First of all - thank you to everyone for comments about the church visit.
Then apologies, I know it's a couple of days early for a Halloween post but I don't post
on Sundays and tomorrow is my end of the month frugal bits post but I've added my Halloween things to the seasonal display shelf for a few days. Bats, pumpkin lights and the ceramic pumpkin.
For a few years.... when I was around 10 years old .....we had a piano. Someone gave me a beginners teach yourself piano book and I learned to play a little tune called Halloween Pumpkins. It started "Halloween Pumpkins are blinking, their candle lights are twinkling..............." can't remember any more!. Even though I could play the tune it wasn't because I'd learned to read music. Try as I might my brain wouldn't compute between the page and the notes on the piano so it was just learned off by heart with the names of the notes stuck on the keys.
Last time I had a hair cut Kirsty, my hairdresser, who lives just up the road told me that children around the village are keen on Halloween Trick or Treating so I'd better be prepared.
The origin of trick-or-treat is thought to be related to the
Christian practice of Soul-Caking which was held on All Soul's Day on
November 2nd. It's written about in the C17 but thought to be much
older. Soul caking involved children going around the village asking for
cakes in return for praying for the souls of departed loved ones.
Soul-Caking often took place after the All Souls Day carnival or parade
so the participants would be wearing costumes.
I've bought a bag of sweets to hand out and carved my very small bargain Aldi 59p pumpkin for outside the front door and will fix up my Halloween banner which came from a car-boot sale years ago. (Probably got it to give to Eldest Granddaughter but they moved to almost the end of a close so no one would see it outside now).
There's the boot-sale buys of the witches hat to put on when I open the door and the witches broom to shoo away the children!! I kept looking for a witches mask at boot sales but no luck. Some would say I don't need one!
I'm ready!
In my home city Groningen (the Netherlands) we celebrate St. Martin's Day on 11 November, where the children go from door to door with a selfmade lantern, sing a song, and get sweets. It always feels as if Halloween/trick-or-treating is Americanizing our strong local tradition!
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, the village we moved to in Belgium also celebrates St. Martin's Day, with a parade and a bonfire on 10 November. Both the city in NL as well as the village in B have a church dedicated to St. Martin in the centre.
Halloween didn't exist in this country until the mid/late 1980s. I used to say I would never join in but age has mellowed me!
DeleteYour decorations are nice for Autumn, I have no interested in decorating this year it will be hard to even but the tree up this year it's not been a good year for me, so once the year has been over I hope to change the way I feel.
ReplyDeleteIt been very windy in the night but have looked out and no damage thankfully. Hope it stays dry for there is several things outside in the village going on for the children.
Hazel ššššš
Yes 2022 has to be better. Very windy here too, leaves and twigs everywhere
DeleteI like your Halloween collection. I had a ceramic pumpkin which I passed on to my daughter when my grand-daughter was old enough to know about Halloween.
ReplyDeleteMy introduction to Halloween was in the early 80s when two teenage girls came to the door in the small village we'd just moved to. Obviously I wasn't prepared for it, but since, much later, some people I know had their pebble dashed house walls damaged with raw egg thrown at it, I am always prepared. Since moving here four years ago we don't get callers as we live on the edge of the village, but I always make sure we have treats which then go to my grand-daughters to enjoy. I don't like Halloween and wish the tradition had stayed in America.
My pottery pumpkin should have a candle in but there's not enough space to get a tea-light in it - which was probably why someone passed it onto a charity shop!
DeleteThis is the first place I've lived that there might be children round
It feels like it is going to be a three day Halloween weekend this year with children going around on anyone of the days. I have only a few sweets for the neighbours and when they are gone they are gone!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of that. I was only going to light and put my pumpkin out on Sunday
DeleteThis is the first year for ages that we might have some callers, I better get a few sweets in just in case. I know there are two children on our little close but others might travel. I have got some sweets to take to my youngest grandson (who's now 11 ... where did the years go!!) who we are seeing on Sunday, if we can get through the flooded roads to Cumbria.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend ... woo hoo. (That's me being a ghost!!)
This will be my first year ever for children as I know the two next door will visit
DeleteWe will get the trick-or-treaters on Sunday and I have my sacks of candy ready. I have an old plastic pumpkin that gets plugged in and put on my front porch so they know I am ready!
ReplyDeleteNow we race to the end of the year - Christmas decorations are out in the stores - yikes!
ASacks of candy! I've only got a small bag of sweets - will have to turn the lights out when they've all gone!
DeleteYour Halloween display looks great! Enjoy handing out treats. It's fun to see the costumes and happy children.
ReplyDeleteThat pumpkin mask is dead sary
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of answering a the door in a witch's hat, shooing the children away with your broom!
ReplyDeleteWe don't get many trick or treaters and I am sorry about that.
I really miss the days that our children were growing up and we got tons of trick or treaters at our door.
ReplyDeleteLove your frugal pumpking.
God bless.
Have a good day, passing out candy. We don't have beggars any more.
ReplyDeleteI'm ready for Halloween too. The children living on my street will come in full costume usually with their parents. I have almond, cranberry chocolate bars for them and a glass of wine or champs for the parents. Halloween is a bit over-the-top on my street. Like you, I bought 2 small pumpkins on sale and they sit by my front door. If it is cold everybody will come inside to visit and warm-up. All part of our tradition...
ReplyDeleteI find trick or treating a bit daunting now I'm in my 70s so put a printed sign on the door to say 'NO TRICK OR TREAT, THANKS ' although I did do it in reverse and took a bag of sweets to the small children across the road. They love Halloween but their mum won't let them go door to door and has taken them off on holiday over the weekend instead. I'm afraid my door will remain unopened this evening though. Enjoy your evening of frolics Sue š§♀️
ReplyDelete