Halloween is such a happy holiday. No outsized expectations to get depressed about; just the blissful memory of too much candy. And I'm lucky enough to live near gay areas, which always do halloween right; I passed some amazingly decorated houses and bars, costumed dogs, and festively garbed adults on my way to the grocery store today. I wondered, briefly, if Halloween wouldn't eventually supplant Christmas in a secular America, and if so, whether people would then start having miserable holidays as they contemplated how inadequate their costuming is. Then I realized that I have weird friends--the kind of people who when I joked last week that my costume was so complicated that I might have to take off work, looked startled and said "Well, yeah, of course."
Now I'm off to assemble my own insanely complicated costume. Merry Halloween to all, and to all a Grim Night.
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You'd better post a pic!
Just make sure that you have a nice red light on those antlers - and don't stay out too late, ok?
I live in a non-gay area that does Halloween right as well. When did Halloween become an adult holiday?
It is impossible for gay areas to do Halloween right, given the shortage of young women to fill out naughty nurse costumes.
Random thought just struck while reading an earlier post. The person I would really want at the helm during this crisis would be Milton Friedman. He crapped out on us before the big game though. Then it struck me, maybe this financial panic is the ghost of Milton Friedman haunting us for not following libertarian ideals.
I live in a non-gay area that does Halloween right as well. When did Halloween become an adult holiday?
Right about the time people discovered they could get around public indecency laws without the inconvenience of having a sandy beach handy, by claiming it was a "costume".
Also, nobody tell Rob that men are entering non-doctoral healthcare positions at a greater rate than ever before. I want to snap a picture of his face the second he realizes why all that coarse hair is protruding from some naughty nurse's southward-bound V-neck.
Rob's Comment reminds me of that scene in Mean Girls where Lohan dresses up as a witch for a Halloween Party only to realize that for her classmates, female Halloween costumes are limited to those with the prefix, "sexy". Sadly, Rob seems to think these are the only female options as well.
But, I can attest to three things that may lead to Rob no longer confusing his porn collection with a national holiday. One, in "fake" America, many women actually come up with really awesome costumes that don't involve the word "sexy". Two, there are such a thing as gay women and they often live in gay neighborhoods. and 3, I am sure at least a couple guys in the gay 'hood might go the sexy nurse route.
Point being, I think there will be both females and sexy nurses, but probably not so many female sexy nurses. But honestly, I am a little bothered that one could only think of Halloween in terms of the number of "sexy nurses", especially to all the young ladies who put so much time into their sexy maid outfits.
Well, except that right under the surface Halloween isn't secular at all. If you're not honoring the dead by dressing up you're really not getting into the spirit of things.
When did Halloween become an adult holiday?
When schools decided Halloween was religious and banned costumes and parties. Poor kids. A couple of the highlights of elementary school for me were the costume parades through the halls, and the Halloween parties featuring punch with dry ice and lots of candy!
If Halloween is unacceptable because it's religious, it's only a matter of time before Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day get the boot too.
I had Mean Girls in mind too.
As for the alleged fabulousness of the many non-sexy options out there, I just can't get into it. I had no problem puttin on my doufusy reflective vest to take my son out tonight, but I'd feel like a total tool if I dressed up myself.
Then I realized that I have weird friends...
Well Peaches, that's because you're so nutty yourownself {snap snap snap}! You're not a regular, boring person. Not like everyone else. No way. You have "weird friends." Shine on you crazy diamond, you.
Kids still dress up for Halloween and such. Likewise I'd imagine in much of the country it's still primarily a kids holiday. (Or as non-adult as it ever was anyway. There's always been some adults who get into it and some adult-oriented parties)
The religion of Halloween is pagan (or satanist). It is the night of the witches and warlocks' great festival in Western European tradition, and I caught on TV yesterday some Celtic nuts trying to reclaim it as the Druidic Samhain (complete with pumpkin lanterns!). For appropriate and unusual costumes next year, look at the right hand, infernal, side of Hieronymous Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights.
The festival when half Christianity visits its graveyards is All Saint's Day (All Hallows), November 1st.
You are apparently luckily enough not to live in an area with an abundance of overly politicized Jack-o-Lanterns.
"Now I'm off to assemble my own insanely complicated costume. "
Pics or it didn't happen.
Apparently Megan hasn't read any of the nannyist hand-wringing articles about how permitting children to have candy on Halloween night is setting them up for a lifetime of obesity, diabetes, and unacceptability in the eyes of society. Or the articles talking about the dangers of masks obstructing vision (especially when walking along streets where adults who may have taken a bit too much of Halloween cheer are driving). Or concerns about un-PC costumes (hobos, witches) scarring the kids ability to be compassionate to the differently-realitied for the rest of their lives.
I suspect Halloween became an adult holiday for three reasons:
1. Another excuse to drink yourself into oblivion, this time by naming the grain-alcohol based concoction "witches' brew" or something equally cute.
2. Boobarella Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and the thousands of young women who think it's cool to dress like her and the tens of thousands of young men who think it's cool to see women dressed like her.
but most importantly,
3. It's not good for children any more to have fun, so all fun must be removed from childrens' celebrations.
I'm past the age (and the weight limit) where an Elvira costume would look like anything but bad parody on me, and alcohol gives me migraines. So there's not much left of Hallowe'en for me, outside of handing out candy (at least in the years when they don't hype the "Take your kids to the mall instead of trick of treating, for a SAFE alternative" as if all people in the neighborhood had spent all of October putting pins in the Snickers bars and injecting the M and Ms with drugs.)
...Or at least that's Halloween in what you enlightened folk call "Flyover Country." I understand there's a small gay community here, but I don't know any of them, and I don't think they exactly have a parade.
So my choice, as a childless adult, is to hand out candy. Except any more, kids don't do the "real" trick or treating thing...they go to businesses and get pre-approved treats.
I just hope the same people who mucked with Halloween don't get their hands on Christmas, or we'll all be eating festively decorated carrot slices and exchanging vouchers for charitable donations.
re: I am sure at least a couple guys in the gay 'hood might go the sexy nurse route.
Didn't see any naughty nurses last night, but the guys at the bar pulled off quite a few female characters: Cleopatra, the Olsen Twins, 1890s can-can dancers, Whitney Houston, Sarah Palin, a gypsy fortune teller, and, yes, Elvira.
Can't adults in the United States allow the kids to have ANYTHING to themselves? My sense of it is that it was parts of the Boomer generation which first started widespread adult celebrations of the night, in the manner that children celebrated the night. Typical of that set; and I'm allowed to say it, since I belong to it.
Holloween seemed a lot more fun in college when it was easy to hop to different parties. As an adult, staying at one party...meh.
Nothing beats Thanksgiving and, to a lesser degree, Christmas (both holidays are thriving in these secular times more than the religiously important, Easter.)
Typical of that set; and I'm allowed to say it, since I belong to it.
Yeah, what happened to the Good Old Days, when children were put to work?!
It's a great evening for adults. Normally, you'd get all sorts of comments about wearing a whip. But put on your Indiana Jones(TM) hat, and nobody even blinks.
"Can't adults in the United States allow the kids to have ANYTHING to themselves?"
I don't know how widespread dressing up on Halloween is for adults in the U.S. From what I have seen, it seems to be limited mostly to yuppies and hipsters who live in yuppie or hipster neighborhoods. On previous Halloweens, I've seen adults trick-or-treating in costume in Manhattan and Brooklyn. I've never seen that here in the provinces.
When I was a kid, I thought it was really cool that I was born on Halloween. But now that I'm approaching 40, birthdays suck. A good Halloween is one where I don't wake up the next morning to discover that my tires have been slashed.
I think the real God must get bored with us always praising Him and moralizing to each other.
Halloween must be God's true holiday, because no one expects you to be anything but fun.
And in a year where flat-screen TVs are beyond the reach of our budgets, a nice cheap holiday where the girls get sexy, everyone gets drunk, and maybe a few graves are dug up here and there can't be so bad, can it?
I'm a bit worried now - going out in something complicated, and then NO POSTS for two days?
I know, SPURIOUS. I really hate knowing right from wrong and not doing wrong and not hurting other people. C'mon, live for yourself, do what you want! So long as you find a group to support it, its not wrong!
Here's hoping SPURIOUS is injured a car accident from a drunk-and-high party goer driving under the influence because he wasn't going to listen to the moralizing about right and wrong and not hurting other people.
Here's hoping Basic Fact doesn't really mean that at all. And here's hoping that SPURIOUS isn't criticizing the good type of moralizing - encouraging people to not hurt other people - that Basic Fact seems to have had in mind. Cheers everybody.
I'm a bit worried now - going out in something complicated, and then NO POSTS for two days?
Almost as though there was an intervening weekend?
"moralizing to each other"
-----sv, SPURIOUS clearly doesn't like moralizing period. And that includes telling people not to hurt each other. And, ps, there other forms of "good" moralizing besides merely stating that you shouldn't hurt one another.
And yes, I am serious. People like SPURIOUS always claim to be annoyed with moralizing; therefore, since it bothers him so much, I hope he runs into some amoral people who injure him. Only that seems to snap them into the "hey, there is morality!" mindset, msotly because a guy like SPURIOUS is too selfish to care when anything happens to anyone else not named SPURIOUS.
I really hate knowing right from wrong and not doing wrong and not hurting other people.
Apparently.
And yes, I am serious. People like SPURIOUS always claim to be annoyed with moralizing; therefore, since it bothers him so much, I hope he runs into some amoral people who injure him.
How moral of you. How Christian. That's just what Jesus [Christ] would do.
I always enjoy sitting on the porch and handing out candy to the kids. My son's 14 now, but I still remember his response after his first Halloween trick or treating stroll -- he was 3, and once he figured out that there was a shot of candy on the other side of each door he was an advocate for the holiday (even though his interest in the candy wanes after a couple of days and we can spirit it away -- no, we don't save it for use the following year!). But after that first Halloween evening, my son turned to me and said, "Let's do this again tomorrow night!"
I don't like Halloween. It's no longer for the kids really, and yet, I too fail to have enough festively naked women actually crossing my path.
I am a hermit however, even though I live in downtown Phoenix and did see some sexily dressed women down the street over near where Obama's office is. People hitting galleries, restaurants in houses, and coming from Sun's game. But that was the day after Halloween.
I want Thanksgiving. And I want a good simple Christmas with someone to love, exchanging a simple gift or two. Maybe some corn muffins made with sausage, mushroom, tomato, onion, oregano, basil, cheese... a little potato salad, and some herring, washed down by iced tea or cranberry juice. Some hot tea too with honey. And banana bread or pecan pie. Eating on little plates while watching an old movie.
We will pause Christmas in Connecticut and take a walk and buy a stray dog a bone and give a muffin to hungry man.
Now that's my fav holiday that keeps escaping me.
Hey Basic Fact -
It was a great Halloween! Sorry your god wasn't there to stop me. Plenty of girls, though.
You're right. Your sermon was so full of the milk of human kindness I'd been missing! I don't know why I said moralizing sucks.
But I guess you won't miss me. After all, there must a room full of people with you right now, hanging on your every golden word.
Hey SPURIOUS;...
1. Really like the all caps. really says "I'm a rebel and I'm tough."
2. Never thought or said my religious beliefs would stop you on Halloween. But of course, feel free to invent strawmen that you and your ilk so love to do against those would dare argue against you.
3. Hmm, and when did I equate moralizing with the milk of human kindness? Sigh. Another foolish little straw man; I'm sorry that not everyone's religious beliefs fit right into that little round hole you've invented. Moralizing isn't about being all nicey-nice and telling you anything you do is wonderful. It's about telling you that you do wrong---and not patting you on your wittle head for doing it. I know your religious beliefs are largely informed by Bill Maher and some Christmas special you loved as a child, but do try to keep up with the adults here.
4. I didn't know you were going away, SPURIOUS. From whence you came? I do hope there's a nice karmartic come around for you whereever you go, but I'm sure you'll blame that on someone else's moralizing, because, of course, you've never done any wrong in your life, because wrong comes from moralizing, and since you're amoral, there is no wrong. Except, of course, when it happens to you---then suddenly you're a big fan of right and wrong.
hello, ed, nice to hear from you again...
I didn't know you a) knew my religion and b) were an expert on all forms of Christianity everywhere. I'm sure the Catholics and the Mormons and the Lutherans are all the same, and would love to hear that. I wonder if your astounding logic can be applied to Muslims, too. Those Shiite and Sunni are all the same, right? So these wars they have against each other--not based on anything, right? No fundamental religious differences? They're all the same. ed hath spoken.
I love ed. The world needs more people like ed, because someone was to make MTV its money, which, of course, I own stock in.