Halloween

Hi Everyone

I’m in the Deep South at the moment; just in time for Halloween.  When we arrived a week ago it was satisfying to see that the USA still has too much money to spend—if buying Halloween paraphernalia is anything to go buy (get it, buy, sorry I can’t resist a bad pun).  Halloween is not a ‘real’ holiday like the Mexican (Spanish and Brazilian) celebrations of the dead, Los Meurtos – Halloween and trick or treating do have a long (and largely pagan) history.

Day of the Dead

First Los Meurtos (October 31, November 1 and November 2) is a time to remember the dead, people visit graves where they build altars and leave the favourite food and beverages of their dead relatives.  Asian cultures, the Japanese (Bon Festival) Chinese (Qingming Festival) and Koreans (Chuseok), all have similar festivals where they visit the graves of dead relatives.  In the Philippines All Saints Day has a very festive air more reminiscent of a  family reunion….it is also a public holiday.

Many might know of the skeletal tableaux and figurines that are most associated with Los Meurtos – usually thee depict skeletons doing everyday things: getting married, playing musical instruments, typing, drinking.    At first I thought it was rather morbid, but I realise these are celebrating life after death and a reminder that in life we are part of death. It is a healthier way of remembering the dead and seems more appropriate than the candy event of the USA 

So back to the USA – Halloween is a relatively modern invention (though it is descended from ancient rituals celebrating harvesting and the beginning of winter).  Going from house to house is also part of an age old tradition (Celtic) when people visited houses in disguise and would recite verses in exchange for food (mumming).  People wore costume because it was believed that spirits wandered the land and were given one last chance to wreck vengeance before moving to the next world. Jack O Lanterns were originally scooped out pumpkins into which people placed treats.

carried to scare spirits while out ‘guising’.

Trick or Treating – first recorded in in the USA in 1927, it became common practice from the late 1940s. “Souling”:  In the Middle Ages poor people went from door to door offering prayers for the dead in return for food (Nov 1).   In the USA, children going around begging for candy has not always been well received – as can be imagined. Still it has become a widespread practice – about 80% of adults give out treats; 93% of population say they will participate in some kind of celebration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guising) and in 2008 about $5.77 billion spent!

Backlash

One of the spookiest part of Halloween is the candy scare.  Over the decades dozens of stories about  As a result some hospitals x-ray candy on Halloween and more places offer safe alternatives such as “trunk or treating” (where people take their candy to a place and dispense candy from the trunk of their car.  But in fact these are urban legends – in fact there has not been one proven case of death due to poisoned candy;  some have metal objects in them but usually these are the manufacturer’s fault.    Some people think of it as extortion.  Others decry its commercialism.  No wonder rumours of candies with razor blades resurface each year.   Why these fears and stories surface are a reflection of several popular beliefs and anxieties.  We rarely make our own candy and thus this urban legend preys on people’s fears about prepared food ie the cook who spits in your food or the mouse in a can of soft drink.  The fears are deeply rooted in our distancing from our food source and food preparation.  Further it builds upon the belief that candy is not good for you---obviously.  The stranger danger is another fear that has increased over the years (with the increased revelations of children subjected to abuse since the 1970s) – yet in each instance, as in life, the children who did die due to candy poisoning did so at the hand of relatives/people close to them.  So the stories emanate from several social issues:   disorder (ie children roaming the streets), general distrust of strangers, dietetic concerns about candy, food fears, and giving away something for nothing

razor blades and poison in candy.

Corn and Halloween

I was pleased to be in the USA at Halloween time.  And of course I did my fair share of consuming (an insulated mug with a skeleton’s face insert – see photo).  Anyway I bypassed the many aisles in Walmart devoted to Halloween costumes, trick or treat carriers, decorations and candy.  Instead I wanted to do some autumnal activities.  Luckily we are near Sewards Farm – it has one of the largest corn maizes in the USA.

The farm also hosts a variety of events for Halloween– hayrides, jumping “pillow”, concert, petting zoo etc. We rocked up on their fright night but didn’t stay until dark because we had little ones with us – after dark the haunted hay ride and haunted maze start.  But I did find it fun to walk through the corn maze – boo to the people who littered there and who tramped off the path thus diluting out fun ie getting lost. 

At the top of my list was to sample the Halloween treats ie corn suckers (a delicious hard toffee that tastes like buttered popcorn with LASHINGS of sugar) and a caramel con  cob –caramel popcorn shaped like a corn cob. 

Any horror aficionado knows about Children of the Corn type stories but I’m still unable to work out exactly why corn and children are so scary—any ideas? 

Give me a head with hair

Expensive and Outrageous

Well it’s something we see every day and something we presumably take for granted.  Even though we spends hours primping it and big bucks grooming it – today we discuss hair.

Hair is ad individual as we are and are as prone to popular culture and change fads as fashion.  Some of the quirky styles over the years have become the norm.  It is a marker of gender, race, political affiliation, religious belief, race and personal style.  You are your hair.  And nothing makes me feel better than when I sport a great do.  

Money

You might not even have thought about it by hair is also a marker of disposable income.  The more elaborate the hair style – the more money one has.  Lady’s maids well verse in hair styling were prized possession – in a recent episode of Downton Abbey, one maid was swiped because of her styling ability.  And of course today going to the “right” salon can cost you a fortune.  Vidal Sasson is credited with creating the must have salon experience.  Hair products too are. 

Gender – in the not too distant past long hair was the provenance of women;  but way before this we know longer hair was worn by men and then fast forward to the 1950s – when hippies work their locks long.  It was a political statement rejecting the conservative styles of the business man.  This in turn gave way to that curious creation – the Mullet.

Class.  Today the Mullet is most aligned with the bevan or the bogan in Australia and white trash in America.  Billy Ray Cyrus is the mullet pinup boy—my personal favourite is the fading glory mullet. For women, the female mullet has become a hallmark of the butch lesbian—especially in the USA.   

Political – The casual bob of the Jazz age reflected that generation’s rejection of cultural mores of the time;  the new woman had to have bobbed hair (and rolled down stockings).  A stiff and highly coloured Mohawk became the warrior look for skinheads and punks of the 1980s—think Sid Vicious. The buzz cut was for years associated with right-wing political sentiments in the USA as it was the cut for the toughened MARINE.  But that’s long gone. 

Religious – the tonsured monk was a symbol of their modesty or maybe it was to hide male pattern baldness?  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsure.  Buddist (and other) monks shaved  their heads as a symbol of rejection of worldly life – it was supposedly considered unflattering.  We all presumed that nuns had no hair but later garbs revealed fringes.  I wonder when that changed? 

Bad Headed Woman – Sinead O’Connor was the first woman I   Presumbly it was done to demonstrate how beautiful one could look without hair – feminist political rejection of female hair?  For men baldness remains an issue – one baldies were associated with rough tough men but it has become the norm and looks much better than the comb-over.  I always thought that one day men would realise that combing a few strands over a bald spot wasn’t fooling anyone – but they still do it.  Men – we are not fooled.  This style also was precursor to the Caesar.  Obviously named for the Roman way of coping with baldness it became de rigeur in the 1980s. 

remember as having shaved her head – and she definitely had the face for it.

Race – while hippies wore their hair long – African American love children preferred to go Afro.  The bigger the better.  Remember when Bo Derek introduced cornrows?  This is a style most associated with African Americans but Derek looked so gorgeous running along the beach women everywhere adopted it—some years later even men tried it.  More’s the pity.  It is a style definitely only for those with chiselled features. 

Japanese Sumo wrestler has one of the quirkiest style; the chonmage is part of their culture, it came from the samurais who tied their hair up to secure their  helmets. Sumo hairdressers train for ten years (http://www.toddjayleonard.com/Todd%20Jay%20Leonard,%20Blog/3FD56410-DDB8-4CC1-9308-8A351FBF7EBA.html!) and is reserved for only the best wrestlers.  Furthermore the elaborately formal hair of the geisha girl is another iconic Japanese hair style – it demonstrates the rigid formality and expense of the geisha. The paining at the back of the neck is considered to be sexually enticing. 

Braids tied at the top on the top of the head has come to represent Germanic women and particular type of woman – the non-nonsense Teutonic female.  Remember Fifty First Dates?

Colour – at first hair colouring was to disguise greying hair or to replicate the much admired blonde hair.  Even in the 19^th century.  However, today, anything goes.  From Magic Silver White and Rose in the 1950s – hair today can be ANY colour.  Dame Edna’s Wisteria Blue was the provenance of older women but she was ahead of her time—goths and punks adopted colour to mark them as a subculture.  Today colour is still considered inappropriate for the business executive….it’s a pity.  When we see a news announcer with bright pink hair – we know hair colour has truly come of age. 

Age – should older women have long hair?  Can a hairstyle be aging?  Generally older women have shorter hair but long hair on older women is socially more acceptable if it is worn up and not long and loose.  I have no idea why this should be so but it is a quirk of culture. 

Style – loose and fee hair suggests casual.  Updos such as the chignon and the beehive are the preferred style for more formal occasions.  Again it is linked to cost and time to have these done properly. Updos can be soft and romantic (like the Gibson girl’s hair and it made a brief comeback in the 1970s or was it the 1980s?) or tight and restricted like librarian hair that is instantly transforming when a few pins are removed and the sexy librarian appears. The messy look is considered sexy because it mirrors sexual abandonment – presumably.

 I believe perms are making a comeback.  Perms, once the provenance of the old dame usually meant tight curls and that awful smell of perming solution.  I’ll bet everyone has a perm story—even men.  I hope you have the photos to prove it too.   

Hair products – Brylcreem was favoured by the executives of the 1950s, but then it became the marker also for rockers.  (What every happened to California Poppy?)  MAD magazine used to have a slogan about "greasy kid's stuff" I can't remember why though.  Soon to follow was the Elvis quiff—greasy but short on the sides.   Brylcreem has since been replaced by gel, waxes, oil and mouse to tame those frizzy locks.  I’ll bet most of you have more things in your cupboard than you actually use.  While men preferred the cream, women of the 1950s opted for hairspray.  That too has been replaced by all manner of products – spray gel – isn’t that an oxymoron?