Is halloween dead?

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Individual
Posts: 1970
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:19 am

Is halloween dead?

Post by Individual »

This year, lots less people trick-or-treating and giving out candy -- especially on my court -- despite the fact that the weather was unusually nice.

I rarely ever give out candy because Halloween is my mom's birthday. And even if it wasn't her birthday, it would be such a burden.

Halloween is a holiday for brats. For little dwarves, imps, and ogres, to stalk the streets (many of which who are too old) demanding candy and throwing eggs, tossing toilet paper over trees, stealing candy from other kids ("bag-snatching"), etc.. It's an awful holiday, which until this year has gotten worse year-after-year. The only thing positive about it is when parents get to make costumes for their toddlers.



A couple friends on facebook said the same thing, coincidentally! :)

I prefer the foreign equivalents: the "Day of the Dead" in Mexico and the Ghost Festival of China, Japan, etc.. In those traditions, it is more about reflecting on death, and honoring & remembering dead ancestors.
The best things in life aren't things.

The Diamond Sutra
Hoo
Posts: 189
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:24 am
Location: Missouri, USA

Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by Hoo »

Halloween is not dead, though many of its minions are. And the ones that are alive are usually stirring up trouble for those who aren't - bubble bubble, toil and trouble.... :stirthepot:

A comforting thought (for me at least) is that Halloween will be here long after we are all gone.

Hoo
MJH
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Location: Norway

Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by MJH »

When I lived in the states, I always found that Sunday nights were the worst for halloween. Most of the little kids have their parties on Saturday and the big kids aren't really going to be trick or treating anyway. Different kinds of fun for them! :jumping:
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bodom
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Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by bodom »

Halloween is a holiday for brats..


You sound like a bitter old man.

Maybe one day if or when you have kids you will see the fun in it again. I took my 'brat' trick or treating for her first time last night and had a great time with family.

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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cooran
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Location: Queensland, Australia

Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by cooran »

Hello Individual,

Halloween has never really been a custom in Australia, and due to retail pressures mostly, it has only begun to be observed over the last couple of years. As the report says, it's always been seen as an American custom.
Things like this are occurring:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010 ... 053404.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

with metta
Chris
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
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tiltbillings
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Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by tiltbillings »

bodom wrote:
Halloween is a holiday for brats..


You sound like a bitter old man.
And at a young age. It is stylish.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
Kenshou
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Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by Kenshou »

Not dead... undead.
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Ceisiwr
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Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by Ceisiwr »

Kenshou wrote:Not dead... undead.
:rofl:
“The teacher willed that this world appear to me
as impermanent, unstable, insubstantial.
Mind, let me leap into the victor’s teaching,
carry me over the great flood, so hard to pass.”
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Monkey Mind
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Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by Monkey Mind »

I don't know if Halloween is dead, but I think neighborhood Trick-Or-Treating is a dying art form. I think it reflects a cultural shift towards fear and paranoia. There has never been a single documented case of someone putting razor blades or rat poison in Halloween candy, but if you survey modern parents the majority will tell you that neighborhood Trick-Or-Treating is no longer safe.

A couple of weeks ago I asked a bhikkhu if alms rounds were the inspiration for Trick-Or-Treating. Not understanding that I was joking, he cited the mendicant monks of early Christian traditions as being a more likely source.
"As I am, so are others;
as others are, so am I."
Having thus identified self and others,
harm no one nor have them harmed.

Sutta Nipāta 3.710
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andre9999
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Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by andre9999 »

There are a few very pleasant things about Halloween that for me far outweigh the burden of buying candy and answering the door fifty times. For one, I get to take my son trick-or-treating, which makes him happy... and him being happy *always* makes me happy. And when I hand out candy, I get to see a lot of kids smiling and having a good time.
Individual
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Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:19 am

Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by Individual »

I would make a distinction between the satisfaction of the craving for candy and true happiness
The best things in life aren't things.

The Diamond Sutra
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tiltbillings
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Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by tiltbillings »

Individual wrote:I would make a distinction between the satisfaction of the craving for candy and true happiness
Of course you would, but why demean small joys of sharing and mudita between a father and a son?
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
Individual
Posts: 1970
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:19 am

Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by Individual »

tiltbillings wrote:
Individual wrote:I would make a distinction between the satisfaction of the craving for candy and true happiness
Of course you would, but why demean small joys of sharing and mudita between a father and a son?
Good point. :)
The best things in life aren't things.

The Diamond Sutra
Maitri
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Re: Is halloween dead?

Post by Maitri »

I don't think Halloween is dead at all. I live in the southern U.S., so it doesn't have the same autumn feeling as up north, but plenty of people still enjoy the holiday. My husband and I carved jack-o-lanterns and handed out candy to kids on Sunday night. All of our neighbors put up scary houses for the kids and made some scared they wouldn't come to our door with our two little pumpkins. :jumping:

Anyway, I was taught by my mother that Halloween was the closest time to the dead than any other time of the year. That has stayed with me. So I welcome any beings hanging around to come practice metta.
"Upon a heap of rubbish in the road-side ditch blooms a lotus, fragrant and pleasing.
Even so, on the rubbish heap of blinded mortals the disciple of the Supremely Enlightened One shines resplendent in wisdom." Dhammapada: Pupphavagga

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/
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