Thursday, October 30, 2008

Halloween, another outdated 'holiday' we cant get rid of because theres too much money to be made



Granted, no one can agree on what Halloween is really about anymore, or where it all began, or who started it. You can read a lot of authoritative sounding info out there. They all claim they hold the absolute truth about Halloween, but they are all equally as wrong and useless as the next.

The way I see it, it is essentially a HARVEST festival.

In Australia, October is SPRING.

So, whats it doing here?

But here it is. Along with so many other "American" money making machines (McDonalds, Big W, the ilk). I admitt, I was dissappointed to discover that the suburbs of Sydney are very much like the suburbs of Anywhere, USA.

I once asked a woman here in Sydney why she let her kids go trick or treating. She replied "Oh, you know, they see it on TV..."

Really? They see it on TV. Thats an interesting parenting technique.

I had to bite my lip really, really hard to avoid asking her the inevitable:
What else do they see on TV that you allow them to do?
Murder? Gang Rape? Base jumping? Soft-core p*rn?
Do you know youre a moron?

Obviously what they dont see on TV is the line up outside the local police station to get the goodies xrayed for sharp metal objects. Nor the school lectures on how to tell if your candy has been tampered with. They call it something like 'safety', but they should just get real and name it "How not to get maimed or killed by eating candy from strangers 101".

When it got this bad stateside, most sensible people stopped going to houses they didnt know who lived in. Parents or older siblings would chaperone younger ones from Aunties house across town to Grandmas and back again for a party at the community centre. (Where you likely still dont know anyone.)

All that sort of thing helps the young ones, thats true. But for other adults, it means a knock at the door you arent expecting, is likely to be trouble. Especially as evening becomes night.

Thats when you get the gangs of teenagers. Gangs of teenage boys who dont even bother with the pretense of a costume. You just know youd better give them some candy - alot of it - without saying a word.

Or else. Thats all. Or else.

10 comments:

Lavender said...

If you enjoy Halloween, dont let me harsh your buzz.

Melanie said...

lol I found youR anTi-non USA halloween diatribe :)
Have a good one and I hope your door is knockless for the remainder of the day.

Ces Adorio said...

I like giving out candy to little children in costumes but I know what you mean by teenagers who don't even bother with costumes. Here we have black and Mexican teenagers who carry plastic grocery bags , no costumes, just asking for candy, no thank yous, and they don't even walk! A man or woman drives them around in trucks or cars and then they get out and grab all the candy we reserved for the children. I actually feel sorry for them because they behave in a shameless and embarassing manner. Anyway, I have about thirty pounds of chocolate and candy bars to give away. I hope the little kids stop by.

BetteJo said...

I still remember when I was a kid being breathless with excitement and exertion as I ran from house to house. I loved it! It was a day of the year that we were allowed to not only eat candy - but gather copious amounts. I would come home and dump out my hall on the floor and go through it - stuff I didn't like, stuff that was lame, stuff that was open, I divided it all up. And I ATE CANDY. I always had GI problems for days but I loved the trick or treating part. That was 35 years ago. And it didn't mean anything more to me than trick or treating then, nothing more than that now. I am sad that it has gotten dangerous for kids because for us - it was magic!

BetteJo said...

That would be "haul". Yikes.

Young Werther said...

Given up with the candy, not appreciated. Have a bowl of 5¢, 10¢ and 20¢.

Training the kids to be bourgeois money grabbing capitalists :)

Karen said...

aww, I do like Halloween, I have to admit. Then again, I've lived in my neighborhood 17 years, and everyone knows everyone pretty well.

Kids are going to be a bit disappointed, I didn't go all out decorating like I usually do - not even a pumpkin. I do have plenty of candy though...all the kinds I like ;)

Melanie said...

can you beleive it, i went mad on halloween stuff and no kid knocked on my door........grumble grumble...........

Anonymous said...

Arrived via The Birds and the Beads,
I adore your sinister side Lavender.
K
http://www.artistsgarden.co.uk/

John Dantzer said...

I always give children poisoned apples.