Happy Halloween! [and all those other fun holidays]

[Kury Wagner]

The next few days encompass my favourite holidays, really. They are several holidays from different cultures, most of which relate to the celebration of death. Wait, before you say, 'wow, Kury, you're such a cheerful person,' back up a sec. It's not about encouraging death, it's about celebrating those that we have lost. There are two holidays that I personally celebrate around this time, each year.

The first, and biggest, would be Samhain: the Wiccan New Year. It is also known as the Feast of the Dead, the final harvest, and several other fun things like that. It's all about summer and lives coming to an end. Of our ancestors, friends, and loved ones, the ones that have passed this year are celebrated with gusto. Though, those that had passed in other years still get honored, as well. It is important to be close to family on Samhain, but it is also important to contemplate your place in life. On the Wheel of Year, Samhain is the second to last holiday [the next being Yule]. Its place on the Wheel represents your place in this life. As with the crops getting a final harvest, and being cleaned away, this is a time to clean your life out and start anew with the new year.

The second 'holiday' that I celebrate is Zaduszki; which is a Polish tradition of lighting candles for those who have passed. I will light a candle, say a short prayer or just think of a particular loved one, and go on with my day. Taking that minute aside is what counts. Part of the tradition is to visit the graves of loved ones, but that's not as convenient for me, as many of my passed relatives are in jars. Heh.

I'd like to also mention Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. Again, it is of the same concept. Honor the dead, spend time with your family, have a good feast. These holidays and more are all very important, very cool traditions, and even if you don't celebrate any, Halloween is still a very awesome holiday. Chances are, most of you did any celebrating you would've done last weekend, but still, try to make the next few days awesome. Try to think of someone you miss; maybe tell a friend a funny story about your grandfather or make that recipe your aunt taught you. Make the most of All Hallows Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day.

Happy Halloween, everyone.

[veemonjosh]

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaappy halloween!

[KuwabaraTheMan]

It's certainly a pretty significant day for a lot of cultures. I've never really gotten into the day all that much, since it doesn't really apply to me, but hopefully everyone who belongs to a culture or faith that places importance around it has a great day.

Didn't really do anything for Halloween this year. No time/money, and I really didn't care much to do anything this year.

[DBZNarutoWarrior]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!!

I just went to a few parties for Halloween this year. I also went to a farm with a haunted hayride, and corn maze (they do a good job too, I worked there one year, and it was awesome.... you get free stuff:p ).

[J-man]

That reminds me of the nationally acclaimed corn maze somewhere in Georgia...That would be a great way to spend Halloween. But even if you don't spend it there, have a happy Halloween, Samhain, Zaduszki, Dia de los Muertos, and/or any others I didn't mention. Hell, just enjoy yourselves!

[Elven Moon]

I will enjoy myself as I sit and watch movies all night - with two bags of candy for me, myself, and I :)

[Scythemantis]

Not only my Birthday, Halloween means a lot to me as a life-long monster enthusiast, and I've spent a fair amount of time studying its history and symbolism. Here's a few of my favorite myths and trivia to throw around:

-Despite ludicrous anti-Halloween propaganda spun by fanatics, the only form of sacrifice ever associated with the celebration was the sacrifice of fruit. Dark occult rituals are purely a modern Hollywood invention, much like the entire concept of "demon worship" itself. Sadly, this doesn't stop idiot teens from re-creating what they've seen in horror films, making Halloween a high time for pet disappearances.

-Many complex legends circulate about the origin of "Jack O' Lantern" and the practice of carving pumpkins, but the truth is a lot less romantic. Carving vegetables, originally turnips, is a British tradition that had little meaning beyond children's rainy-day craft time, while the term "Jack O' Lantern" actually referred to night watchmen. The first time a carved pumpkin was ever associated with Halloween or referred to by this name was in 1837 in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Twice Told Tales"

-The wicked witch from The Wizard of Oz was the first portrayal of a witch with a broom, green skin and a pointed hat.

-Poisoned or otherwise tainted Halloween hand-outs are an extremely rare hazard, and did not seem to begin at all until after the media hype of a single case. It was later proven that the parents in this case made the attempt to poison their own children and used Trick-or-treating to create a anonymous scapegoat.

-The concept of a lab assistant named "Igor" is extremely recent, actually stemming from Eye-gor in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein". The assistant in the 1931 "Frankenstein" was named Fritz, and neither name or character appeared in Mary Shelley's original book. Speaking of Frankenstein's monster, Shelley's original description of the creature was both handsome and literate, a muscular long-haired man who loved to read the classics. His monstrous aspects included glowing eyes and nearly transparent skin.

[Kury Wagner]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!!

I just went to a few parties for Halloween this year. I also went to a farm with a haunted hayride, and corn maze (they do a good job too, I worked there one year, and it was awesome.... you get free stuff:p ).Wow, certainly busy. xD

I went to a geeky party on Saturday, and just did a little ritual today. Not much for me. Of course, I'm sick right now, which hampers what exactly I can pull off. ><

[purplehairedwonder]

Happy Halloween everyone!

I did my Halloween thing on Monday when a few friends and I went to Netherworld, which is the #1 haunted house in the country this year. It was super scary but fun. Tonight I'll be watching live Ghost Hunters and studying for a test :sweat:

[Juu-kuchi]

Happy Halloween.

Sadly... the only things worth noting for me this Halloween are finishing a draft of a major paper to hand in tomorrow, and catching the conclusion to ImaginationLand.

[ThePeterNetwork]

In order to spare you the indignity of downloading a large graphic image of my face with sunglasses, humidity-curled hair, and a painted scar (resembling somewhat of an undead David Hasselhoff), I direct your attention to my ultimate cosplay webpage (http://pfay110705.fortunecity.com/cosplay.htm). Just scroll down to 2007 to find the pics.

That is, if you really want to see Undead David Hasselhoff, but I warn you, the pic is rather large. Like 640x480. I got it from my cellphone camera.

[ToOn~g@l]

Happy Halloween guys.

I'm gonna escort my kid neighbor around the block. I haven't trick or treated in a while either and if they misbehave I'll just take 75% of what they get.

JK I'm not that heartless.

[Rolling Cloud]

Happy Halloween everybody!

The only things to note for me, was I walked around the town center while my sister tricked-or-treated and I ate chinese food over a friend's house.

[J-man]

I'm down in Florida where we're getting a bunch of wind and rain from tropical storm Noel. Not so many trick-or-treaters at my door.:sad:

I guess I'll just devour candy!!!!

[Fresh V]

I hope everyone had a horrifically awesome Halloween! Once again, my house had the second best decorations in my area (the best house at decorating is just outrageously awesome), even though this year we put them up last minute today in like 20-30 minutes. =P I didn't get to carve a pumpkin this year, but I had a great time trick-or-treating with my friends. I got home like an hour and a half ago at 9:30. All this candy will last me a while.;)

[Stuckey]

I worked until 11PM and my wife is visiting her sister so no Halloween activities this year.

My mom was offering kids a choice of an apple, a banana or candy. She was genuinely shocked that every kid chose the candy. My mom is awesome.

[Chris Wood]

Happy Cavity Day!

[Lazerboy5000]

http://www.history.com/minisites/halloween/images/halloween_image.jpg

Happy Halloween Everyone.