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Post by Enchant on Oct 31, 2006 18:48:47 GMT -5
Halloween is creeping up on the December holiday in popularity and consumer spending, according to recent retail surveys. And the customs surrounding the ghoulish day are not just for little ones anymore.
Adult participation in Halloween is at an all-time high in the United States, with big kids dressing up as their favorite characters and partying into the wee hours like never before.
In an ironic twist, however, while more adults are getting into the act this year, some U.S. schools are putting the kibosh on Halloween celebrations altogether for the sake of political correctness.
A Little Something For Everyone
Americans will spend almost $5 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), a jump of more than a billion dollars over last year.
More grown-up participation in spooky festivities is a big contributor to the holiday's growth, experts say.
"Consumers see Halloween as a seasonal celebration to bridge the gap between the end of summer and the winter holidays," said Tracy Mullin, president and CEO of the NRF, in a company statement. "Halloween offers a little something for everyone and, this year, people of all ages will be joining in the fun."
Nearly 80 percent of 25-34 year-olds will dress up in costume, according to an NRF survey, which lists witches, pirates and vampires as its top adult get-ups for 2006. The holiday is the only time during the year that grown-ups can really let loose, act silly and get away with it, say retailers, who've had to adjust to the demand for outfits in much larger sizes and racier cuts. One shop owner in Charlotte, North Carolina, boosted his order of sexy nurse and secretary costumes to $3.5 million this year, up from $250,000 just five years ago, he told The Charlotte Observer.
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Post by voltage on Oct 31, 2006 20:56:50 GMT -5
Its Alive!!!!!!!!!
And its a holiday. So America has a fascination with gore and bloodlust movies, it will reflect in the wonderful world of halloween where the gorier the better! It will probably grow a little more, and then when the gore fad is gone it will resume its normal levels.
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Post by jagggar on Nov 1, 2006 13:58:15 GMT -5
No. Halloween is here to stay. We need a dry carnival. Flasshing people for beads and booze is not everyone's idea of fun. That's why we're keeping Halloween.
I'm just little wary of all this money being spent. With all the comercialization, will Halloween lose the spirit of Satan?*
*Please note, I stole this joke from Jay Leno who used it last night.
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Post by Aaron on Nov 1, 2006 18:34:46 GMT -5
What the heck? Human's have always been into the macabre and the bizarre. We were never EVER innocent. The same part of you that gawks at a crash..We all like the macabre and the wierd and the strange. We all love facing our fears.
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Post by voltage on Nov 1, 2006 22:32:41 GMT -5
Personally I am fascinated with alien abducted potatoes, both wierd and strange.
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Post by jagggar on Nov 2, 2006 0:18:38 GMT -5
. . . . So where do discussions of symbolism go?
My knee-jerk reaction is the spirituality board. Does that work?
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Post by Aaron on Nov 2, 2006 12:05:06 GMT -5
People like candy. Which is really what alot of Halloween is about. Getting candy. the other I would say is more about just getting scared and wierded out. It's healthy and don't think there is anything wrong with it.
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Post by voltage on Nov 2, 2006 12:30:26 GMT -5
. . . . So where do discussions of symbolism go? My knee-jerk reaction is the spirituality board. Does that work? Symbolism? I guess your lookin for a reply like The druids used to go out at the end of the standard year back then, which was october, a new years festival. They would carve out gourds and light a candle in them which represented the spirit they had. They would go to houses and you would have to give the druids food, or they would curse you. Trick or treat.Yea theres some symbolism involved, but I gavce up trying to talk to people through that. Theres a great space for things to go wrong on halloween, and just this year they have to have the fire department and a couple squad cars patroling the neighborhood. Honestly it doesnt happen at christmas, and its too attractive. You dont have to celebrate christmas if you dont want to, you dont have to celebrate easter if you dont want to, but what kid is gonna say he doesnt want free candy?
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Post by jagggar on Nov 2, 2006 13:20:21 GMT -5
From one of the Halloween episodes of South Park. The boys are standing in the cemetary at Kenny's grave. . . .
STAN - You know, I've really learned something today. Halloween isn't about costumes or candy, it's about being good to one another and giving and loving.
KYLE - No, dude. That's Christmas.
STAN - Oh. Then what's Halloween about?
KYLE - Costumes and candy.
Edit: No, as far as symbolism goes, I'm thinkin' of trying to write up a rant on various Halloweeny imagry like the skull and skeleton, or like what vampires are beyond bloodsuckers.
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Post by voltage on Nov 2, 2006 14:36:25 GMT -5
You know halloween is gone, its once a year so im not sweatin it right now. Lets talk about something way more controversial, like butterball turkeys:world domination?
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Post by jagggar on Nov 2, 2006 15:11:35 GMT -5
It's kind of hard to say Halloween is gone on a board dedicated to Sci-Fi, Fantasy and the Supernatural.
But personally, Thanksgiving is one of my least favorite holidays. If we could just chop November out of the calender and go straight from Halloween to Christmas, I think that'd be awesome. Why don't I like it? Turkey is one of my least favorite meats, and I've been subjected to going to my Aunt's too many times. I'm just not comfortable there anymore.
Christmas and I have a very odd relationship. I'll be ranting about it sometime.
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Post by Shooshoo on Nov 2, 2006 15:21:58 GMT -5
I'm glad Halloween is over...but now we have Christmas to come and thanks to commercialism thats the most expensive holidays of them all!! oh by the way we in England don't celebrate Thanks Giving....but we do celebrate the night a bloke called Guy Fawke's tried to blow up the British parliment.... We have large bonfires and fire works and baked potaoes, hot soup and other scrummy stuff....its on November the 5th [ftp]http://www.guy-fawkes.com/[/ftp]
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Post by Mistress Rell on Nov 2, 2006 15:41:24 GMT -5
O.k, here's my take on it..... Celebrating Hallowe'en is strickly an American/Canadian tradition. England doesn't realy do it, and I just read a news story that France doesn't do it anymore either. And they started in 1990. Just about every culture acoss the planet has some kind of rite that honors the dead, but it doesn't always fall on October 31st. Hallwe'en--October 31. Pagans considedered NOvember 1 for Samhain, but Christians took it oer and called it All Saints Day, which became All Hallow's Eve---Hallwe'en. Christmas:December 25. Pgan Holiday of Yule was always celebrated on the Winter Equinox. When the calender changed from Roman to present (and the whole adding days to months and what not), Yule stayed on the Equinox, and Christmas stayed on the 25. Just about every symbol of chrstimas can be traced back to its Pagan origins. Except Greeting Cards.(Thank the Gods ) Easter: April 8th 2007 Jesus went to Jeruselm for Passover, where he was cricified (forgiv me if I get this wrong, I'm paraphrasing). What gets me is what does Bunnies and eggs and baby chicks have to do with that? Nothing. All are Pagan symolos for firtuility. Event he word Easter is direved from the Word Eoster. As in the Greek Goddess of spring. Y'all are just a bunch of Pagan at heart! This is also the reason Jehovah's Witness's don't celebrate the holidays.
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Post by jagggar on Nov 2, 2006 15:56:18 GMT -5
Exactly how is one supposed to pronounce the contracted version of Halloween?
What's the pagan origin of the manger?
Well, if you try to work it backwards, I think he was cruxified on Thrusday (there's a special name for it). Burried on Good Friday, and he resurrects on Sunday. Saturday's the actual Sabboth, but since Jesus rose on Sunday, that's when Christians worship. Then we go into Sunday being the Sun's Day, Monday being the Moon's Day, Saturday being Saturn's Day. . . .
Maybe we should just go and start a new topic?
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Post by voltage on Nov 2, 2006 16:26:31 GMT -5
It's kind of hard to say Halloween is gone on a board dedicated to Sci-Fi, Fantasy and the Supernatural. But personally, Thanksgiving is one of my least favorite holidays. If we could just chop November out of the calender and go straight from Halloween to Christmas, I think that'd be awesome. Why don't I like it? Turkey is one of my least favorite meats, and I've been subjected to going to my Aunt's too many times. I'm just not comfortable there anymore. Christmas and I have a very odd relationship. I'll be ranting about it sometime. Its just a joke jagggar, if you want to continue please by all means do.
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