In Brittany however, we traditionally celebrate the Samain (Irish Samhain), despite the efforts of the Church to turn this folklore festival into a Catholic experience.
Yeah, Samhain is the way Halloween ought to be -- brooding and scary (at least, that's how it was back in the day). I don't know what a modern Samhain celebration would be like,though. No animal or human sacrifices, I'm sure
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In Sweden we imported Halloween some years ago. We celebrate it with decorations, candy begging, mischief, horrormovies and parties! Its very fun ^^
See, I would have never guessed this. That's awesome
. How is Halloween understood? As a novelty that is largely foreign, or as something that has become interwoven with Swedish culture? Is there a "Swedish twist" on Halloween... you know, by tapping into the history and culture of Sweden?
I personally can't stand Halloween here in the states; it was awesome as hell when I was a kid (who doesn't remember dressing up as a bum at the last minute because you didn't have a costume?) but now that I'm an adult it's just an excuse for people to dress up like dipshits and get drunk.
Oh, I totally agree. Thankfully, with my daughter, I celebrate Halloween as a kid would
I never dressed up as a bum, but I loved dressing up as a lady (this might not surprise you). Fake eyelashes, wig, pantyhose... awesome. When I was a kid, it was the one day out of the year when you could get away with stuff like that
. My aunt and grandma donated their old wigs to me... they looked pretty good for being 15 years old.
Anyway, that reminds me: My brother, who kicks ass, always thought that the college year books were even more pathetic than high school yearbooks... so he wasn't even going to bother getting his picture taken for his graduation. But then, in a moment of inspiration, he suddenly changed his mind and went to the photoshoot.
He wouldn't tell me why he suddenly changed his mind. I forgot about it.
Then the glorious day arrived when his college year book arrived. My mom and I, being the girls that we are, flipped through all the pages to see the kids we knew.
When I got to my brother's picture, I almost died: He was wearing one of the old wigs I used to wear during Halloween, BACKWARDS, on his head. At this point, the wig was pushin' 30 years of age.