Halloween seems to be getting bigger every year though, as you can now find a lot of things in the shops and supermarkets for Halloween, which doesn't help the situation, when I'm trying to tell Kobe we don't do Halloween in Australia. I guess it just depends on where you are from though, because I did have a few friends on the mainland tell me that their suburbs really celebrated Halloween, and all the kids went around trick or treating. If Kobe knew that I'm sure he would want to move to the mainland!
On the morning of the 31st of October, Kobe woke up almost sobbing saying 'it doesn't even feel like Halloweeeeeeeen!'. All week he kept telling him how ALL of his friends at school were doing something for Halloween and he wanted to as well. I tried to reassure him that not all of his friends were doing something, and that next year we would do something, but he still wasn't convinced.
After school our friend Alison came to visit and mentioned that her Mum was ready for trick or treaters. I asked Kobe if he wanted to quickly get a costume on and go around there. I was hoping that by just going to one house, he would then feel like he wasn't the only person in Australia missing out on Halloween ;)
He was very excited, and luckily we have a massive dress up bag of costumes we have collected over the years. We dumped it out on the floor and all grabbed a quick costume to wear. Kobe decided to be a rock star.
In the costume bag was a missionary badge and told Alison she should be a missionary. She doesn't go to our church, so we thought it would be so funny for her to do it, so she did! I couldn't stop laughing.
Here in Canada it's a really big thing, as big as Christmas but as Christians our family has nothing to do with it since it glorifies the occult.
ReplyDeleteHaha the missionary costume is too funny!
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has lived in the U.S.A their entire life, at this point I almost wish that Halloween would stop.
ReplyDeleteI'm in my mid 30s. The change in Halloween has been massive...and not in a good way.
When I was a kid, unlike now, you didn't need some fancy costume, most were homemade(like you did) or dress-up. Not bought. Heck, I was Raggedy Anne for most the years I trick or treated.
Then, homemade treats were the norm. Popcorn balls, caramel apples, cookies. You would only trick 'r treat in your neighbourhood (unless a party). Hommade treats weren't seen as "dangerous" or anything. And people never belived the the MYTH(and it is a myth) that some evil person had stuck razor-blades or whatever in candy!
I think what gets me most, is the sheer number of kids that are DRIVEN to what people think are "safe" neighbourhoods(your looking I understand).
When I was old enough to no longer be interested in Trick 'r Treating we maybe had 30 kids show up. They would all thank you. Sometimes we had candy, sometimes we handed out small toys, or pencils or other such things.
Then it all changed. I still live in the same home. My house is a short walking distance from the Elementry school. So, everyone sees our street as safe.
And here's what happens! It's absurd..and I think a bit rude. Cars start parking on our street. Out come the kids in costume. Out come the adults....with coffee or tea!! They tell their kids to go off while they stand around waiting, drinking their coffee, tea, even beer sometimes!
It's disgusting.
I finally stopped handing out anything, after one year I counted 200(yes 200 I'd bought a bargin bag of pencils that had exactly that ammount) kids. No thank you, no "trick 'r treat" just grab and run. And from people I'd never encountered in my life.
Now? The kids that do live on my street, the ones I do know, I drop off a halloween treat.
I understand the draw of halloween, but I hope it NEVER gets to where it is now all over the U.S
What a fun impromptu Halloween! We moved halfway across the U.S. this summer and I had no idea what to expect. My mom said they plan on around 400 kids coming around, so I was a bit panicked and wondered if I'd better go buy more than the 300 pieces I'd picked up. I took our older kids around the neighborhood to any house with lights and/or decorations. They had to say thank you! :) When the trick-or-treating hours were up, we headed home to find that not a single person had come to our house for candy! We didn't pass many others while we were out either. It was definitely different from my hometown. I loved having the hours so we knew when to expect goblins and ghosts...in my home state, they'd start right after school and go late into the night. Anyway, we had a great time meeting the neighbors! Wish Kobe could come to our house...we have loads of candy left! ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm Protestant (Episcopalian) and have always celebrated Halloween as a day of fun for everyone, followed by remembrances of those who have died on All Saints Day.
ReplyDeleteMy adorable little neighbor was Madeline this year and her mom was the nun from the popular books. Best part, they are LDS! Seeing her mom as a nun struck me far funnier than perhaps it should have. Giggling now thinking about how cute they were.
I love that your LDS friend dressed up as a nun :)
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