Questions for Our Brothers and Sisters Across the Pond

[c.d.]

Do you celebrate Halloween (October 31st) in England?

c.d.

[Errata]

Do you celebrate Halloween (October 31st) in England?

c.d.

Didn't halloween start in the british isles? like a solid 1500 years ago?

[Steven Russell]

Do you celebrate Halloween (October 31st) in England?

c.d.

We do indeed. Since I were a lad it has become more Americanised in nature with kids now actually saying, "Trick or Treat" when they come to your door. British kids always dress up in horror-themed costumes (vampires, werewolves, ghosts etc.) at Halloween whereas in the States, you can dress up pretty much as anyone if the telly is to be believed. Is this true?

Cheers,
Steve.

[c.d.]

Halloween has become a huge holiday in the last few years with adults taking to it big time. Spending lots of time and money on all sorts of costumes and decorations. Any kind of costume is accessible and it is absolutely amazing what some people come up with.

Is Halloween in England more for kids?

c.d.

[c.d.]

I meant permissable not accessible. Don't know where I got that from. It is late and past my bedtime.

Sexy costumes and costumes in bad taste are also very big.

c.d.

[c.d.]

You also see some people dressed as a "cereal" killer. They tape little boxes of cereal to a sheet and cover them in blood with a knife sticking out of them. Pretty clever whoever first thought of it.

c.d.

[The Grave Maurice]

Do you Brits still celebrate Guy Fawkes Night a few days later? And can you still have bonfires, or have they been outlawed?

[Steven Russell]

Yes, cd, it is very much geared towards kids although, of course, adults can enjoy themselves organising scary activities for the kids. The emphasis here in the UK is still strictly horror; your mental health would certainly be questioned if you turned up as, say, Wonder Woman or Foghorn Leghorn.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[Steven Russell]

Do you Brits still celebrate Guy Fawkes Night a few days later? And can you still have bonfires, or have they been outlawed?

Yes, we do. Remember remember the 5th of November, gunpowder treason and plot etc. I say etc. although I've no idea what comes next.

Bonfires have not been outlawed but these days the back garden variety is less popular than it once was. People tend to go to a more organised display in a pub garden, park, or even arena. I have also noticed a marked falling off in recent years of "Penny for the Guy". This is basically an excuse for kids to push about a "guy" - sort of a scarecrow dressed up more or less as Guy Fawkes (usually less) - around and cadge money from adults ostensibly to fund a bonfire. The guy's ultimate destiny would be to sit atop said fire.

Bonfire night is by far the best time to see impressive fireworks displays in the UK.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[Steven Russell]

Sorry for the double post. But it doesn't need continental separation for confusion to arise...

When I was a boy in the early seventies, we would make Halloween lanterns but not out of pumpkins as these were not readily available. We'd make them out of a round vegetable we called a turnip (I'm from NE England). People from other areas of England would call this a swede and insist that a turnip is a big albino carrot or something. And depending on where you are from in the UK, the bread part of a sandwich (if not made from sliced bread) can be a bun, a batch, a cob, a cake or breadcake, or a roll.

What a wonderful tool language is and yet, what a vast potential for misunderstanding. I wonder if somewhere a form of communication exists which cannot support misconception or subjective interpretation. Maybe but I bet it's very boring.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[The Grave Maurice]

Steve,

It's:

Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Glad to hear the tradition continues.

[Steven Russell]

Thanks, GM.
Ironic that I did forgot it I suppose.
Steve.

[Canopy]

Well, would say you "across the pond" don't know us Brits very well if you question whether we do Halloween/Guy Fawkes - where bonfires are a plenty (complete with "Guy"!!) in the UK!

I've been out of the UK for the last 3 years due to my job and currently live in Asia as a result. EVERY festival I make a point of calling home to see how my little niece enjoyed it...saying that, WE'VE brought these festivals to Asia as we too celebrate them both the other side of the world!!! Dum de dum - the world is but a little place!!!

C.

[c.d.]

Here in the U.S we also have religious wackos meddling in Halloween. They are afraid that if a 5 year old little kid dresses up as Superman, the next thing you know they will be in their bedroom worshiping satan. And of course if a little girl dresses up as a witch she will soon abandon Christianity to become a Wiccan. They harass schools so that they are afraid to put up a picture of a pumpkin or witch for fear they will get hit with a lawsuit.

Some of these nut jobs pass out Bible tracts to kids which warn them of the evils of Halloween instead of candy. Naturally these people get their houses egged and covered in toilet paper. If you go to google and put in "Halloween" and "tracts" as search terms you can see example of them.

The ultimate in wackiness however is what they call a hell house. It is a variation on the haunted house but instead of ghosts and bats and cobwebs, the hell house has actors portraying tormented souls in hell. It attempts to show people what their fate will be if they engage in premarital sex, homosexuality or have an abortion. Truly sick stuff from these good "Christians."

c.d.

[Errata]

The ultimate in wackiness however is what they call a hell house. It is a variation on the haunted house but instead of ghosts and bats and cobwebs, the hell house has actors portraying tormented souls in hell. It attempts to show people what their fate will be if they engage in premarital sex, homosexuality or have an abortion. Truly sick stuff from these good "Christians."

c.d.

I used to work in the conventional haunted houses... In retrospect I'm pretty sure those are terrible ideas for kids. Not because theyre going to go to hell or anything, but because it can't possibly be good to derive enjoyment from realistic/real body parts, organs violence, axe murders whatever.

although the worst job in the place was the maze clown who popped out at people. He got beaten, maced, spit on, tazed... people really don't like clowns.