Halloween

Halloween is coming up soon. Everywhere we go, we can see elements of Halloween in every corner. Giant pumpkins, monster masks, a flying witch, a big intsy wincy spider etc etc. Harith is very much excited about the whole thing. Not so with Hannah. My little peanut will start screaming everytime we come across the sandwich-man who's wearing a Halloween costume. About two weeks ago, we went to Gameland (a shop where they sell used and new games and their accessories). Whila Abah and Harith went hunting for a game, Hannah and I just browsed around outside when suddenly the little one gave a little howling, "Mommyyyyyyyyyy...Adik takuttttt". When I turned around, wallahhh...a scary Mr. Piggy is grinning at us. Hehe..I didn't notice that next door to Gameland is a Halloween store, and apparently Mr. Piggy is ushering people to go to his store.

Harith has asked whether he can get a costume. I don't see any point in buying him one since we don't celebrate Halloween back in Malaysia. Furthermore, I'm not even sure what is the purpose of the whole celebration. Is it a Christian celebration? Is it a just an American tradition? But I think I have to buy some candies just to make sure if any little ones come up on our door for the trick or treat. I sure don't want to disappoint anybody. Oh yeah..dear Hubby and I are still considering whether we should get Harith a costume. It's not the money that's matter. The costumes are quite cheap anyway. Around 10-20 USD for a boy his age. Errr..jangan convert duit Malaysia laaa.. It just that dear Hubby and I think that it's time for Harith to learn about the value of money. Not everything comes cheap, OK..and in our case (Hubby and I), we have to work hard to be where we are today (wherever it is). So yes, learning about the value of money is one of the values that we would want our children to have.

Anyway, even the theme parks are corporating the holiday. We have 'Mickey's Trick or Treat Party in Disneyland', Six Flags Fright Fest, Universal Studio Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights, and Knott's Berry Farm's Haunt. Well, if I'm not a very very the penakut person, I would sure go to one of these. Especially the Knott's. It seems very very very eerily scary.

OK..here's a little about Halloween that I have Wikied:

Halloween or Hallowe’en is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses", carving Jack-o'-lanterns, reading scary stories and watching horror movies. Immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century.

Halloween is celebrated in several countries of the Western world, most commonly in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom and occasionally in parts of Australia. In Sweden the All Saints' official holiday takes place on the first Saturday of November.

The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them. The carved pumpkin, lit by a candle inside, is one of Halloween's most prominent symbols in America, and is commonly called a jack-o'-lantern.

Originating in Europe, these lanterns were first carved from a turnip or rutabaga. Believing that the head was the most powerful part of the body containing the spirit and the knowledge, the Celts used the "head" of the vegetable to frighten off any superstitions. The name jack-o'-lantern can be traced back to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a greedy, gambling, hard-drinking old farmer. He tricked the devil into climbing a tree and trapped him by carving a cross into the tree trunk. In revenge, the devil placed a curse on Jack, condemning him to forever wander the earth at night with the only light he had: a candle inside of a hollowed turnip. The carving of pumpkins is associated with Halloween in North America where pumpkins were readily available and much larger, making them easier to carve than turnips. Many families that celebrate Halloween carve a pumpkin into a frightening or comical face and place it on their home's doorstep after dark. In America the tradition of carving pumpkins is known to have preceded the Great Famine period of Irish immigration. The carved pumpkin was originally associated with harvest time in general in America and did not become specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century.

In North America, Christian attitudes towards Halloween are quite diverse. In the Anglican Church dioceses have chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions of All Saints Day, while some other Protestants celebrate the holiday as Reformation Day, a day of remembrance and prayers for unity. Celtic Christians may have Samhain services that focus on the cultural aspects of the holiday, in the belief that many ancient Celtic customs are "compatible with the new Christian religion. Christianity embraced the Celtic notions of family, community, the bond among all people, and respect for the dead. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from October 31 through November 5, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery.