Boo!

I hate Halloween stuff here in Italy: it's a sign of the huge cultural colonization we are facing. Yeah, it's fun, but how about our old traditions?

Sorry, conservative rant...

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I like smashing pumpkins.

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<font size="2" face="Comic sans ms, Helvetica, sans-serif">Man, they had some great albums didn't they...?

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Originally posted by 3peanuts:
but how about our old traditions?

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<font size="2" face="Comic sans ms, Helvetica, sans-serif">What are some of the old traditions?

Actually, Halloween is an old tradition- straight outa Europe. It's a variation on Samhain and various Celtic fall festivals.

Appropriated by the Christians who named it "All Hallows Eve."

I didn't misunderstand your mood at all, I just wish you didn't get into the new stuff and explained a little more about the traditional stuff. [img]smile.gif[/img] It's like X-mas... I lived in Germany for 3 years, back when I was in kindergarten and stuff... and back when it was West Germany, but anywho... I remember we put our shoes outside the door early in December to see if we were good to get candy, if we did then we'd be visited on Christmas by Santa, if not we'd get coal in our shoes and wouldn't get a visit from Santa... or something like that. If that's wrong and I am not telling the complete story, let me know and then tell the correct one. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I didn't think you were being offensive in any way, 3p. I'm sorry if I seemed that way. I too was curious about older traditions.

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Originally posted by 3peanuts:
I understand it is difficult to understand, from the dominating culture's pov

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<font size="2" face="Comic sans ms, Helvetica, sans-serif">It's not that difficult to understand. I know a lot of Native American traditions have become obscure if not lost since Europeans colonized the Americas. I've spent my free time researching some of the original inhabitant's traditions, culture, and the effects of being dominated.

It's harder to empathize because we're not experiencing it first hand, being the dominating culture. Some of us are quite aware of the neo-colonialism that is currently changing our world. Keeping old traditions alive is imperative, and not just because of childhood nostalgia. :)

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 04, 2004 04:29 PM: Message edited by: JaceSan ]</font>

I meant old traditions related to territory: some kind of cakes, not involving pumpkins eh..., and things like dead people visiting your house during the night and leaving sweets near the windows. I know they are all variations on the same theme, but it was great when I was a baby and mama made me do all the traditional things. Nowadays children go buy costumes (not an Italian tradition) and have parties, while the soul of the feast here is not about the exorcism of fear but the mourning for the dead.

I understand it is difficult to understand, from the dominating culture's pov, the mood of the people who come from the dominated one and see their childhood traditions trashed and forgotten.

I don't mean to be offensive in any way, did I make sense? Sorry, if it seems a sort of pointed finger. [img]smile.gif[/img] I'm kind of afraid to be misunderstood, it happens often these days... [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

Well, talking about traditions: Sarabiga is from the north of Italy and where she has grown up there is no tradition about Santa bringing gifts. Gifts are given to children on the 13th of December (not pagan? Very pagan tradition!) by S. Lucy...

Something like that happens in northern europe, too. Sweden for example...