Just wondering. Tomorrow is Halloween , yet I see some people taking the kids out tonight. I was wondering why? Religious reasons? If so, shouldn't Christian's not celebrate this holiday? Just asking and thinking out loud.
Weird! I only saw some kids in costume today because friends posted their pictures from their kids' school Halloween parties. No kids in town, though I was only out for about 15 minutes to pick the kid up from work. All of our town's activities will be tomorrow. I wonder what it might have been, too. No religious reason that I can think of. When I was growing up my church did have a party at church on Halloween night to give kids an alternative activity if they didn't participate in Halloween, but it was at the same time that trick-or-treating took place.
Let us know if you do hear why it was tonight, now I'm curious, too.
I did ask someone once, but don't hold me to this because I don't know how accurate this claim is. They said it's rooted in the churches. Some of the trick or treating done on the 30th is directly tied to old dates of years past where the more religious towns absolutely refused to do anything Halloween when Halloween fell on a Sunday, but still wanted to do the festivities anyway on another. Some towns apparently kept the 30th date as their own Halloween date and continue to do it today.
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
Oh, also, some communities do plan ahead when rotten weather is expected. Some places/churches here in MI held their community Halloween dealies last night in anticipation of the shitty weather today. It's possible if you're expecting crappy weather as well that people in your area decided to do it last night also.
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
The weather thing makes sense, too. I just read online that one of the towns near us "extended" trick-or-treat hours to include tomorrow afternoon since it was raining and yucky out for most of their hours. We lucked out and the rain stopped here just a couple of minutes after T-o-T'ing started so it was slow at first, but it did pick up and we ended up with more kids than we expected coming out and braving the weather. Though not as many as we were prepared for. I still have 3 huge unopened bags of candy, half of the bowl for handing out, and the kid's haul, too.
Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.
Over here in France we celebrate on the 31st and visit the graves of our loved ones and place flowers whilst taking the take time to contemplate with the family.