rapsidy wrote:
I dont know much about halloween- but your dog is really scary :woohoo:
Hmm Americans must make the day more family orientated
Personally Im with you Shell dont agree with Halloween or more to the point how Australians interpret it. I can't see teaching kids that death , blood knives skeletons etc.. is a good thing or okay.. maybe im just a prude and value positive things in life rather than dabble in the darkside :unsure:
especially when a child was hospitalize from eating something they were given, the world has change and there are a lot of evil people out there..
thats why ... always look on the bright side of life
Greetings from the US!
Halloween, of course, is just part of our tradition, our culture, whose roots are European, but the celebration with the masks and candy is uniquely American.
Halloween can be a very family oriented celebration, though. The excitement for costumes and candy and "who you are going to be for Halloween" is part of our ritual of welcoming fall. In our neighborhood, for example, we have a "Halloween Walk" which starts off with a neighborhood gathering with cookies, apple cider and the like, and as it gets dark, the kids go off into the neighborhood for a night of safe trick or treating. If the kids are old enough, they go by themselves and the parents continue the social. If they are younger, the family goes together.
Compare this with the Latin American celebration of the "Days of the Dead." This goes on at more or less the same time as Halloween, but the celebrations take place in homes with altars dedicated to departed family members and in cemeteries throughout the night and day. I think the sight of the Mexican "catrinas" (skeletons dressed in all sorts of costumes can seem quite creepy) until you realize the celebration is part of a very ancient tradition which emphasizes that the need to maintain ties with departed loved ones is an important part of life. The "catrinas" are also an example of the Mexican sense of humor in attempting to mock the inevitable. The "Days of the Dead" may seem dark, but it's an important part of a culture that people in other parts of the world may find hard to understand.
So one might not "agree" with celebrations such as Halloween, Arbor Day or Cinco de Mayo for that matter (to name just a few in this hemisphere). While people can be evil, these celebrations are not. I think that such celebrations bring people and communities together in positive ways and indeed are forms of looking on the "bright side of life."
Cheers!
Jean
