Halloween: an important date in our psychological and cultural calandar, or not?

Do you mean the current Halloween tradition of dressing up and getting candy or Halloween in terms of its historical origins?

I voted yes, because for me it's very significant...

I dressed up as an eggplant.

ETA: The candy aspect of it is important, too.

I like the whole harvest season. Halloween was fun as a kid. I don't do much with it now. So, I voted yes.

Yeshanu said:

I dressed up as an eggplant.

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I'd love to see a Orlando Eggplant.

Paul said:

well, really the lot.
I mean, I'm assuming one followed the other? ie it's all connected?
(I'm no Halloween expert btw. )

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Actually, you're correct in that it is "connected" (although most trick-or-treaters don't know that)! You'll get reps for knowing more than you thought.

As a teenager...I absolutely HATED Halloween. Why, you may ask? Because for me EVERY DAY WAS HALLOWEEN. I don't mean that figuratively. I woke up every morning thinking, "hmmm...what should I wear today." I wore my moods. I wore top hats and bedspreads and slippers and fish hooks. I was picked on every day of my life for treating my body like a canvas. every day but one. the hypocrite bastards who dressed up for Halloween to go to school would sometimes dress up as punks...wear stuff that resembled stuff i would wear throughout the year...they would actually act like me in the halls. mocking to the nth degree. i wanted to punch their throats and set them on fire. i fucking hated the holiday. every day is Halloween. if you're not doing what you want to do...don't do it at Halloween. fakers and phonies and posers, i hate you.

Samhain means more to me this year than most. It reminds me that the darkness is coming... and that I've promised myself to have a complete first draft of my novel finished this year. Sounds meaningless to most, I'm sure, but it's more important than ever that I nip my SAD in the butt right now!

I can't wait until January this time. =l

Halloween signals me to (reluctantly) pull in the porch furniture, put away all summer clothes, retire my beach badge. Without it, I'd probably have the porch furniture out all year, and be wearing summer clothes w/ beach badge attached, until next summer.

So--yeah, I need Halloween. Not to mention the chocolate, the party we go to each year, and the chocolate.

I used to like Halloween, like most kids. Now it could disappear and I wouldn't care or notice.

As for a signal of the approach of winter, changing back to standard time seems to do it for me. I think of that day as the most depressing day of the year . . . dark when I leave home, dark by the time I get home.

I just carved two pumpkins.

Important date? How about just plain fun and I enjoy it. And I think it marks the beginning of the holidays. From now until Mardi Gras it's non-stop festivities.

alleycat said:

As for a signal of the approach of winter, changing back to standard time seems to do it for me. I think of that day as the most depressing day of the year . . . dark when I leave home, dark by the time I get home.

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I dislike Winter. We get terrible storms here that can last for days. And the leaving for work in the dark and coming home in the dark, I could so do without that.

The only significance Halloween has for me is it's the day before NaNoWriMo.

I like Halloween very much. It does seem to frame the winter holidays so nicely right up till Lent. It's also nice to have those holidays through the dark and cold winter, I think.

KTC said:

As a teenager...I absolutely HATED Halloween. Why, you may ask? Because for me EVERY DAY WAS HALLOWEEN. I don't mean that figuratively. I woke up every morning thinking, "hmmm...what should I wear today." I wore my moods. I wore top hats and bedspreads and slippers and fish hooks. I was picked on every day of my life for treating my body like a canvas. every day but one. the hypocrite bastards who dressed up for Halloween to go to school would sometimes dress up as punks...wear stuff that resembled stuff i would wear throughout the year...they would actually act like me in the halls. mocking to the nth degree. i wanted to punch their throats and set them on fire. i fucking hated the holiday. every day is Halloween. if you're not doing what you want to do...don't do it at Halloween. fakers and phonies and posers, i hate you.

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One of my punk friends dressed up like the 'regular' girls at school one year on Halloween. It was freaking hilarious. And I can't tell you how many people said, "I really don't get why she doesn't do that every day. I didn't know she could be so pretty!" *headdesk*

backslashbaby said:

I like Halloween very much. It does seem to frame the winter holidays so nicely right up till Lent. It's also nice to have those holidays through the dark and cold winter, I think.




One of my punk friends dressed up like the 'regular' girls at school one year on Halloween. It was freaking hilarious. And I can't tell you how many people said, "I really don't get why she doesn't do that every day. I didn't know she could be so pretty!" *headdesk*

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I did Frank N. Furter one year in high school. Automatic GO HOME AND DON'T COME BACK ticket. I don't think they liked the birthday party hat.

I love Halloween - closest thing we get to a seasonal thing. I live in the land of sunshine and 70 degree temps on Christmas, so Halloween signals the change from summer to not-summer-for-awhile. It also is the closest thing to a religious holiday that we celebrate at our house, and is the signal to do a lot of things in the garden (feed cymbidium, plant cole crops, pull out first season tomatoes, prune trees, etc.) It marks the years for me, just as the Spring flowering of the fruit trees.

I also like the costume aspect. KTC, I feel badly for your experiences in high school - remember, many of us had nightmare lives then, too, it's part of what makes us writers - but having one day set aside to dress as you wish you could be is a gift to many of us. I loved my Star Trek uniform, my witch's costume and that cute Sailor Moon outfit - I wore them all to work, just like in my fantasies!

And the candy - I am diabetic, so I can't eat any of it, but I love giving it out - it's one time when I can stand in my driveway, give out something nice with a smile and be delighted in return. I really love this time.


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I didn't vote, but I love Halloween. Last night my son and I said we were going shopping. We parked down the street then doubled back on foot to scare the crap out the husband and other three kids. I won't share the details, but the husband nearly peed himself. GREAT FUN and I only have this one time of year to commit such crimes and still be forgiven.

I will never outgrow Halloween.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

One of my favorite holidays.

I loved Halloween as a kid and now I love to see all the kids dressed up. I love the candy, I love carving pumpkins and horror movies are on TV all weekend. What's not to like?