Halloween

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AuthorTopic: Halloween
Warrior
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[EDIT: Yay! Thanks for moving it, whoever you are. I explain the first reply in this thread by admitting that originally, I mistakenly posted this thread in the BoA forum. :P ]

It's that time of year again!

...

Innocent children's candy orgy?

or

Barely-masked satanic ritual?

or

Immoral marketing demon?

...

One of the above? All of the above? None of the above? Some of the above?

...

I've always found it funny that such a macabre (depending on how you look at it) holiday hides behind something so sweet as candy...

From the Wikipedia Halloween page:

quote:
Symbols

Halloween's theme is spooky or scary things particularly involving death, black magic, or mythical monsters.

Commonly-associated Halloween characters include ghosts, witches, bats, black cats, owls, goblins, zombies and demons, as well as certain fictional figures like Dracula and Frankenstein's monster. Homes are often decorated with these symbols around Halloween.
quote:
Religious Viewpoints

The majority of Christians ascribe no doctrinal significance to Halloween, treating it as a purely secular entity devoted to celebrating imaginary spooks and handing out candy. The secular celebration of Halloween may loom larger in contemporary imagination than does All Saints' Day.

The mingling of Christian and pagan traditions in the development of Halloween, and its real or assumed preoccupation with evil and the supernatural, have left many modern Christians uncertain of how they should react towards the holiday. Some fundamentalist and evangelical believers consider Halloween a pagan or Satanic holiday, and refuse to allow their children to participate. In some areas, complaints from fundamentalist Christians that the schools were endorsing a pagan religion have led the schools to stop distributing UNICEF boxes at Halloween.

Other Christians, however, continue to connect the holiday with All Saints Day. Some modern Christian churches commonly offer a "fall festival" or harvest-themed alternative to Halloween celebrations. Still other Christians hold the view that the holiday is not Satanic in origin or practice and that it holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children — being taught about death and mortality actually being a valuable life lesson.

Ironically, considering that most fundamentalist sects are Protestant in nature, many Protestant denominations celebrate October 31 as Reformation Day, which commemorates the October 31, 1517 posting of Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses. Many mainline churches and religious schools, particularly Lutheran ones, meld the two holidays without worrying about "Satanic influences."
Your thoughts?

[ Monday, October 10, 2005 17:01: Message edited by: Muji ]

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"Take time to listen to what is said without words, to obey the law too subtle to be written, to worship the unnameable and to embrace the unformed." -- Lao Tzu
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He, hehehehehe...

Thank you for inspiring us for a new BoA scenario...
Posts: 21 | Registered: Monday, December 2 2002 08:00
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Irrelevant to me since no one celebrates Halloween in Australia. But I throw it in the "harmless fun" box along with Harry Potter.

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quote:
Originally written by Frayalitz:

He, hehehehehe...

Thank you for inspiring us for a new BoA scenario...

Sweet! :D

Looking forward to it. ;)

quote:
Originally written by Ash Lael:

Irrelevant to me since no one celebrates Halloween in Australia. But I throw it in the "harmless fun" box along with Harry Potter.
quote:
From my Wikipedia link:
Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31, usually by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting candy. It is celebrated in much of the Western world, though most commonly in the United States, the British Isles, Canada and sometimes in Australiaand New Zealand.
Guess you're just not in the right part of Australia, then. Pity. :(

You're missing out on tons of free candy!!!

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"Take time to listen to what is said without words, to obey the law too subtle to be written, to worship the unnameable and to embrace the unformed." -- Lao Tzu
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I never celebrated Halloween nor Thanksgiving (They aren't celebrated in Dom. Rep.). Nonetheless, I've been celebrating it ever since I moved to New York. My first year here I dressed as a Cleopatra (I think), second time I did it I was a Genie, the year after that I passed, and this year: We'll see. It's my last year as a teen so I'm gonna act as immature as possible.

Edit: To Ash- Only for you darling.
Edit2: I'm not sure whether I'll do it this year or not. First time I did it (I was 16) and it was a favor to my little brother. And the year after, I was 17 and it was as a dress up party. So I wasn't so uncomfortable since there were 19 year olds dressed as vampires, monsters, cheerleaders, etc.
Edit3: Wrong ages

[ Monday, October 10, 2005 17:43: Message edited by: Marlenny ]
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I've never seen it happen. And even if I had, there would have been no candy on offer. We have lollies instead. :P

EDIT: Nineteen-year-olds still go trick-or-treating? I had it in my head that it was a little kids thing.

[ Monday, October 10, 2005 17:36: Message edited by: Ash Lael ]

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quote:
Originally written by Marlenny:

I never celebrated Halloween nor Thanksgiving (They aren't celebrated in Dom. Rep.). Nonetheless, I've been celebrating it ever since I moved to New York. My first year here I dressed as a Cleopatra (I think), last year as a Genie, and this year: We'll see. It's my last year as a teen so I'm gonna act as immature as possible.

Edit: To Ash- Only for you darling.
Edit2: I'm not sure whether I'll do it this year or not. First time I did it (I was 17) and it was a favor to my little brother. And last year, I was 18 and it was as a dress up party. So I wasn't so uncomfortable since there were 19 year olds dressed as vampires, monsters, cheerleaders, etc.
Edit3: Wrong ages

Let me put it to you this way:

I can't wait to have kids so that I can use them as an excuse to go trick-or-treating again.

I know... that's wrong... but whatever... we all have our issues. ;)

quote:
Originally written by Ash Lael:

I've never seen it happen. And even if I had, there would have been no candy on offer. We have lollies instead. :P

EDIT: Nineteen-year-olds still go trick-or-treating? I had it in my head that it was a little kids thing.

Aren't lollies a type of candy? Lollipops, yes? Or "suckers"? Those candied-things on a stick that you lick and suck? (and no! Don't get any dirty thoughts! I don't mean it that way! :P )

As for trick-or-treating, during my last years... people kept commenting stuff like "Aren't you a lil' big to be doing this"?

It didn't help that people, in general, have always thought I was older than I really was. :(

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"Take time to listen to what is said without words, to obey the law too subtle to be written, to worship the unnameable and to embrace the unformed." -- Lao Tzu
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American holidays are just plain getting out of hand. The marketing is absurd.

That said, costumes can be fun. A couple years ago I had a black robe with a hood, white face with black around my eyes and black lips. I figure I was necromancer or something. People tell me I was really scary. It was fun :) If I go to a party this year that's what I'll do and maybe this time I'll get some of those red contacts for my eyes.

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Yes. Any holiday that lets you put on strange costumes and involves candy is A-okay in my books!

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"Take time to listen to what is said without words, to obey the law too subtle to be written, to worship the unnameable and to embrace the unformed." -- Lao Tzu
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Lollipops are a type of lolly. However, "Lolly" encompasses everything that the Brits would call "Sweets" or the Yanks would call "Candy".

However, if you want to spread stories of Australia being a horrible place with no candy, feel free. :P

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IMAGE(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/Alexsticks/halloween.gif)

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Take the Personality Test! INTJ 100% 75% 100% 44%
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www.Keirsey.com for personality information.
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Posts: 1629 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
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Yum more chocolate bars to ruin my teeth. Seriously though I've never really liked candy. Sweet drinks and slurpees are another matter. :D

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quote:
Originally written by Archmage Alex:

IMAGE(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/Alexsticks/halloween.gif)
That is the funniest picture you have done so far, imho. Well done. *applauds*

And yes, Ash summed it up pretty nicely, so a comment from me is not needed.

EDIT: VCH — by saying 'sweet drinks,' do you mean things like Coke, Fanta, Pepsi, and others? They are usually called by their name in Australia, but as a generic term, its 'soft drinks'.

[ Tuesday, October 11, 2005 01:05: Message edited by: Johnno ]

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^^ No not really. I'd say pop if I meant pepsi or something like that. BTW I hate Pepsi and Coke, Orange Crush is aight though. I meant non-carbonated fruit drinks. What exactly does "SOFT" drink mean how is pop soft?. That just occured to me.

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A soft drink as opposed to a hard drink (alcohol).

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Well, yes, but we don't call alcohol 'hard'. We tend to call it grog, alocohol, or piss.

[ Tuesday, October 11, 2005 01:30: Message edited by: Johnno ]

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Just because you don't call it something doesn't mean that it's not true or doesn't make sense.

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quote:
Originally written by Johnno:

quote:
Originally written by Archmage Alex:

IMAGE(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/Alexsticks/halloween.gif)
That is the funniest picture you have done so far, imho. Well done. *applauds*

I thought that too at first, but then I reminded myself I haven't seen that many.

Still true, though, it's the best of the ones I've seen.

Most excellent indeed!! :D

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"Take time to listen to what is said without words, to obey the law too subtle to be written, to worship the unnameable and to embrace the unformed." -- Lao Tzu
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All Hallow's eve is not celebrated here in Finland. Or at least, it hasn't been celebrated here for a long time. Originally, here it was called Kekri and it was actually a new year's party with no ghosts or goblins involved whatsoever. And besides, we already have Nuutinpäivä for trick'n'treating.

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I happen to like Chocolate and soft drinks (Coke, Pepsi, etc). I just get sick of it real quick; for example: I love Milky Ways but I can't eat more than one.

Also, I love Lollipops (no dirty intentions). I used to eat tons of it while growing up. It's the only type of candy (besides chocolate) that I really like.

Edit: Forgot to jump in the Bandwagon. Awsome drawing Alex.

[ Tuesday, October 11, 2005 03:27: Message edited by: Marlenny ]
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While we're on the subject, this horror tale gave me sleep deprivation last year, and would easily repeat this if I read it again. Just to get people in the mood.

Oh, btw, I googled around a bit when I was reading Lovecraft two months ago, and found this:

quote:
Supplicate Great Cthulhu only at Hallowmas Eve when the Sun abides within the House of the Scorpion and Orion riseth. When All Hallows falls within the cycle of the new Moon the power shall be the strongest.
Which is hogwash, but nearly manages to sound unnerving, given that this is the case this year. :P

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quote:
Originally written by Atrus:

While we're on the subject, this horror tale gave me sleep deprivation last year, and would easily repeat this if I read it again. Just to get people in the mood.
Reading...

Am on... page 2, chapter 1.

I have no idea how long it is, but up to now, it's wicked!

Seriously... skillful blend of comedy and suspense, almost bordering on horror (nothing -quite- scary yet, but it has its freaky moment).

I'm literally on the edge of my seat reading this...

Read it! Read it! It rocks!!!

Very well written, the author's a natural.

[Edit:]

How long is it?

I had to take a break after a while because I was getting freaked out, so I checked out the forum... seem's it's a whole book or something?!

[ Tuesday, October 11, 2005 08:24: Message edited by: Muji ]

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"Take time to listen to what is said without words, to obey the law too subtle to be written, to worship the unnameable and to embrace the unformed." -- Lao Tzu
Posts: 124 | Registered: Monday, September 26 2005 07:00
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Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to bump the thread.

I'm serious... you gotta click on Atrus' link and read that story... :eek:

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"Take time to listen to what is said without words, to obey the law too subtle to be written, to worship the unnameable and to embrace the unformed." -- Lao Tzu
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quote:
Originally written by Muji:

Atrus :eek:
Aran, not Atrus, but A R A N. As in Arancaytar
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Meh. Bah.

Aran. Fine.

Mr. A!

Read the story!

[ Tuesday, October 11, 2005 12:10: Message edited by: Muji ]

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"Take time to listen to what is said without words, to obey the law too subtle to be written, to worship the unnameable and to embrace the unformed." -- Lao Tzu
Posts: 124 | Registered: Monday, September 26 2005 07:00