FelixLeiter007 wrote:I heard about some lads in Liverpool bricking a bus.
Isn't that just like any other day in Liverpool??
I've heard on the news about the greater need for policing on Hallowe'en, that some cities have minibuses full of coppers driving round the streets keeping an eye out for ASBO kids and the like but to be honest, while that's been on national UK news, I've never heard it being a particular problem in my part of the world. And while I can perfectly understand that not only does it ruin Hallowe'en for some, it taints it with an ugly, problematic brush. But the kids that will cause trouble on Hallowe'en are the same kids that will hang around street corners with a bottle of cider bricking buses anyway - sure higher profile policing might be needed in some cities during Hallowe'en, but maybe if the bloody system dealt with these anti-social louts on the other 364 days of the year we might not have that problem.
Anyway...
Hallowe'en. In Scotland it's never been a big deal in terms of decorated houses (never seen one), but it dates way back - as Mo points out it's a Celtic pagan festival - and we do get the guisers going round the houses. It's called guising up here and the tradition is that the kids perform some sort of entertainment (song, joke, whatever) and if it's enjoyed by the host, of course it always is, they're rewarded with sweets. There's no tradition of "trick or treat" up here. At parties and the like, the tradition of dooking for apples (trying to grab an apple out of a bucket of water with your teeth) and retreiving, again with your teeth, a treacle-coated scone swinging on a string while blindfolded, were the games of the day.
Where I live, generaly the guisers visiting are limited to the kids from the street (all 12 of) and last night that's just who came. Not only is it a good way to be neighbourly and build good relations with the kids (and parents) in the area, but you do get some terrific bits of gossip from their accompying folks
As for it eclipsing Guy Fawkes Night, it always did up here as Guy Fawkes is essentially an English celebration (post-union of crowns, pre-union of parliaments) but in the last few years - actually since the Millenium - it's become A LOT more popular up here, so much so that on Sunday night the sky will light up and the ground will shake like downtown Baghdad on Shock & Awe night - and that's just a small coastal town.
I actually read, much to my disgust, on the BBC website the other day that "Halloween celebrations in the UK were repopularised in the 1980s with influence from America". Garbage. Repopularised in England perhaps, but it didn't need re-energising up here from America or anyone else. I've also heard that carved pumpkins have only become popular here in recent years due to their use in the US. Again, garbage. Pumpkins are far more available than they ever were, but I remember carrying out a carved turnip when I was 5 - it originated in Scotland and was shipped to America.
As for apostrophes, that's the way I grew up spelling it, it doesn't bother me if it's used or not but, unlike jetset, I've not sold out
(A belated) Happy Hallowe'en everyone! [img=http://www.alphabetgirls.com/forums/images/smiles/VPunky.gif]
Last edited by Moonraker 5 (1st Nov 2006 10:52)