Halloween

[joatmon]

Boo!Anybody taking special precautions to keep their vibe from being molested today?It's pretty rural where I live, no families with kids nearby, so we won't get any trick-or-treaters at the house. Also, it's pretty straight at work, ain't nobody gonna wear a costume to work today around here.

[drunkenmaxx]

halloween is depressing. it used to be one of the biggest days of the year, now it seems like any other day. oh well, it's a good excuse to get extra drunk tonight. i have a scary bloody skeleton mask thing, i've been thinking about hiding around the neighborhood and scaring the unsuspecting kiddies.

[ragingfish]

For those interested in the origins of All Hallows' Eve.quote:Oct. 31, the eve of All Saints' Day , observed with traditional games and customs. The word comes from medieval England's All Hallows' eve (Old Eng. hallow = “saint” ). However, many of these customs predate Christianity, going back to Celtic practices associated with Nov. 1—the beginning of winter and the Celtic new year. Witches and other evil spirits were believed to roam the earth on this evening, playing tricks on human beings to mark the season of diminishing sunlight. Bonfires were lit, offerings were made of dainty foods and sweets, and people would disguise themselves as one of the roaming spirits, to avoid demonic persecution. Survivals of these early practices can be found in countries of Celtic influence today, such as the United States where children go from door to door in costumes demanding “trick or treat.” And a slightly more in-depth version:quote:Halloween is one of the oldest holidays with origins going back thousands of years. The holiday weknow as Halloween has had many influences from many cultures over the centuries. From the Roman'sPomona Day, to the Celtic festival of Samhain, to the Christian holidays of All Saints and All SoulsDays.Hundreds of years ago in what is now Great Britain and Northern France, lived the Celts. The Celtsworshipped nature and had many gods, with the sun god as their favorite. It was "he" who commandedtheir work and their rest times, and who made the earth beautiful and the crops grow.The Celts celebrated their New Year on November 1st. It was celebrated every year with a festival andmarked the end of the "season of the sun" and the beginning of "the season of darkness and cold."On October 31st after the crops were all harvested and stored for the long winter the cooking fires in thehomes would be extinguished. The Druids, the Celtic priests, would meet in the hilltop in the dark OakForest (oak trees were considered sacred). The Druids would light new fires and offer sacrifices of cropsand animals. As they danced around the the fires, the season of the sun passed and the season ofdarkness would begin.When the morning arrived the Druids would give an ember from their fires to each family who wouldthen take them home to start new cooking fires. These fires would keep the homes warm and free fromevil spirits.The November 1st festival was called Samhain (pronounced "sow-en"). The festival would last for 3days. Many people would parade in costumes made from the skins and heads of their animals. Thisfestival would become the first Halloween.During the first century the Romans invaded Britain. They brought with them many of their festivals andcustoms. One of these was the festival know as Pomona Day, named for their goddess of fruits andgardens. It was also celebrated around the 1st of November. After hundreds of years of Roman rule thecustoms of the Celtic's Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day mixed becoming 1 major fallholiday.The next influence came with the spread of the new Christian religion throughout Europe and Britain. Inthe year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church would make November 1st a church holiday to honor allthe saints. This day was called All Saint's Day, or Hallowmas, or All Hallows. Years later the Churchwould make November 2nd a holy day. It was called All Souls Day and was to honor the dead. It wascelebrated with big bonfires, parades, and people dressing up as saint’s angels and devils But the spreadof Christianity did not make people forget their early customs. On the eve of All Hallows, Oct. 31,people continued to celebrate the festivals of Samhain and Pomona Day. Over the years the customsfrom all these holidays mixed. October 31st became known as All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallow'sEve, Hallowe'en, and then - Halloween.

[Kari]

If someone dares molest my Vibe, they're going to wish they'd never even had that thought...because there will be hell to pay.

[joatmon]

Our big ritual is usually the winter solstice, but sometimes we do a bonfire and sacrifices on halloween. The weather is supposed to be good tonight. Maybe a good day for some roasted animal flesh. Still, I'm pretty upset about the surge in goat prices this time of year. They really stick it to you, but you gotta pay extra for the ones that have been raised special for the ritual, and it's easier to throw money at it instead of having to raise them that way yourself.

[ragingfish]

Our mischief tends to occur on mischief night, the night prior to Halloween.Usually aren't any problems on All Hallows' Eve itself...

[drunkenmaxx]

quote:Our big ritual is usually the winter solstice, but sometimes we do a bonfire and sacrifices on halloween. The weather is supposed to be good tonight. Maybe a good day for some roasted animal flesh. Still, I'm pretty upset about the surge in goat prices this time of year. They really stick it to you, but you gotta pay extra for the ones that have been raised special for the ritual, and it's easier to throw money at it instead of having to raise them that way yourself.i was always a big fan of sacraficing virgins. if they still existed, i would still practice that, but i have to use the goats now too.

[joatmon]

quote:i was always a big fan of sacraficing virgins. if they still existed, i would still practice that, but i have to use the goats now too.I don't know how you all do it out there in Granite City, but around here we use a different ritual for goats.

[ArcsVibe]

The night before Halloween is "Mad Night" in Montreal, I remember those days LOL....so I parked my baby in the garage...!

[drunkenmaxx]

of course the ritual is different, but the same principle of slaughter is involved. i had to change the whole routine to conform to a traditional goat sacrifice. i usually cover the goat in chickens blood and ashes, then we do the chant.

[drunkenmaxx]

we had 2 trick or treaters come by my house. i don't know why, i don't have a porch light, don't kids know the rules these days?? the two that did come by got punked out, we didn't have no gawdam candy. if i can't afford to eat candy, they sure aren't getting any!