I think Halloween actually means the Eve of All Hallows (or souls) - which was one of the feast days in the old pre reformation calendar. So 'celebration' of this date is a very old tradition.
The notion of dressing up as ghosts and vampires & banging on peoples doors demanding sweets etc is, however, a peculiarly American import / version of the celebration.
We never acknowledged Halloween as children but my northern husband said that they used (50+ years ago) to have 'mischief' night on this date when they would play silly pranks such as ringing the door bell & running away. Lovely......bah humbug.....
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Halloween most definitely started in Scotland then to Ireland & then on to America. In Scotland (certainly the part I'm from), it's traditional to go guising - where you dress up and go round your neighbours & they try to guess who you are. Most people ask you to entertain them with a song or a poem & then you get sweeties etc in return.
Because I'm bored I also feel the need to pick up on Mike's comment that the use of Xmas is an American import.
This abbreviation is derived from the greek Chi-Rho (I think letters X & P) which have been used as the abbreviation for Christ for over 1000 years. When I'm not in the garden I spend my time transcribing pre-reformation wills and the abbreviation 'X' crops up all the time in the words xmas, xtian, xopher meaning christmas, christian and the name christopher respectively. Wikipedia says (so must be true - LOL) that Xine and Exine were both 17th and 18th century names (= Christine) but I have not come across those myself.
So, far from being a modern American import, the use of this particular abbreviation is a very old export from the UK. Similarly, some old english words such as 'trash' (meaning rubbish) remain in common use in America with their original meaning - but we hear them and think of them as Americanised terms.
Having sent you all off to sleep I shall now go & make jam with the last of my summer fruit (making room in the freezer for Xmas goodies... )
Apologies for deviating from original thread but am feeling in a pedantic mood this morning!
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Topbird-Please don't feel the need to apologise, the off topic was introduced by someone else, you answered the complaint. And interesting information seems always to be welcome on this forum and certainly is by me
Felt I got a good deal on some tulips and alliums from the sarah raven website. Now I have to plant 100+ bulbs. Not forgetting the six pots of tete a tetes I got from Butters.
N o w you've really p....d on my bonfire do you mean they don't have mischief night anymore ? ?????¿¿¿
At least that explains the funny looks I got when I rang the doorbells after I tied a rope on two opposite facing doors . .................. and ran away
So next year it will be trick n treat like all the rest , hope there's no age limit
Posts
The notion of dressing up as ghosts and vampires & banging on peoples doors demanding sweets etc is, however, a peculiarly American import / version of the celebration.
We never acknowledged Halloween as children but my northern husband said that they used (50+ years ago) to have 'mischief' night on this date when they would play silly pranks such as ringing the door bell & running away. Lovely......bah humbug.....
Mischievous night
I might have participated but did have to be home by 6pm 
Halloween most definitely started in Scotland then to Ireland & then on to America. In Scotland (certainly the part I'm from), it's traditional to go guising - where you dress up and go round your neighbours & they try to guess who you are. Most people ask you to entertain them with a song or a poem & then you get sweeties etc in return.
Because I'm bored
I also feel the need to pick up on Mike's comment that the use of Xmas is an American import.
This abbreviation is derived from the greek Chi-Rho (I think letters X & P) which have been used as the abbreviation for Christ for over 1000 years. When I'm not in the garden I spend my time transcribing pre-reformation wills and the abbreviation 'X' crops up all the time in the words xmas, xtian, xopher meaning christmas, christian and the name christopher respectively. Wikipedia says (so must be true - LOL) that Xine and Exine were both 17th and 18th century names (= Christine) but I have not come across those myself.
So, far from being a modern American import, the use of this particular abbreviation is a very old export from the UK. Similarly, some old english words such as 'trash' (meaning rubbish) remain in common use in America with their original meaning - but we hear them and think of them as Americanised terms.
Having sent you all off to sleep I shall now go & make jam with the last of my summer fruit (making room in the freezer for Xmas goodies...
)
Apologies for deviating from original thread but am feeling in a pedantic mood this morning!
Topbird-Please don't feel the need to apologise, the off topic was introduced by someone else, you answered the complaint. And interesting information seems always to be welcome on this forum and certainly is by me
Dorset -
That's really interesting Topbird. I hate the shortening of Christmas to Xmas. I never use it....oops I just have
and now I can't blame it on the Americans...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Felt I got a good deal on some tulips and alliums from the sarah raven website. Now I have to plant 100+ bulbs. Not forgetting the six pots of tete a tetes I got from Butters.
Dove, do you get their newsletter?
Oh dear Topbird
N o w you've really p....d on my bonfire
do you mean they don't have mischief night anymore ? ?????¿¿¿
At least that explains the funny looks I got when I rang the doorbells after I tied a rope on two opposite facing doors . .................. and ran away
So next year it will be trick n treat like all the rest , hope there's no age limit
Especially for topbird and Fairygirl & all the other lovely people I've 'met' on this forum over the last 2+ years....
Wishing you all that you would wish for yourselves.