Halloween is the Best-Damn Holiday EVER!!!

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Thanksgiving*** is the best holiday ever, because you get to eat lots of great turkey and dressing!!!




***That's American Thanksgiving, not Canadian Thanksgiving, which, as we all know, is totally gay.

 

[Aurelian]

You were born, sadly, in a country that doesn't celebrate it, in a hemisphere where it doesn't make any sense.

I miss Halloweeen.
Living in Australia means I get great public health care, a wonderful husband and as much 'roo meat as I can eat, but I have had to give up Halloween, the best holiday ever.

The thing that makes Halloween work is that it marks the time of year when the days start to get dramatically shorter.
Night comes early, shadows get longer in the afternoons as All Hallows Eve approaches. The shadows creep in and it seems you get home just in time to avoid getting caught by the dark. You light Jack o' lanterns to drive away these shadows and the neighborhood embraces the spirit by decorating their leaf strewn yards with scarecrows, skeletons, black cats and phony spiderwebs. You dress up in scary or clever or (as you get closer to adulthood) sexy costumes, revealing your "true self" or who you wish you could be. Children go from door to door harassing their neighbors for sweets. Every year you hope you don't run out of candy before the trick or treaters go to bed, lest your house be pelted with eggs or festooned with cascading rolls of toilet paper. The sweets are autumn themed treats like candy corn and miniature pumpkins, or else miniature packs of lollies or chocolates with special themed wrappers. Kids remember the houses with "good" candy and go home to sort out their loot while telling ghost stories, sipping hot apple cider or cocoa to warm their cold faces.
I love Halloween.

In Australia, October 31 is in the Spring, when the days are getting longer. There's no point in trick or treating when it doesn't get dark until after 7 and when the weather is starting to warm up rather than cool down. Sure, you can dress up, throw up a few plastic pumpkins in a half-hearted attempt to re-create a Northern Hemisphere tradition, but it doesn't make it Halloween.
This year, I'll be too busy giving birth to care. But if I do have my baby before Halloween, my mother is bringing a little pumpkin costume for the little bundle to wear for the occasion. I'll be sure to post a picture.

For a second there, I was almost understanding why my extended family's hometown of Muenster TX celebrates Octoberfest in April. And renamed it Germanfest. Maybe. Thanks, A.

 

[madmonk76]

HAHA. yup the plastic, upon plastic, upon plastic costumes!


and Im no dude ^_^ .

You're looking at an R2D2 here!
Oh, the plastic-y goodness of it all!!

 

[Moon-Spinner]

I love these childhood memories of Halloween (or any holiday really). In grade school we use to parade around the school ground in our costumes at lunch time, and the parents would come during their lunch break to watch, and to take pictures and movies.

Then the excitement of starting out on our Trick-or-Treat run, and seeing if we could fill a whole paper grocery bag full of candy. Well, mostly candy, sometimes an old lady would give us an apple and a lecture on how bad candy was for us.

A few times during my Trick-or-Treating career we came to a house where the occupant acted surprise to see us "Oh, I didn't know it was Halloween..." Yeah right, that's a likely excuse for not having any candy!!

For me, Halloween mostly conjures up images of witches, and leaves blowing across the streets, and that old abandoned Victorian house down at the end of the street that all the kids said was haunted (it was obviously occupied by witches).

 

[Wowbagger]

I'd rather celebrate Costume Day, which not coincidentally, takes place on the same day as Halloween.

 

[Vic Vega]

I know! It's my favorite holiday and some people are so uninterested in it.

Me. Totally and completely uninterested.

 

[Akhenaten]

Well, it's not a "holiday" (meaning: a paid day off work); more of a "festival" (regular day, but one that has all sorts of feasts / parties / traditions / etc.)

But it's still kind of awesome. Noblecaboose nailed it, totally.

And darn right! kids keep track of which houses have the "good candy"!!! I always knew that I would have one of those houses!!! For a few years at each of two previous homes, I went out of my way to not only have the good candy, but to give multiple candy to kids with good costumes, and to tell them to remember to come back every year.

Now, I live a bit more rural, with a LONG UPHILL driveway. Not even one trick-or-treater in six years so far.

 

[quadraginta]

You were born, sadly, in a country that doesn't celebrate it, in a hemisphere where it doesn't make any sense.

I miss Halloweeen.
Living in Australia means I get great public health care, a wonderful husband and as much 'roo meat as I can eat, but I have had to give up Halloween, the best holiday ever.

The thing that makes Halloween work is that it marks the time of year when the days start to get dramatically shorter.
Night comes early, shadows get longer in the afternoons as All Hallows Eve approaches. The shadows creep in and it seems you get home just in time to avoid getting caught by the dark. You light Jack o' lanterns to drive away these shadows and the neighborhood embraces the spirit by decorating their leaf strewn yards with scarecrows, skeletons, black cats and phony spiderwebs. You dress up in scary or clever or (as you get closer to adulthood) sexy costumes, revealing your "true self" or who you wish you could be. Children go from door to door harassing their neighbors for sweets. Every year you hope you don't run out of candy before the trick or treaters go to bed, lest your house be pelted with eggs or festooned with cascading rolls of toilet paper. The sweets are autumn themed treats like candy corn and miniature pumpkins, or else miniature packs of lollies or chocolates with special themed wrappers. Kids remember the houses with "good" candy and go home to sort out their loot while telling ghost stories, sipping hot apple cider or cocoa to warm their cold faces.
I love Halloween.

In Australia, October 31 is in the Spring, when the days are getting longer. There's no point in trick or treating when it doesn't get dark until after 7 and when the weather is starting to warm up rather than cool down. Sure, you can dress up, throw up a few plastic pumpkins in a half-hearted attempt to re-create a Northern Hemisphere tradition, but it doesn't make it Halloween.
This year, I'll be too busy giving birth to care. But if I do have my baby before Halloween, my mother is bringing a little pumpkin costume for the little bundle to wear for the occasion. I'll be sure to post a picture.

Well, it's not a "holiday" (meaning: a paid day off work); more of a "festival" (regular day, but one that has all sorts of feasts / parties / traditions / etc.)

But it's still kind of awesome. Noblecaboose nailed it, totally.

And darn right! kids keep track of which houses have the "good candy"!!! I always knew that I would have one of those houses!!! For a few years at each of two previous homes, I went out of my way to not only have the good candy, but to give multiple candy to kids with good costumes, and to tell them to remember to come back every year.

Now, I live a bit more rural, with a LONG UPHILL driveway. Not even one trick-or-treater in six years so far.

Fantastic post, noblecaboose.

I highlighted what I did because one of the things I missed the most about Halloween as my kids were growing up was exactly that. The houses with the "good candy".

Bubble-wrap parenting had by then mandated the demise of homemade candy for Halloween. When I was prowling the streets as a kid the best stuff came from someone's kitchen. Candied apples. Homemade taffy. Cookies to die for. Brownies to kill for.

Fudge.

Chocolate covered ... well, everything. Baked pumpkin seeds (had to do somethin' with 'em). Sugar baked walnuts. (The walnuts were local, of course.) Peanut brittle. Popcorn balls (only time of year I ever ate 'em). Rice Crispy cakes. I'd better stop now.

The Greek widow lady next door made trays and trays of baklava that is still my personal standard to judge by, and one house had candied lemon and orange rinds that parents would load up kids in the car and drive in from out of town to get. Every year these houses would end up with lines on the sidewalk that looked like a Harry Potter first showing.

 

[Audible Click]

When I was a kid my best friend and I discovered that if we left our neighborhood and went over to where the apartments were the occupants that didn't have candy gave us money instead. Needless to say we milked that cash cow for a few years.

 

[ZirconBlue]

Mmmm. Popcorn Balls. Anyone have a good recipe?

This year, it appears we're going to be spending Halloween at the Carolina Renaissance Festival. In addition to their usual activities, they have trick-or-treating, and costume contests, etc. (and kids get in free). Combining two of my favorite fall traditions -- Halloween and Ren Fests -- should be fun.

 

[Starthinker]

Women never dress sluttier than they do at Halloween. Or is it sexier?

It's just the nightmare before christmas...

 

[nathan]

Halloween is a useful defense against premature christmassing.

 

[Sunray Breaker]

Hell yes...Halloween is fun!!!

What's everyone going as? I doing Spider Jerusalem from the comic book Transmetropolitan

 

[dudalb]

(To the tune of "London Bridge Is Falling Down")

Happy,Happy, Halloween,Halloween,Halloween!
Happy,Happy Halloween!
Silver Shamrock!


I admit, with all it many flaws as a film, I still like Halloween 3.

 

[NoZed Avenger]

Fair enought, I suppose the original convict/colonists of Terra Australis had more important things to worry about--namely, staying alive--than what costume they were going to wear for trick-or-treating.

However, I was thinking of the later geneation of colonists who went voluntarily rather than because a magistrate sent them their for poaching the queen's rabbits or being a pick-pocket.

The latter were all eaten by the poisonous, fanged kangaroos.

 

[noblecaboose]

For a second there, I was almost understanding why my extended family's hometown of Muenster TX celebrates Octoberfest in April. And renamed it Germanfest. Maybe. Thanks, A.

What mean you by this? Thanks Australia? Have you mistaken me for A? Confused.

 

[Ysidro]

It's the greatest day of the year!

Unfortunately, the first Halloween at my current place no kids showed up even though I had a big bowl of candy and the lights on and everything!

I did stay up and read the entirety of "John Dies at the End" so that was cool though.

I've also wanted to set up a Pepper's Ghost gag in my window but that's a bit more intensive than I could handle.

Oh and I had that plastic Boba Fett costume too!

 

[Shalamar]

<--- My costume. Though since I wear that once a few time a year, its not special for halloween.

That said, The first weekend of October, the Graveyard goes up. Several Gravestones to decorate the front yard, surrounded by a faux 4' wrought iron fence with skull toppers and a grim reaper by the front door.

Halloween itself (depending on the weather) I set out 2 - 4 fog machines for atmosphere (Note to self. Need more fog juice), spooky music, a giant 6' plush spider, a couple animatronic zombies, srtobe lights. Then I wait to see who comes to the door.

Kids wearing Star Wars costumes get full size candy bars! (Kids who are obviously terrified, but STILL come to the door also get the full size bars)

Also on Halloween, I get Birthday Cake.

 

[Achán hiNidráne]

Hell yes...Halloween is fun!!!

What's everyone going as? I doing Spider Jerusalem from the comic book Transmetropolitan

I've been looking for a pilgrim outfit... then I'd add a cape, a rapier, a black wig, and a brace of pistols and go as Solomon Kane.

A pudgy Kane, but still...

 

[ranson]

I just love the decorating and fun. It's when all our friends get together, because we're a bunch of areligious nerds who like special effects and genre junk. So, we know how to do it right. The first year we set up, we had over 200 kids hit the house. We average around 100, and we love to see people coming back over and over. Although, we did get Christian carolers singing about Jesus one year. We gave them a prize for scariest costumes.

This year, I get to repeatedly throw my brother-in-law through (and get thrown through myself -- zombies occasionally get some smiting, too) a breakaway table of my own design that can be reset in less than twenty seconds. Along with my "Zombie Containment Unit" that will be rattling, emitting fog, chained shut (except when I decide otherwise...from the inside), and just possibly letting off a fireball when one of the wizards gets antsy at me, I've got a good rig this year. And that's just my set-up. Between our whole crew, we've got about 10 or 15 more major stage pieces in the yard, and this year there will be around 30 adults and kids helping out and having fun.

It's my favorite time of year, and the best holiday for special effects geeks. Christmas has decorations, but really few good effects. 4th of July is all about explosions. Easter only has the one big effect, then the rest is just a let-down. If you like demonstrating how to decapitate someone, or hang from a gallows without actually hurting yourself, Halloween's really the only holiday you've got.

Well, okay, with those last two descriptions, Bastille day might count, but you get the idea.