stuvesant? Really... I've never heard of him! :) #2 - Britney Spears = No talent, but a hell of a good looking young lady! #3 - Budweiser X| X| X| I'd much prefer a good Canadian beer or a Guinness. For what it's worth, Americans (especially the kids) are certainly affected by foreign pop culture as well. Probably started with the Beatles and hasn't stopped yet. :(( We were infected with the pop virus called "The Spice Girls" just like the rest of the world. :) During the last summer games, EVERYTHING was "Aussie" over here. It's hard NOT to root for the "Thorpedo"!!! :cool: Not to mention, even I, the "Ugly American", KNOW that the Rolling Stones are the greatest rock & roll band in history!!!!! Mike Mullikin "It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level I'm really quite busy."