View Full Version : Halloween..past and present!
Evening Folks,
Halloween is upon us once again! (where does the time go?:eek:)
When I was wee it was all 'dookin' for apples and treacle scones hung on bits of string... hollowed out turnips wi' spooky faces and candles within....can't you still smell that!
We had to put on a wee performance,..a song or a dance at least and if the adults thought you hadn't done enough to earn your 'bit' ...they darn well told you so and waited for you to do better.:lol:
Today it is all 'trick or treat' and full length luminous skeleton/ghost costumes..with little or no effort involved but for parting parents from their cash.
What was Halloween like in Caithness when you were a bairn?
..and what is it like for your own kids?!
kariax
The whole thing is far too commercialised now, when i was a kid our outfit was a home made witches hat made out of black paper and we wore bin bags. The only thing the kids seem to be interested in is begging for money and sweets these days. Very little thought or effort is involved.
The old saying, "wash yer face and go out as a stranger", springs to mind.:D
Halloween has changed with the times,some people just haven't the time to make costume's etc, so now that they are more widely available than they used to be a lot of people buy their kids costumes.I always make my kids costume's but they now say to me "why can't we have real costumes like the other kids?They will laugh at us in our homemade ones!" so I give in and buy them so they can feel that they fit in.Right?Perhaps not but if it makes my children feel more comfortable then why not?I spend a lot of time decorating my house for halloween and do it a week or so before as I love having it all done up and so do the kids.It is sad when it has to come down but then it's no too long before I can start thinking about the christmas decorations going up :eek: I used to love dooking for apples and playing the treacle scone game when I was small but Halloween parties semm to be few and far between now, perhaps again because people just dont have the time.I enjoy this time of year and throw myself into it as much as I can even getting dressed up to answer the door...much to the horror of some that come knocking :) x
Halloween has changed with the times,some people just haven't the time to make costume's etc, so now that they are more widely available than they used to be a lot of people buy their kids costumes.I always make my kids costume's but they now say to me "why can't we have real costumes like the other kids?They will laugh at us in our homemade ones!" so I give in and buy them so they can feel that they fit in.Right?Perhaps not but if it makes my children feel more comfortable then why not?I spend a lot of time decorating my house for halloween and do it a week or so before as I love having it all done up and so do the kids.It is sad when it has to come down but then it's no too long before I can start thinking about the christmas decorations going up I used to love dooking for apples and playing the treacle scone game when I was small but Halloween parties semm to be few and far between now, perhaps again because people just dont have the time.I enjoy this time of year and throw myself into it as much as I can even getting dressed up to answer the door...much to the horror of some that come knocking x
Oh Thumper!
Don' go too far wi the glossy hair!.......Whae ever heard o' Aye witch like that!;)
I never liked treacle scones and apples were always available,..what did we think we were doing?:roll:
Good on you for making special fun for the wee ones!
kariaxx
Oh Karia you would never know my hair was glossy by the time I am finished getting dressed up lol!BTW I never said the fun was for the wee ones [lol].Honestly though, it is only once a year so I thought to myself why not?it was harder when all my kids werre small but now the 16 yr old takes the small one out so I get to have loads of fun!My house is all spooky light,tombstones and witches etc everywhere :) x
Oh Karia you would never know my hair was glossy by the time I am finished getting dressed up lol!BTW I never said the fun was for the wee ones .Honestly though, it is only once a year so I thought to myself why not?it was harder when all my kids werre small but now the 16 yr old takes the small one out so I get to have loads of fun!My house is all spooky light,tombstones and witches etc everywhere x
Hi thumper,
You go girl,..well wicked fun!
Post photos..or a 'web' cam !.........ahh ahh ah ah!..oh god, there's a spider and I am not so brave!;)
Kariax
Halloween like christmas & Easter is far to commercialisedall the costumes cost a fortunes and most of the old traditional ways are gone.
Just like Christmas when a was a kid i would get an orange / apple & money in my stocking nowadays kids would throw a major fit if they got that.
Its a shame how its all about money and who has the best costume / present etc.
Tradition is certainly a thing of the past :(
Hi Folks!
Agree that everything is more commercial now!
How did you celebrate 'Halloween' in the days before the money swamped the enthusiasm!?
kariaxx
We used to dress up, we went to a lot of effort too, when I was really little we would tell a joke or sing a song for our treats. To be honest I haven't bothered with Halloween in about 15+ years but this year my eldest will be getting dressed up in her bought costume, I'm strangely looking forward to it, I'm even going to decorate my front door. It's been so long I am not sure what kids expect, personally I hated the apples and monkey nuts, maybe if I offer a healthy alternative to sweets word will get round and nobody will come a knocking :eek:
we used to go to a lot of effort with our homemade outfits and learning our party pieces (a few jokes each and a rhyme and dance or a little play in which everyone would have a part) and would get invited in most of the houses in our village to dook for apples and eat treacle scones on string..
these days people are to scared to invite the kids in ...
and the kids only want money or are even picky about the sweets on offer and dont make an effort with their party pieces ..if forced you might get 1 knock knock joke per group of kids..its all trick or treat and hands out..
and the kids only want money or are even picky about the sweets on offer and dont make an effort with their party pieces ..if forced you might get 1 knock knock joke per group of kids..its all trick or treat and hands out..
This is exactly what put me off Halloween in the first place, I have vague memories of kids I had never even laid eyes on before holding open huge bags demanding sweets. I'll be expecting manners this year in return for treats!
Margaret M.
06-Oct-07, 02:19
We dooked for apples and did the treacle scone thing at school. Halloween night, in the country, was more about minor devilment. Gates would be removed and hung up telephone poles, squibs thrown at house doors, etc.
Lolabelle
06-Oct-07, 07:36
I am glad to say that we don't have Halloween at all here. So there is no changes occurring and I hope we don't ever have it jump the pacific. We don't need more commercialism. And I would be worried about kids going house to house in this day and age, at least over here. :eek:
I never really liked the apples and monkey nuts I must say, although I did like dressing up, usually as a witch (in a long black velvet skirt of my mum's etc -no bought costumes of course). Going out guising always felt pretty magic.:D
All my kids did much the same, and expected to provide some entertainment for the sweets they'd get- although they were dressed up more courtesy of Woolies.
When they were wee, one of us went out with them, once they were older they went out on their own, but with strict instructions to stay together and only to call on our friends.
There didn't seem to be any Halloween where I live last year (darn! I had to eat those sweets myself) and I must say, even commercialised as it is, I rather missed it!:~(
We love halloween in our house, we decorate the hall and living room with decorations made by the kids mostly. They love it, as much the getting ready and making their costumes as the going out round friends and neighbours. My 11 year old thinks it is terrible that no-one else bothers and just buys something!! We usually have spooky treats when we come back and play ducking for apples, catching doughnuts on string tied from the roof and marshmallows in flour with no hands ofcoarse! It's great to see them have so much fun together from 15 to 3 years old.
The nursery I work at has a halloween party, lots of messy fun and games. Guess I'm just a big kid at heart :o)
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