Why was the pagan festival of Halloween embraced so enthusiatically in the USA when such a large proportion of the population are fundamental christians?
Also, why has the UK followed suit but only in the last 15-20 years? We have always celebrated Halloween here, but it was never this big and commercial.
2006-10-30 21:31:36 · 14 answers · asked by SteveNaive 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Halloween
The popularity of this festival has far less to do with the old pagan "thing" than some would care to believe---It is more of a FUN day here in the USA than anything to do with pagan rituals and the like--- It is a time where people get an opportunity to dress up crazy--see others doing the same--partake in some super good sweets and treats and just generally have a great time----
The origns of this thing was back in the All Saints' Day thing and was a kind of "kick off" to the harvesting of Falls bounties and a celebration of THAT more than anything else-- except for the nurds who see themselves as genuine hellions and get together to do all sorts of mischief out of a sense that they HAVE TO in order to be Real Hellions !!!
The Brits that observe this thing are just people who want to get involved with having some of this action for themselves--- and rightfully so----everybody ought to have at least one CANDY DAY on their schedule every single year !!!!!
2006-10-30 21:53:04 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I reckon it's taken so long to catch on here because of the weather! I grew up in the US and Halloween was always just good clean fun. We dressed up, we went trick or treating with all our friends. We got loads of candy which mom made us ration. Sometimes we went to a party or a haunted house. You got to be scarey or dirty or messy instead of all nice and beautiful like every other holiday. It wasn't a huge deal but it was fun. So now I'm trying to recreate a bit of that here (in the UK) for my kid but the bl***y weather is so unpredictable - if it pours down tonight they are going to be so dissapointed! No wonder you never bothered for all those years.
2006-10-31 06:17:42 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a theory that if magic and mysticism is lampooned enough not only with things like Halloween, but also with TV programs like Buffy or Movies, then people willnot see the real magic which works on a far more subtle level.
This then plays into the hands of the fundamentalists.
2006-10-31 05:40:55 · answer #3 · answered by voodoobluesman 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
heh. well, uh, my theory is that all christian holidays blanket pagan ones... i few examples are christmas (yule) easter (beltaine) halloween (samhain) but in reality i believe halloween customs were just passed down until most people saw it just as family custom rather than religion and just innocently kept it around even while often turning to christian faith. then maybe someone realized its marketability and exploited it for profit. most churchs do not support halloween. in fact tomorrow my husband's church will celebrate a version of halloween for the first time simple bc the can not get the children to stop supporting the holiday and they will stoop to any level to have the children at church that day, even if it means sacraficing their belief. christians as a majority as just sad individuals. no offense, thus the as a majority.
2006-10-31 05:45:02 · answer #4 · answered by Andrea 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Welcome to commercialism... Where there's money to be made, everything goes crazy! It's the way the world works... Look at Coca-cola changing Santa's green coat to red just because it's their logo colour - and the whole world follows suit. I doubt half of today's youth even understand the beginnings of such holidays...
2006-10-31 05:34:30 · answer #5 · answered by Vix P 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Thats just the point-its all commercial and about trying to make money!
In th eUk i have definatly seen more companies using Halloween to sell more sweets, costumes, etc.
We also have a grandparents day, teachers day, pets day (i think)
its all about the money.
2006-10-31 05:35:17 · answer #6 · answered by curiosity 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We celebrate it here but no where near do we make an effort like the americans. We were in Florida last Halloween and i thought it was brill all the houses decorated it was out of this world, Come on britain make an effort.
2006-10-31 05:37:20 · answer #7 · answered by textkitten 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Halloween has been celebrated in Scotland for a very long time.
It is not anti-Christian if you are really a Christian; is it?
Any excuse for a party!
2006-10-31 05:41:02 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
well its obviously taken us alot longer to jump onto the idiot bandwagon that is any ridiculous holiday going, plus its any excuse for a piss up and party that is the british way which is always the best
2006-10-31 05:38:37 · answer #9 · answered by sarah c 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Simply because it is fun.Come and join the party.
Happy Halloween :)
2006-10-31 05:41:04 · answer #10 · answered by eva b 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋