The sociology of Hallowe'en OR How to make a witch itch
So, All Hallow's Eve is over. Despite it being widely celebrated in Edinburgh, I mostly concentrated on the preparation for my first exam (statistics - booohoooh). However, my housemates and I decided to buy some sweets just in case someone happened to ring our doorbell, so I got a little something on my way back from uni yesterday.
As it turned out, no one rings doorbells in our neighbourhood. They pre-arrange in whose house children can get something.
In the end, I positioned myself in our lit main entrance and thus drew some children's attention as they walked by. So they came in small groups, usually with a parent or two waiting on the street, and asked me the joke question they'd learned by heart:
'How do you make a witch itch?'
-'You take away the W!'
'Where do ghosts go when they want to send off a letter?'
-'To the ghost office!'
Two sang me a song, and one girl had prepared a poem she claimed to have thought of herself.
I almost found the parents in the background more interesting than the dressed up children (vampires, witches and ghosts, you know the deal). 'Have you said thank you?' 'Look, the lady over there is waiting for you!'
One of them I happen to know by sight asked me 'Do you want some children?'
Hm... Is Hallowe'en mainly fun for the children (as most would claim) or aren't there other aspects to it?
I dare say that neighbourhood relations, showing off one's children, socialising amongst the adults, and dwelling in old memories of one's own childhood have a similar importance. Even though it was fun, I didn't primarily distribute the sweets for the children's sake but to show that even if we're a student household, we're still interested in a friendly relationship with our neighbours.
Here's my new journal made out of fluffy wool:
As it turned out, no one rings doorbells in our neighbourhood. They pre-arrange in whose house children can get something.
In the end, I positioned myself in our lit main entrance and thus drew some children's attention as they walked by. So they came in small groups, usually with a parent or two waiting on the street, and asked me the joke question they'd learned by heart:
'How do you make a witch itch?'
-'You take away the W!'
'Where do ghosts go when they want to send off a letter?'
-'To the ghost office!'
Two sang me a song, and one girl had prepared a poem she claimed to have thought of herself.
I almost found the parents in the background more interesting than the dressed up children (vampires, witches and ghosts, you know the deal). 'Have you said thank you?' 'Look, the lady over there is waiting for you!'
One of them I happen to know by sight asked me 'Do you want some children?'
Hm... Is Hallowe'en mainly fun for the children (as most would claim) or aren't there other aspects to it?
I dare say that neighbourhood relations, showing off one's children, socialising amongst the adults, and dwelling in old memories of one's own childhood have a similar importance. Even though it was fun, I didn't primarily distribute the sweets for the children's sake but to show that even if we're a student household, we're still interested in a friendly relationship with our neighbours.
Here's my new journal made out of fluffy wool: