Happy Halloween - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Flacolaco · 10-31-2007, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Halloween, or Hallowe'en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, Halloween festivals, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses", carving jack-o-lanterns, and viewing horror films. Halloween originated from the Pagan festival Samhain, celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain[citation needed]. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is now celebrated in several parts of the western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom and occasionally in parts of Australia and New Zealand.

The term Halloween (and its alternative rendering Hallowe'en) is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day",[1] also which is now known as All Saints' Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions,[2] until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunrise, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints' Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day. Liturgically, the Church traditionally celebrated that day as the Vigil of All Saints, and, until 1970, a day of fasting as well. Like other vigils, it was celebrated on the previous day if it fell on a Sunday, although secular celebrations of the holiday remained on the 31st. The Vigil was suppressed in 1955, but was later restored in the post-Vatican II calendar.

Many European cultural traditions, in particular Celtic cultures, hold that Halloween is one of the liminal times of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent (according to, for example, Catalan mythology about witches and Irish tales of the SÃ*dhe).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Is Halloween the most useless holiday for adults? For me, it is a complete non event, as we do not yet have children. I'm sure I will have more fun with it some day when I have kids but right now it just seems like a beating to me.

Keep your children safe tonight. There's a lot of crappy idiots out there who think messing with people on halloween is funny when they get drunk.

mcsluggo · 10-31-2007, 10:07 AM

I always loved halloween. As a kid, as a teen, as a college kid, as a "dink" (double income no kids), and now as a father.

How can you miss with a hodiday that by definition celebrates the dark and depravity?

Answer: you can't

Editorial Evidenceof one of the two halloween bonuses: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/36764

mcsluggo · 10-31-2007, 10:20 AM

as a side note... a town not far from here in Maryland has a giant pumpkin festival every autumn... a couple of weeks before halloween. It is really cool, sombody donates many thaousands of pupkins... they gut em, leave em on tables, and supply carving tools... then they lay em all out on the ground and on some scafolding they've set up and at nightfall they light 'em.

Its very cool, and hauntingly beautiful. Kids love it, adults love it. A no miss (they also have a bunch of games and bands and food and such). THEN, the next day you can swing by and pick up Jack-o-lanterns to take home. Cool.

the problem....... it is two weeks before halloween. Two weeks before you can reliably count on neighborhood teens to dutifully fill their role of speeding the natural pumpkin cycle by stealing your jackolantern and throwing off a bridge and smashing it to bits. THe situation at my house... I had set up some fake tombstones and spiderwebs in a corner of my yard, and I piled the dozen or so jack-o-lanterns on a stump and some logs in that general viscinity... two weeks ago. I should mention that the drout we'd been having in the Washington DC area abruptly ended about 10 days ago... with 9 straigt days of good rain... folowed by a real nice indian summer. Last night, I went out to light them (since it was halloween eve) and, well, they were DISGUSTING

two had completely collapsed into mosshair puddles of goo. the others had flies the size of Yugos lazily chomping away on them. I lit a candle in one that went out about every 15 seconds... as it repeadedly got covered in maggots that fell from the roof of the "pumpkin"... literly COVERED. Yum.

all that said... when they were lit........ they STILL looked WAY COOL! and the rotting mess in the midst of the "cemetary" looks pretty damn awesome in the dusk as well. I love halloween

alexamenos · 10-31-2007, 10:24 AM

mavs opening night + endless parade of snotty nosed kids begging for food = suck.

bah humbug.

Kirobaito · 10-31-2007, 10:38 AM

Two unrelated events have supplemented each other.

I planned on wearing my Dirk jersey today, so now I have a costume. I'm Dirk! I have the chin patch and everything. Except the blonde hair. Too bad I only have two classes today to show off my wares.

mcsluggo · 10-31-2007, 10:49 AM

my oldest daughter, who is in kindergarten, came home from school yesterday with a flier announcing that there was going to be a kindergartener parade of costumes today... she was sooooooooo excited! She told me she wanted to be a two headed monster with one head (her head) being the devil, with a red face, black lips, sharp teeth, drawn on mean pointy eybrows and a pointy beard, and blood capsules in her mouth. SHe wanted her other head to be a dead meer-cat -- details to be disclosed at a later time. I am not making this up... this is what SHE said... I was soooo proud.... she GETS halloween, she really REALLY gets it!

Then I read the notification. Costumes are not to be scary. (NOT TO BE SCARY??!??? on Halloween) THere will be no make-up, or masks, or accessories (my middle daughter wanted to pe a fairy princess... and cried when we had to take awy her dangerous wand).

My wife had to run off to target in the middle of the night and buy a costume for my daughter without her input, she bought two- to give her an option... she ended up being a parrot (over a cute little horsie)

<sigh>

Flacolaco · 10-31-2007, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Then I read the notification. Costumes are not to be scary. (NOT TO BE SCARY??!??? on Halloween) THere will be no make-up, or masks, or accessories (my middle daughter wanted to pe a fairy princess... and cried when we had to take awy her dangerous wand)

Are you freaking kidding me??

What has this society come to....

u2sarajevo · 10-31-2007, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

Are you freaking kidding me??

What has this society come to....

That's nothing (although still silly). Schools don't have Christmas parties anymore. When my kids were in public school a few years ago they would call the parties before Christmas break "Holiday" parties. You know, to be PC. Then last year they changed the name to "Winter party" because some liberal complained to the school board that "Holiday" meant "Holy day". CANT HAVE THAT! So it was changed.

Big Boy Laroux · 10-31-2007, 11:14 AM

flaco, even though you don't have kids, halloween is still enjoyable. i always though halloween parties were fun, if for nothing else than to see all the "slutty" variations on normal costumes. Girls can't just be a pirate - they have to be a "slutty" pirate. or a slutty nurse, or slutty nun (Murph's favorite costume), or slutty grandmother.

but i echo your sentiment about safety. I believe Halloween is the third most celebrated day (alcohol-wise, after New Year's and the Superbowl), which of course leads to higher drunk-driving incidents. at least halloween is on a week-day this year, but that doesn't necessarily make it any less dangerous. but there were cops out in full force in nashville this past saturday night.

we're taking our daughter trick-or-treating for the first time (although not serious door-to-door for 3 hours trick-or-treating, she's only 4 months - we're just going to a friend's house, who also has a 4-month old, and will hit a few houses). She's going as a pig. Seriously, her costume looks just like this:

well, except baby-sized.

MavsX · 10-31-2007, 11:15 AM

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddly...ddlyEnoughNews

crazy russians

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow schools have been ordered to ban students from celebrating Halloween despite the widespread popularity of the imported festival to Russia.

Halloween is being forced underground because it "includes religious elements, the cult of death, the mockery of death," a spokesman for the city's education department Alexander Gavrilov said Wednesday.

"It's not an attempt to block the celebration of this holiday completely, just in schools and colleges," he added.

Pumpkins and images of witches are widespread across Russia, with many bars organizing special fancy dress parties, despite the efforts of the Kremlin, and especially the Russian Orthodox Church, to curb enthusiasm for non-native festivities.

"This is destructive for the minds and the spiritual and moral health of pupils," said Gavrilov.

Flacolaco · 10-31-2007, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Boy Laroux

flaco, even though you don't have kids, halloween is still enjoyable. i always though halloween parties were fun, if for nothing else than to see all the "slutty" variations on normal costumes. Girls can't just be a pirate - they have to be a "slutty" pirate. or a slutty nurse, or slutty nun (Murph's favorite costume), or slutty grandmother.

we're taking our daughter trick-or-treating for the first time (although not serious door-to-door for 3 hours trick-or-treating, she's only 4 months - we're just going to a friend's house, who also has a 4-month old, and will hit a few houses). She's going as a pig. Seriously, her costume looks just like this:

Yeah....I guess we just don't know a lot of people who do much on Halloween. None of our friends had parties or anything come to think of it.

Luckily this year, there's a Stars game to go to. But in all fairness to the Stars, I will have my radio tuned to 103.3 FM tonight, struggling to react to Mavericks plays and Stars happenings.

MavsX · 10-31-2007, 11:22 AM

enjoy fellow dallas-mavs.com peoples

harry potter!

AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE .....

Big Boy Laroux · 10-31-2007, 11:33 AM

That birth one, and the harry potter one are great!

yeah, flaco, you have to have friends to go to parties.

my wife and i actually met at a halloween party. she and her roommates would hold a party each year, with a theme and everything. The year we met, they did a scooby-doo theme. She was scooby-doo (no, she's not dog-ugly.

), and her friends were the rest of the gang. They even decorated her 4Runner as the Mystery Machine.

The guests didn't have to be scooby-doo related. So I went as Fletch, from the basketball scene (he is actually 6'5", with the afro 6'9"). you can get a lot of mileage out of an afro wig - yes, the same one seen in the lovely avatar you guys get to look at on my posts every day. I've also used it for a generic 70's look (that's where the avatar picture came from), richard simmons (including short tight shorts - yes, a scary sight), and Bob Ross (the "happy trees" painting guy).

alexamenos · 10-31-2007, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by u2sarajevo

.... Schools don't have Christmas parties anymore. When my kids were in public school a few years ago they would call the parties before Christmas break "Holiday" parties. You know, to be PC. Then last year they changed the name to "Winter party" because some liberal complained to the school board that "Holiday" meant "Holy day". CANT HAVE THAT! So it was changed.

they have to do this because religious people are always trying to impose their morals on other people....

[/irony]

sike · 10-31-2007, 12:51 PM

Happy Reformation Day!!!

fluid.forty.one · 10-31-2007, 02:44 PM

Happy First Game of the Mavericks Season Day!

MavsX · 10-31-2007, 04:13 PM

woo hoo.

MavsX · 10-31-2007, 04:14 PM

can someone remind me to call my dad tomorrow, it's his birthday.

Thanks,

MavsX

Flacolaco · 10-31-2007, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MavsX

can someone remind me to call my dad tomorrow, it's his birthday.

Thanks,

MavsX

You need an outlook calendar at work, or a wife. Either one of those would do the job pretty equally.

sike · 10-31-2007, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

You need an outlook calendar at work, or a wife. Either one of those would do the job pretty equally.

I find that Outlook is better at the calendaring and the wife is better at the loving...I know you primarily use the computer for both of these, flaco, but trust me on this one.

jthig32 · 10-31-2007, 04:17 PM

Dangit Sike, I can only spread the Rep around so much.....

sike · 10-31-2007, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MavsX

can someone remind me to call my dad tomorrow, it's his birthday.

Thanks,

MavsX

I was just watching the fat guy's belly knock over the other less fat guy...and I realized something...there is no reason for the second guy to fall over...he basically launches himself out of his chair...I think the whole thing was staged for comedy

u2sarajevo · 10-31-2007, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sike

I was just watching the fat guy's belly knock over the other less fat guy...and I realized something...there is no reason for the second guy to fall over...he basically launches himself out of his chair...I think the whole thing was staged for comedy

Man.... not much gets by you, does it?

sike · 10-31-2007, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by u2sarajevo

Man.... not much gets by you, does it?

your words cut pretty deep.

Dirkgreatness · 10-31-2007, 06:14 PM

For some reason it doesn't feel like its halloween. =/

MavsX · 10-31-2007, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

You need an outlook calendar at work, or a wife. Either one of those would do the job pretty equally.

well the problem with that is my work switched from outlook to groupwise about 3-4 years ago. This was back when outlook was more susceptible to viruses..and now novell is going under, so we are in the process of planning a bloody migration from groupwise back to outlook..

in case you wondering..groupwise doesn't support the cool meetings options. For instance, sending out an invite to a meeting, and having people reply back with a yes or no. You can just create appointments and crap..it sucks...

mary · 10-31-2007, 09:57 PM

My favorite part about the birthing costume is the pink headband the "baby" is wearing. Hilarious.

Dirkadirkastan · 10-31-2007, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sike

I was just watching the fat guy's belly knock over the other less fat guy...and I realized something...there is no reason for the second guy to fall over...he basically launches himself out of his chair...I think the whole thing was staged for comedy

He even pushes off the table.

MavsX · 11-01-2007, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mary

My favorite part about the birthing costume is the pink headband the "baby" is wearing. Hilarious.

haha, yeah i like that part too...on real women..

Flacolaco · 11-01-2007, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mary

My favorite part about the birthing costume is the pink headband the "baby" is wearing. Hilarious.

I thought the very long curly hair around the headband was a little disturbing.