Halloween harmless fun or a little bit of a con?
With the holiday season swiftly approaching Halloween is just about upon us (it will be Christmas 2011 before you know it), and with the shops being filled with more and more goodies, decorations, costumes and gifts I'm beginning to question whether it is starting to become too commercialised and just a method to make us spend extra money!
I do love Halloween, as it's only holiday that allows children to wander the streets asking for treats from total strangers. Halloween came from Eire. The offspring of the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain joined with Christian holy days honouring the saints gives us origins of our current Halloween celebrations. We also have Ireland to thank for the jack o'lantern. In Ireland, gifts of food were left for fairies who roamed the planet on All Hallow's Eve.
Carving pumpkins is superb fun for all the family - though I just stick to cleaning them out and let someone else do the creative side (trust me it's safer).
But Halloween just isn't the same as it used to be! We used to have home-made outfits, with make up and the works, but now it's almost a competition to see who can buy the best outfits for their children! A little bit of a cop out truly showing an absence of imagination and again lining the pockets of others.
My kids even get Halloween presents off family members, which again I find strange and just seems like another way for corporations to earn money from us. What is next Halloween cards?
Don't misunderstand what I'm saying I DO love Halloween as much as everybody else, I am really not one of the folks that turn off all the lights and pretend they are not home, I decorate my place a bit, I buy the get ups, we do Halloween crafts and make toffee apples and watch horror movies when the youngsters go to bed, but do we actually need shops crammed with Halloween goodies from the middle Aug?
So what do you think is Halloween a Trick or a Treat?
With the holiday season swiftly approaching Halloween is just about upon us (it will be Christmas 2011 before you know it), and with the shops being filled with more and more goodies, decorations, costumes and gifts I'm beginning to question whether it is starting to become too commercialised and just a method to make us spend extra money!
I do love Halloween, as it's only holiday that allows children to wander the streets asking for treats from total strangers. Halloween came from Eire. The offspring of the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain joined with Christian holy days honouring the saints gives us origins of our current Halloween celebrations. We also have Ireland to thank for the jack o'lantern. In Ireland, gifts of food were left for fairies who roamed the planet on All Hallow's Eve.
Carving pumpkins is superb fun for all the family - though I just stick to cleaning them out and let someone else do the creative side (trust me it's safer).
But Halloween just isn't the same as it used to be! We used to have home-made outfits, with make up and the works, but now it's almost a competition to see who can buy the best outfits for their children! A little bit of a cop out truly showing an absence of imagination and again lining the pockets of others.
My kids even get Halloween presents off family members, which again I find strange and just seems like another way for corporations to earn money from us. What is next Halloween cards?
Don't misunderstand what I'm saying I DO love Halloween as much as everybody else, I am really not one of the folks that turn off all the lights and pretend they are not home, I decorate my place a bit, I buy the get ups, we do Halloween crafts and make toffee apples and watch horror movies when the youngsters go to bed, but do we actually need shops crammed with Halloween goodies from the middle Aug?
So what do you think is Halloween a Trick or a Treat?
About the Author:
Julie Ross loves all holidays & special occasions. She writes about Halloween, Christmas Gifts and more at BestChristmasGiftFor.com.
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