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[psyched_out]

Hi everyone, I'm back. I've had a lot of stuff I could write about, but it was one of those strange writer's blocks where I never knew where to start so I just shut up about it. In the past 6 weeks or so, I could've written about:

- the adventures of Japanese class
- the inlaws' visit to America
- A-chan's birthday party at Sotto Sotto-

Comments

[bolshy_spice]

Sadly the erosion of Hallowe'en is happening on this side of the pond too. It's never been massive in the UK (it's seen as an American import), however it's always been a strong tradition in Ireland, with our own weird customs like apple-bobbing.

My mother in Dublin was complaining that hardly any kids call round anymore, but she still buys loads of sweets just in case. No kids came round to my Edinburgh flat. Oh well.

I just don't think kids get any freedom anymore. I'm only 27 yet I had much more independence as a kid. Provided my mother knew roughly where I was and I was home for meals, I could wander about unsupervised with my friends. And I grew up in the middle of the city, not some idealised rural backwater. These days kids are escorted everywhere by the their parents. Everyone's so afraid. Is the world really any more dangerous? It can't be. Although if I had kids myself maybe I'd be just as nervous. I dunno...

Your observation about the bags though - when I was a kid we just used regular plastic bags and all the effort went into the costumes. Well, it was Ireland in the 1980's, pre-"celtic tiger", and no-one had any money! :-)

My friends John and Fiona have a kid who's nearly three and this is the first year he's been properly conscious of and excited by Hallowe'en. It was so cute to see that when I was in Dublin at the weekend. Perhaps all is not lost.

[psyched_out]

Ah, apple-bobbing is an Irish thing? It was done in America, at least according to my beloved Charlie Brown special, but kids' Halloween parties are an even harder thing to revive these days, I'd suspect.

As I alluded to above, many times when the subject of Halloween gets brought up, I hear either responses that its unsafe due to the fear of some neighborhood psychopath doctoring up the candy he's giving out, or else that people just want to go to church/truck or treat (I can't even write the latter without feeling embarrassed) since you can get all the candy you want there. Funny that a lot of the latter are people that feel that American traditions are being degraded, yet they are okay with killing this one off. Maybe they look at the concept of children wandering around demanding goods at no cost to be too anti-capitalist?? That could be a good thesis...

Re: the bags, it didn't bother me that kids use stuff like plastic bags, at least not nearly as much as the other two examples I gave out. And I was a little ambiguous in my comment on the girl with the Coach bag (Coach being a luxury item bag maker here, not sure if its as well known in Europe but its sorta in the Louis Vuitton category), in that it wasn't a shopping bag from Coach but an actual $300-or-so bag that she was asking people to put their Hersheys and Kit Kats into. Granted it was probably a knockoff, but even still...

I will recruit your friends' child to help me in my platform to Take Back Halloween. Together we shall change the world!