http://www.thetimes.co.za/Entertainment/CelebZone/Article.aspx?id=600226
Quote:
Halloween ban for Ecuador workers
AFP Published:Oct 30, 2007
Correa has also expressed his distaste for beauty contests and marching bands in public schools.
QUITO - Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa banned public offices from celebrating Halloween, saying the US holiday of pumpkins, ghost costumes and candy goes against his country’s national values.
Instead of marking Halloween on Wednesday, “public institutions will have to commemorate the Day of the National Coat of Arms,” Correa said in a statement.
“Institutions of the public sector are barred from celebrating Halloween,” the socialist president said, recalling that Ecuador had its own “charming festivals” to celebrate throughout the year.
While Correa rejects comparisons to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, his ban on Halloween recalls Chavez’s own prohibition of Santa Claus decorations in his country’s public offices during Christmas.
Correa, who took office in January, has also expressed his distaste for beauty contests and marching bands in public schools.
A man of sound views and good taste. Bravo.
Once again, I find my opinions are diametrically opposed to those of my good friend George.
Who’ll join me in egging Correa’s house?
Quote:
Correa, who took office in January, has also expressed his distaste for beauty contests and marching bands in public schools.
Like George, I agree with the good President. Marching bands are well worth avoiding except for proper military ones. The south American band at last year’s Edinburgh Tattoo was amazing - the ability to slow goose-step whilst playing a musical instrument was a considerable feat of gymnastics.
Beauty contest in public schools, hmmm. Given the hormonal levels of teenagers I doubt they need to be formalised.
Of course I could be misreading the journalist’s grammar and maybe the "in public schools" only refers to the bands.
I don’t know about marching bands in schools but I’m all for another country deciding not to celebrate Halloween. It’s OUR holiday. I love the way the rest of the world wants to hate the USA these days but, at the same time, loves stealing our customs. Halloween is OURS and they can’t have it. Go make up your own holidays.
gselvester;51020 wrote:
I don’t know about marching bands in schools but I’m all for another country deciding not to celebrate Halloween. It’s OUR holiday.
The BBC news website had an article yesterday bemoaning the arrival of the US tradition of "trick-or-treat" which it claimed to be an 80s import.
What followed was a small barrage of Scots pointing out that it was a US form of "guising" with the removal of the requirement that the disguised had to perform for their treats. A song, dance or at least a joke was required in my childhood.
As such guising has roots all the way back to the medieval mummers.
James
Ancient Origins
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints’, All Saints’, and All Souls’, were called Hallowmas.
I do like the historical context behind the celebration of Halloween.
At the same time there is something uniquely American about the way we celebrate Halloween as well as many other Holidays. Perhaps it’s the unabashed commercialism that lead to the groundbreaking developments such as plastic pumpkin candy buckets, green beer, and the singing dancing Santa. Whatever the reason, seeing all the little kids dressed in costumes is worth the price of candy, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. My wife and I were disappointed that we only had a couple of dozen trick-or-treaters.
Next year we plan to do the whole graveyard scene in the yard.
As for the President of Equador… I buy TP in bulk….maybe we can swing by Hugo’s house while we are at it.
Can someone give me some really good reasons to want beauty contests and marching bands in public schools?
Now as far as Hallowe’en goes - let’s see…
On Halloween kids dress up in costumes (which can be fun) and then go out in the dark to go door to door try to collect large quantities of chocolates and candy, often from strangers with a gentle extortion - trick or treat.
At other times we are clear with kids that you should be home after dark, avoid excessive sweets as a serious health risk (obesity, cancer, tooth decay), to wait until they are offered a treat and always politely say please and thank you - and of course we tell them that under no circumstamces should they take candy from strangers or go to homes where they have not been previously with their parents.
Hmmm.
The Celtic and pagan traditions are very interesting - but of course any resemblence between modern commercial Hallowe’en and these older traditions is purely coincidental.
Well, both arguments are reasonable in their own ways, but…I think that ‘modern’ Halloween is more or less an American holiday, the same as Thanksgiving.
Just like baseball, it may be popular in many places, but it is an American sport. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…do enjoy the sport m’self. (usually play outfield though :()
:spooky::spooky::spooky:
Cheers,
Just remember: It’s all about the candy. Now I must go. All three of my little ghouls are in bed and Daddy has to go and sort the candy. (One for you, two for me…)
I need a release tonight….so here it goes:
I had a discussion with my pastor and my Catholic School alma mater’s principal about this when they banned Halloween for two years. I pointed out that while there are some pagan aspects to Halloween it is much, much more than that and there is no reason to ban it.
By the same token I have no problem with others using it. I know in Mexico the "Day of the Dead" is a time of family togetherness, as well as eating a meal together at, no less than a cemetery, to remember the Dead…and there is a dressing up in costume.
IM very HO Halloween is American precisely because it is a great blending of multiple cultural expressions and should be celebrated by everyone. I don’t even mind it being celebrated by others, but it is American in its current form I think.
I find the argument against the celebration of Halloween by people, particularly Christian people, who say it is too pagan to be weak frankly. If we use that line of reasoning we will through out all sorts of things…Greek mythology, the mythological works of JRR Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (both very much Judeo-Christian based even if using warlocks and witches and mythological beasts and the imaginary world of magic), fraternities and sororities, bon-fires, parts of Easter, parts of Christmas, a Christmas tree, etc. For me, even as orthodox a Latin Mass Catholic man as I am I find it very, very hard to understand why people in general, and Christians in particular, shouldn’t celebrate Halloween.
Mohamed’s analogy to baseball is right in that baseball is very much an American creation, but in truth it is very much an international game now including in the teams here in America…I know my Rockies are very much a multi-cultural team with people from Japan, to Dominican Republic to Cuba to Canada to Mexico, etc. Each of those places having some great baseball of their own. Halloween might wind up the same way in the end - American invention taken up by others because it is so fun.
Here is an article by a good and holy priest on Halloween - it is very basic and limited in scope, but it is chalk full of some good bits of historical facts and it was this article that opened the eyes of my Vietnamese Pastor, Fr. Peter, and the principal who both thought it completely pagan and not worthy for Catholic school kids to celebrate, which is nonsense as far as I’m concerned. Of course it is Catholic based, so know that going in. However, the historical points are very much worth merit regardless of its Catholic theme. Plus it is rather a unique way in blending Irish and French Catholic customs with English Protestant and Pagan ones as well.
George, I played ball in high school and was offered a division II baseball scholarship after high school. I played both football and baseball (had a good shot and could handle the ball well but was too short for HS basketball) and I have to say I loved the band!
There is talent those kids have to play an instrument and do maneuvers while doing so. Even though I was a student-athlete I had many band members as friends and several of whom who hit the weights in the weight room with the jocks like me. Also some of them were in other art classes like I was so we mingled there as well (I think marching bands are both sport/athletics and art).
The band has the ability to get a team going - something in the music coming from the stands on your side when you need it. Plus, I attend my HS alma mater for many events including Homecoming every year and I love to see and hear the band on the field at half-time, at the beginning as the team runs onto the field, etc.
Most of all, George, IMO it is needed as these kids have talent plain and simple and if they loose a chance to perform their music and routines in school in the marching band…where the heck else will they get the opportunity to showcase their abilities? It is sad enough in my state anyway that these kids are loosing their school’s extracurricular activities like choir, drama, chess club, etc…and now they have gone after sports and band and I find it a disgrace. The arts and sports are very important parts of the development of the youth…to open and broaden their minds to prepare them for the future that college and then the real world holds for them.
So, those would be some reasons for a school marching band I can think of right off the top of my head…for what it’s worth. I don’t know if that holds for my brothers in Canada at all…I didn’t grow up there so it may be different. My perspective is American and my not line up with a Canadian one.
Dennis,
I’m very much in favour of musical educaton. What I can’t help wondering is - of all the genres of music that are worth learning - why would we focus on marching bands in schools? If young people have musical talent there are probably better foundations for musical education. De gustibus I guess.
(PS - I have no issue with sports, arts, music, dance, etc.)
In most US high schools, the marching band is also the concert band. Assuming a qualified director is present, the kids spend much more time on the music than on the marching, which is essentially done only during the three months of football season.
MohamedHossam;51040 wrote:
(usually play outfield though :D
As for Halloween, I’ve always associated that holiday with the celebration of Death, which doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve always preferred to celebrate Life, but that’s just how I was raised. Of course, my kids had difficulty getting their loaded-down trick-or-treat candy bags in the house! :cool: