HAPPY Halloween?

[John]

Do you ever get tired of all the negative, gory, and violent images that surround halloween?
How would you like to attend a positive and HAPPY halloween event?

We are considering having a pot luck HAPPY Halloween party at the Peaceful Assembly Church.
For this halloween event you don't have to dress up, but if you do dress up (and you are encouraged to) the idea is to dress up as one of your favorite NONVIOLENT heroes.

If we do hold this event, what would be the best early evening to hold it? What night is trick or treat night?

[PattyLee loves dogs]

Would there be any interest in a party at my place in Plainfield on Sat 30th; do not believe I could compete (or want to) with John's  potluck. I am interested in this too. Could it be on Friday the 29th?

[John]

Friday the 29th should work. We could do it as part of our regular Friday Family Fun Night.

[Russell Kanning]

so are we doing just one party at patties? or both?

[dalebert]

You know how a lot of people are upset that Christmas has become muddled over the years?  Some are upset that Santa Clause upstages Jesus.  Others are upset that people say "Happy Holidays" in order not to offend Jews or atheists.  I feel the same way about Halloween.  It's my favorite holiday.  I love the campy cheesiness of plastic Halloween decorations, Jack-o-lanters, people jumping out of shadows to scare people who paid $5 to walk through a maze made out of plywood, black plastic sheeting, strobe lights, and fog machines.

The origins of any holiday tend to have some controversy surrounding them and who knows what Halloween is "supposed" to be about.  I've read it's about getting the sinful stuph out of your system the day before All Hallows Day or All Saints Day when you're supposed to be saintly.  People dressed up as witches, demons, and just about anything as completely not saintly as they could imagine and partied their asses off.  All my life to my understanding, it was about those generally unsavory things, though of course it was all a joke and not meant to be taken too seriously.  Meanwhile it's always been muddled up with the notion of dressing up as just about anything other than yourself.  Last year I declared I would dress up as something definitely "Halloween-themed".  This year, before I had even heard about this party, I swore I would never again choose a "non-Halloween" costume for a Halloween event.

That said, we obviously all need to loosen up and be a lot lest purist about how different people choose to celebrate (or not) different holidays.  Let's not worry about whether someone has a manger or an eletric-glowing Santa and reindeer in their yards.  It's great that there are different events to suit different people.  Fortunately, I know no ones going to pressure me to attend this TOTALLY OFFENSIVE AND BLASPHEMOUS event!   

I hope you guys have a blast.  Anyone know of any parties where they'll have a bouncer at the door for anyone dressed like LIttle Bo Peep with a stuffed sheep under his arm?

[Free libertarian]

^^^ How does it go again, if you hold the sheep under your right arm it means one thing, under your left arm another, no wait that's that thing about earrings, never mind.   

[Sam A. Robrin]

In Oklahoma, just the fact that he's holding a sheep tell you all you need to know...

[MaineShark]

The origins of any holiday tend to have some controversy surrounding them and who knows what Halloween is "supposed" to be about.  I've read it's about getting the sinful stuph out of your system the day before All Hallows Day or All Saints Day when you're supposed to be saintly.  People dressed up as witches, demons, and just about anything as completely not saintly as they could imagine and partied their asses off.  All my life to my understanding, it was about those generally unsavory things, though of course it was all a joke and not meant to be taken too seriously.  Meanwhile it's always been muddled up with the notion of dressing up as just about anything other than yourself.  Last year I declared I would dress up as something definitely "Halloween-themed".  This year, before I had even heard about this party, I swore I would never again choose a "non-Halloween" costume for a Halloween event.

Largely, it's a conflation of All Saints Day (Christian) and Samhain (Celtic Pagan), due to the proximity of the Christians and the Celts in Europe.

Samhain is actually more similar to Thanksgiving; it celebrates the harvest, and the end of the growing season.  Due to the death of the crops, and many animals and plants, with the first real cold (Celts would celebrate at the first frost, not some specific date), it was believed that the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead was weakened.  Folks would dress up as the dead in order to confuse any malicious spirits which might try to trick the living into going back with them.

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Joe

[John]

That said, we obviously all need to loosen up and be a lot lest purist ...

... I hope you guys have a blast. ...

Who is this we you speak of? Some of us are quite loosened up and not quite such purists already. 
This is just another choice. Just another choice. 

Thanks. I'm sure we will. And the same to you.   

[dalebert]

Who is this we you speak of?

Alright, IAN.    I should have said "lots of ppl".

[John]

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Another belief is that in the-days-of-old all hallows eve was the time when the veil between the earth and the spirit word was thinest, and that it was a time for new beginnings. Some people would dress up and make commitments to be something better in the year to come.

I think that this is where the idea of dressing as ones heroes comes from.

And now you know (some) of the rest of...

[John]

Who is this we you speak of?

Alright, IAN.    I should have "lots of ppl".

Hey that reminds me. I've been meaning to listen to Free Talk Live some time again soon.
I hope all of you guys are well.

[Russell Kanning]

well .... maybe next  year we can have some people do a lecture series on the subject.

[John]

so are we doing just one party at patties? or both?

I think two. Friday the 29th at the Grafton church, and Saturday the 30th at Patty's in Plainfield.
What time would yours be Patty?
We are not to formal about our times here at the church, but Friday Family Fun Night has been running from around 6 to 9 (Shhhh. Some of us went until after 10 one Friday night).

[dalebert]

Hey that reminds me. I've been meaning to listen to Free Talk Live some time again soon.
I hope all of you guys are well.

Well, I was the host Friday and Sunday.  You should listen to those.