Is anyone else in costume today? Is Halloween mostly a U.S. thing, or is the costume/trick-or-treat craze universal?
Today I've put on a short, maroon wig, caked my eyes in black makeup, applied my blue lipstick and black nailpolish, and pulled on my fishnets and combat boots. That and an all-black outfit makes me a goth for Halloween, which is the first time I've dressed up since high school.
Is anyone else dressing up? What are your kids going as (if you have them)?
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
Brooke
Halloween is definitely in France - I spent the weekend in Paris and whilst we were enjoying a late lunch there were loads of kids on their way to a party. The difference between here and the UK is that the trick or treat is less threatening than in the UK, when gangs of teenagers sometimes play really bad tricks on people who don't give out the treats!
The 'Toussaint' (tomorrow) is the biggest occasion though, where people lay flowers(mainly chrysanthemums) on the graves of their dead ansecestors. I was a bit shocked the first year I arrived here when my neighbours (who were about 77) told me they were going to see their parents on the 1st November, but of course its at the graveyard rather than in person. I know that I'm getting accustomed to the French way of life as a I was shocked when a lovely English family stayed last week and by way of thanks, very kindly bought me a box of chocolates and a chrysanthemum plant
(which at this time of year are on sale everywhere for le Toussaint). Its commonly known in France that the one flower you never give as a thankyou present is the chrysanthemum due to its association with the dead.
The 'Toussaint' (tomorrow) is the biggest occasion though, where people lay flowers(mainly chrysanthemums) on the graves of their dead ansecestors. I was a bit shocked the first year I arrived here when my neighbours (who were about 77) told me they were going to see their parents on the 1st November, but of course its at the graveyard rather than in person. I know that I'm getting accustomed to the French way of life as a I was shocked when a lovely English family stayed last week and by way of thanks, very kindly bought me a box of chocolates and a chrysanthemum plant
(which at this time of year are on sale everywhere for le Toussaint). Its commonly known in France that the one flower you never give as a thankyou present is the chrysanthemum due to its association with the dead.
I was really annoyed to read on an article re how much was being spent on Halloween in the UK with the comment "Halloween celebrations were imported from the U.S about 10 years ago"...... Er, well I'm 47 and I can remember doing Halloween things when I was a kid, not on the scale as today but we still made witches hats and capes from black bin liners. It was always turnip lanterns though, never pumpkins. Kids have it too easy these days, scooping out a turnip was hard work. 
Nary a jack-o-lantern here in Lisbon -- though the stores keep trying to push. (We party at Carnival.)
However... tomorrow is the 250th anniversary of the Lisbon earthquake which, along with fires and tsunamis, destroyed the city back in 1755. (Out of approx 20,000 homes only 3000 were left habitable. Scientists now believe it was an 8 on the Richter scale.) They say the earthquake jostled lakes in Scotland and rivers in Sweden.
Not surprisingly, that anniversary is the focus around here!
debk
www.VisitingPortugal.com
However... tomorrow is the 250th anniversary of the Lisbon earthquake which, along with fires and tsunamis, destroyed the city back in 1755. (Out of approx 20,000 homes only 3000 were left habitable. Scientists now believe it was an 8 on the Richter scale.) They say the earthquake jostled lakes in Scotland and rivers in Sweden.
Not surprisingly, that anniversary is the focus around here!
debk
www.VisitingPortugal.com
"Is Halloween mostly a U.S. thing?" - well, it might be today, but it originated as All Hallows Eve: the Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death.
In the south of France it is much less popular this yea, 2005, than in previous years.
In the south of France it is much less popular this yea, 2005, than in previous years.
Best,
Alexia.
Alexia.
I drove through my tiny village in rural France last night and was amazed to see at least 20 children in total, in full fancy dress, wandering from house to house. That must be every child in the village. If they showed this much enthusiasm for halloween in London, the city would grind to halt.
Paolo
Lay My Hat
Lay My Hat
The kids had a great Halloween around here. All the younger kids dressed up, visiting neighbours houses for trick or treats (never saw any tricks though) and all the local teenagers hung around trying to look cool!
My 15 year old and his friends provided the music by plugging electric guitars into my electrcity(!) and the whole street had a carnival atmoshere.
All over by 7.30 though, as the kids all wanted to see the wedding on Coronation St!
Ahh - Memories are made of this......
My 15 year old and his friends provided the music by plugging electric guitars into my electrcity(!) and the whole street had a carnival atmoshere.
All over by 7.30 though, as the kids all wanted to see the wedding on Coronation St!
Ahh - Memories are made of this......
The next village to us organises a great Halloween evening. The children from all around dress up and are loaded onto flatbeds that are then pulled on a tour around the village - one of the tractors being driven by the Mayor in full fancy dress. The local riding stables arrive with horses and riders in amazing fancy dress and join the tour. It's a great spectacle. Then everyone had free pumpkin soup and then there was a 'grillade' (not our favourite meal!) and a show. Everyone had a great time - even my Grumpy Old Man who would never have dreamed of going to a Halloween evening in the UK.
In our little town, all the kids met up outside the community building at 6.00PM and were led off around the town by a couple of (presumably) council workers throwing sweets as they went. On arriving in the centre of town the kids went into the local bars and shops to collect sweets from the shop-keepers before moving on to the next. Some houses, too, joined in the donations. Most children seemed to have already knocked on doors in their locality (starting mid-afternoon!!). No trick-or-treat, just treat. I bought loads of sweets ready for the knocks on the door, but nobody came. I think the idea is to put a pumpkin or something similar outside to 'advertise' your willingness. What with the sweets the children collected, we've got more than we know what to do with.
And so you have!
We've only been at our house for a month, and we bought a huge amount of candy because we were told to expect a lot of kids. No kidding! We probably had 100 kids show up at our door, and gave away virtually all of our candy. Of course, that's because I insisted on letting each child take two or more candies. (I always loved the houses that did that when I was a kid.)
Two of the houses across the street went all out on the decorations. One had a graveyard in their front yard complete with ghouls that jumped out from behind the tombstones and scary music with the accompanying strobe light. The other made a sort of cobweb tunnel and had a fog machine, with people scaring kids on their way to get candy. They also had a table set up in their driveway to offer refreshments to the parents!
It all just made me think that, come Christmas, we will look hopelessly underdecorated with just our string of lights around our roof!
We've only been at our house for a month, and we bought a huge amount of candy because we were told to expect a lot of kids. No kidding!
We probably had 100 kids show up at our door, and gave away virtually all of our candy. Of course, that's because I insisted on letting each child take two or more candies. (I always loved the houses that did that when I was a kid.)Two of the houses across the street went all out on the decorations. One had a graveyard in their front yard complete with ghouls that jumped out from behind the tombstones and scary music with the accompanying strobe light. The other made a sort of cobweb tunnel and had a fog machine, with people scaring kids on their way to get candy. They also had a table set up in their driveway to offer refreshments to the parents!
It all just made me think that, come Christmas, we will look hopelessly underdecorated with just our string of lights around our roof!
Brooke