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?