Halloween costumes

Had never heard of Hallowe’en as a child. Another commercial waste of money.

It’s not encouraged by the Church Flora ....it’s simply All Souls Day.
There was nothing going on ( as a child) but as the US makes a big deal of it, it slowly began to take off here too.
Where I live people put out lighted pumpkins and some children call round to show off their costumes ( and are given a few sweets.) There is no trick or treating though.

I quite like it, with my daughters and grandchildren we walk around the village, only going to houses which are clearly participating, and it’s amazing what some people do, one road is just Halloween world, with everything you could imagine.

I let them decorate the house a bit, we have a Halloween supper and watch scary movies.

Next day, all over, not dragging on for months like Christmas!

Same here Sara65
Pumpkin with battery light in front garden.
Decorating porch and conservatory
Little children with parents come out soon after dark.

My two little excited grandsons going out with mum and grandad for first time.
Only go to houses with
a pumpkin.?‍♂️?

Following week we are taking GC to our local organised bonfire. ?

I dont think "THE CHURCH" is fundamentally against it. Within the church there are varying degrees of opinion. There are clergy who get sweeties in to prepare for halloween trick or treaters!

Its not "from america" either, it's from here and many regions have always marked it. Hence the church superimposing "all souls" on a similar date! All Church holidays are origionally other holidays that predated them.

It gets the community out and about and mixing across the ages. I think its to be encouraged

IMO it's the rampant commercialisation of it that's been imported from America - it lends itself to so much plastic tat.

I do remember Halloween parties when I was a child in the 50s and 60s - bobbing for apples etc., and some would dress up, but it wasn't a common thing where I lived (SE England( - I know it was always a major thing in Scotland though.

Bonfire night was the really Big Thing - that has retreated in to the background somewhat - presumably because it doesn't lend itself to mountains of tat.

My dds enjoyed trick or treating and little Gdcs now enjoy it. I always put a small pumpkin in the window and we usually have quite a few young children around. (I just hope there will be some of the mini packs of Smarties left for me!)

The pumpkin is made into Thai style soup the next day - with chilli and ginger and coconut milk - delish!

I think most people realise that unless something was a Native American custom notanan anything else came from various other countries as the people settled there.
However, it’s a relatively recent thing that Halloween as a ‘big thing’ became popular here, as a result of American films.
The Church appropriated all the pagan holy days, but has never encouraged making a fuss of ‘devilish’ customs, as they see it ( or certainly used to.)
I think it’s all a waste of money and creates a mound of plastic tat, but if kept to carved pumpkins and sweets for children it’s harmless enough.

X posts Witzend ?

Children have fun.
Generations interact.
Businesses made shed loads of money on costumes, foodstuffs and decorations.
Environmentalists sigh.

Flora - you asked if anyone was in agreement with the "snippy" lady in the Charity Shop, yes I am very much in agreement, but know also that I may well be in the minority. Halloween is not encouraged within my family.

We aren’t allowed to sell any kind of Fancy dress including Halloween in the charity shop I volunteer in, not because of Christianity but because claudia winklemans daughter got burnt whilst wearing fancy dress I personally think this blanket ban is silly it’s up to each parent to make sure their child is safe whatever they wear but we have to adhere to it
Hallowean was certainly not around in any way as a celebration in my childhood It had arrived in my children’s childhood and we had a simplified celebration making green (poisonous) fairy cakes and the kids walked along just our road in sheets or something made up The razzamtazz , the huge financial gains and the ‘begging’ all came over from USA notanan and is pretty horrible
So I think the lady in the charity shop was just following the rules of her shop whether she was snippy or not is really just in your interpretation flora

The Christian school which my GCs attended certainly frowned upon Hallowe'en activities, but they participated at home. I love greeting the local families and shall display a pumpkin to welcome them. Last year I gave gifts to over 40 children. I am well known as the woman who has a large tray full of home baked goodies, sweets, drinks and non-edible items. All that are left at the end of the evening are apples and satsumas! I am pleased to say that the greeting is always 'Happy Hallowe'en', no mention of tricks.
This year I plan to paint a pumpkin with a sugar skull something along the lines of these.

DGC spent last Halloween with me. Dressing up was limited, just a couple of maskes and some make-up.

In our village anyone participating in Halloween puts a lighted pumpkin in the window or by the door and Trick or treaters just visit the houses with lit pumpkins and leave all the others untroubled. I went out with DGC and we had a lovely time visiting all the doors with pumpkins and when we were in our pumpkin, a paper lantern one that will be re-used this year, was lit up and we had lots of young visitors.

I do not think my DGC, who are being brought up CofE, ever thought whether there was any religious significance to the festival. They had fun, I had fun and no-one locally who didn't want to get involved was visited by children.

ps: I will be visiting DGC for Halloween this year, by special invitation. I will take the paper pumpkin with me and as there is a a Halloween party, I have been told to dress up as a fortune teller and repeat my starring role in just such a part at DGS's Harry Potter themed birthday party.

I was once a parent governor at a Cof E school where the Head was quite a devout Christian. He told the governors he would prefer it if the school didn't mark Halloween in any way, and wanted the support of the governors for this decision. The three of us who voted against this were the three women governors - one of them giggled afterwards, "They'll be calling us the three witches!" Oddly enough that same Head had no problem with Bonfire Night, at which the children threw effigies of various people into the flames.

I loved Halloween as a child. Brought up in an English and Scottish household (living in Scotland),we always had dookin for apples and treacle scones hung from the ceiling that you tried to eat with your hands tied behind your back. We had Halloween cake usually bought from Greggs or Crawfords.We were church attenders and knew other folks from church who did the same. It was seen more as a fun thing. We didn't do trick or treating though, it was just within our own home with a few friends. There is an old tradition of Halloween in the West of Scotland and they call it Galoshens.

Its as commercial as you make it.

Birthdays, mothers/fathers day, anniversaries, easter, christmas etc can ALL be just as "commercial" if you are tat inclined. Its not specific to halloween which actually lends itself to "upcycling" and creativity (which are environmentally friendly) more than other celebrations. It also focuses in on seasonal food, also a good thing

People who like tat at halloween are people who like tat year round.

Halloween does not make environmentally mindful people wasteful

Remember "guising" in the north of Scotland in the early 50's. Most houses welcomed us in and we did a "turn" (poem, song or told jokes) before receiving apples, sweets and very occasionally some pennies (usually copper ones!). Some families had parties going on and we "dooked" for apples or were blindfolded and had to try and eat treacle scones suspended on twine between two chairs which ended up very messy but was great fun. Sweets were few and far between back then and it was great to have a supply to take to school for the next couple of weeks.

M0nica

Our village is like yours, if you wish to participate, you put some lit pumpkins outside your door, if you don’t, no one bothers you. It’s a great atmosphere, everyone outside, all dressed up and having fun.

I do agree on the yet more plastic rubbish issue, but you don’t have to buy new things every year, I’ve got a cupboard full of Halloween bits and bobs, and the costumes get passed through the family, and some are improvised.

We do try and keep more plastic rubbish to a minimum, but I wouldn’t want to spoil their fun.

We had duck-apple and a turnip lantern but nobody went knocking on doors. Home-made treacle toffee as well as on bonfire night.

I think different denominations have different opinions about Hallowe'en.

When I was in my teens we had Hallowe'en parties at our (CofE) church youth club - organised by the vicar!

When we where little we had duck apple in the washing up bowl in the kitchen there was a lot of cheating going on I must say.
There is such a change now,my DG in-law has gone to town and decorated all their front porch for the children with halloween lights etc and is having a party for the little ones and their friends.