I over-think things, I know, but Halloween does worry me. When I was young, it wasn’t really a thing at all – Bonfire Night was the big deal, with kids collecting a ‘penny for the guy’ on every street corner, with various degrees of cheek. Some of the guys, destined to be burned on the bonfire, were proper effigies of Guy Fawkes, with hats and beards and limbs and all, stuffed with combustibles like newspaper and straw. Some were just younger siblings told to keep quiet, and some were balloons balanced on piles of jumble sale clothes.
Putting a brave face on it ....
There was a bit of effort involved, though, and it all celebrated a real, historical event. With Halloween, at best we seem to be celebrating consumerism, at worst it looks as though we are suddenly coming over all pagan. Isn’t it a bit odd to be going all out for the devil, ghosts and ghouls, when scarcely any of us would dream of going to church?
Pizza Express gets in on the act with pumpkin-shaped dough balls ....
Build-a-Bear workshop's scarily orange Hello Kitty Halloween special, she'll give you a cuddle when things get too frightening ....
My favourite kind of Halloween product .... it's funny, it's useful, and it makes great toffee apples
Deliciously naughty treats from Haribo
Child Four said the other day, ‘it’s always the baddies who have the best super powers’. At the age of five, he’s put his finger right on it. This time of year is dank and dreary. A bit of dayglo orange, accessoried by fake witches’ hair and plastic spiders, cheers it all up no end. And Halloween involves tons of sweets. From a child’s point of view, what’s not to love? Until Harvest Festival involves coming out with more than you left, it’s not going to cut it with this generation.
So we’re going for it this Halloween. But we’ll remember, remember the 5th of November as well. And we sent our usual motley collection of tins to harvest festival as well. Can I eat my weight in Haribo Tangfastics now, please?
October 31st, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Totally with you on feeling ambivalent about Halloween. I would much prefer to celebrate Guy Fawkes but we’re not supposed to have fireworks or bonfires on the territory, blast it. Plus, there is the small fact that no-one other than our family understands it – and once they do, they tend to look at us as if we’re even more bloodthirsty than they would if we celebrated Halloween…
November 2nd, 2012 at 11:23 am
Hmm, yes it’s not easy as an expat trying to explain Guy Fawkes …. as you can imagine, it didn’t go down brilliantly in Catholic Belgium …. maybe get some indoor sparklers and celebrate en famille instead?! Do the Russians do any bonfire-related celebrations? I would have thought they could do with a nice warm fire round about now …
October 31st, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Trick or Treacle, that’s so funny, I haven’t seen that before.
I’m glad someone else is feeling the whole Halloween thing is overrated, I thought I was alone.
November 2nd, 2012 at 11:24 am
Yes, those Tate and Lyle tins are lovely …. glad Halloween’s done now and we can move on to the fireworks!
November 1st, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Yes and the baddies have all the fun!
November 2nd, 2012 at 11:25 am
Yes they do! Not fair