To ask why people celebrate Halloween

[Flippetydip]

This is absolutely not a goady post but I just don't get Halloween at all. It seems like a celebration of everything that is horrible. Why do people do it?

Just saw a three yr old on facebook dressed up like Annabelle with a bloody knife, her baby brother was dressed up as Chucky, some first class pagan parenting going on there Super classy.

We're in America and on our street the children have to sing or do something else to earn their treat.

They don't egg houses.

They don't knock on doors that clearly aren't taking part in Halloween.

Perhaps the UK needs to adopt more American Halloween traditions rather than fewer?

Death is part of life. Halloween lets kids explore scary things in a safe way.

I am very much looking forward to tomorrow, it's my daughter's first Halloween, she's got her little Wednesday Addams dress, her cuddly bat and her trick or treat bag and we're going to Nanny's house for a little Halloween party. It's fun! I don't think it's scary at all.

The same people who turn their noses up are often happy to stand around a bonfire a few days later, and celebrate the gruesome torture and death of a man who died 400 years ago

Exactly! What bonfire night celebrates is (imo) completely fucked up. Also, one of the reasons it was celebrated in the first place was because it was mandatory to celebrate and give thanks for the King not dying.

www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/the-gunpowder-plot-of-1605/collections/thanksgiving-act/

People celebrate Christmas and Easter, even if they aren't at all religious people. All Saints Day (1st November) is an important date in the Christian calendar. Why is it such a surprise that people traditionally celebrate the eve of that day? It's fine to hate the tacky, commercial side of it (like I hate the tacky, commercial side of Christmas). But people who get snobby about Halloween without knowing the history of it in this country really grind my gears.

When I was a kid halloween was something purely and simply for the kids to enjoy and even then it involved little more than wearing a bin bag and a 50p mask and going out trick or treating... it's now just another example of the infantilization of society that we have grown adults using it as yet another excuse to "partaaay" with, of course, the obligatory facebook pictures to show what a crazy and wild social life they have.

Oh, FFS. I hate this judgey 'Fun is for Children' attitude so much, I'm going to tell you about my crazy and wild social life, for the sheer goady-fucker-ness of it. I did indeed go out to a ridiculously elaborate party last weekend, in a long violet wig and black velvet dress. I danced and drank blood-themed cocktails until late. I wouldn't say it was childish; it was much better than the half-arsed halloweens I had as a child. I'd do it every weekend, if I could.

I also, prepare to lose your temper here, posted about it on Facebook, and enjoyed looking through everyone else's photos, seeing my friend's clever/ridiculous/beautiful costumes, and what they got up to. Because I like all the people I have on Facebook and don't get deeply bitter at the idea of them getting dressed up and having enjoyable social lives.

We don’t like it and won’t be opening our door tomorrow. Why let all the cold air in!! Lol

Well we celebrate Halloween because it's my daughters favourite event of the year.
I am not at all religious but I'm aware of the origins.
I spend a day baking pointless but tasty treats.
We make decorations ourselves.
My daughters costumes are home made.
She does not go trick or treating because she doesn't like it.
Chose the bits you like and ignore everything else.

Chocolate.

I genuinely don't understand the whole 'Its begging' thing. We are scottish so have alway done it ,but it is looked upon as a nice thing to do with young children .
It is big family event and our whole street decorate the houses and the little ones go from house to house telling a joke or reading a poem to get their sweets.
There is no begging , people join in only if they want to. If you decorate your house and put pumpkins out people ring the doorbell, no one approaches any houses that have lights off or don't have a pumpkin or decorations up.
There is no 'trick' side of things or mischief it is all good fun and mainly younger children that participate.

I don’t think I ever celebrated Halloween in any way before I had kids (my parents frowned on trick or treating or ‘socially acceptable begging’ as it was called in our house of joy ) but my children love it. The little one is beyond delighted to have a witch’s outfit and fancy tights, the bigger one enjoys the sense of being a bit scared in a safe environment, and they both love the sweets. We’ll decorate the porch tomorrow and let them answer the door (supervised) to trick or treaters. And we might take them to a few neighbours with decorated houses. They’re not, and will never be allowed to be (while I’m still in charge) any kind of nuisance.

Because I'll celebrate anything going tbh.

OP Ive always hated it
But this year I looked up the history and I understand it and can see why it was celebrated
But not in this plastic dressing up horrible commercial tat way, trick or treat way.
Plastic tat seems the total opposite of what it means.

PS in fairness adult hallowe'en parties were loads of fun when I still went to parties!

PPS some posters really don't get Nov 5th.

It marks the fact that the plot to bomb Parliament was defeated, not to celebrate the death of the plotters.

scipio telling bad jokes is common, some singing, some dancing and maybe a magic trick. Imagine a really short talent act at primary school, they are fun rather than polished.

When I was wee, people dressed up as anything. It didn't have to be scary or gory.

You dress up to confuse the spirits and light lanterns to scare them away. I have never understood why people say it is celebrating evil. Quite the opposite.

No plastic tat in our house, but I have no issue with those who do. We have a couple of turnip lanterns and some sweets for guisers and a basin for dookin for apples.

Because there is so much misery in this world that any excuse to dress up, have fun with friends, do something traditional and eat seasonal comfort food is good in my books. It doesn't have to be nasty, horribly gory or inappropriate but I've not met a kid who doesn't enjoy helping carve a pumpkin, make spooky themed food and drink and dress up and do a spot of trick or treating. It's a fun memory that kids can look back on.

Because winter is grey and dismal, and we need something round about this time of year to lift us!
What, by celebrating all things horror, gory, dismal, and morbid?!
Nope, I'm with the OP on this one. Nothing lifting about that.
Never got Halloween myself but LOVE Christmas. If you pitted your "lift us" argument about nice things like spreading Christmas cheer and candy canes, I could see your point.

I find Halloween unpleasant too. Prefer Bonfire night

Watch the film ‘book of life’ with your kids. It explains a bit about Mexican traditions of Day of the Dead. I think it will make more sense to you.

We treat halloween as the start of the holiday season, and since its in spring (we’re in Oz) it’s a great chance to come out of winter hibernation into the community to celebrate warmer weather and longer days.

We don’t have much choice though. We may as well live on the corner of Pumpkin St and Skeleton Pde! Hundreds of trick or treaters pass by our door, we might as well get into the spirit of it!

i not to celebrate the death of the plotters.

Yes, it's nothing to do with burning a effigy of one of them on a bonfire or anything odd like that. Penny for the Guy?

I love Hallowe'en and so does my son. I've taught him about the origins, the same way I do with Christmas and Easter, even though we're not religious. We also have a mini Eid celebration as we have Muslim friends who make us food when they are celebrating and I teach him about that too. It's about respect for other faiths and cultures and we have fun with it too. We only go trick-or-treating to houses of people we know.

Ifear thanks - will see if DC can tell a joke to get his sweets.

I like Guy Fawkes night too but yes, it is commemorating putting Catholics to death as well as the failed plot. You can’t sanitise its history.