Halloween culture of your country?

[Silkspinner]

So, today I was talking with a non-american, and made a reference to the old 'razor blades in the caramel/candied apple' Urban Legend and he had no idea what I was talking about.

Apparently not only is that legend solely American, but he was like 'and I'm assuming a caramel apple is an apple with caramel on it?'

He'd never even seen one being sold. This shocked me as it's not even so much a halloween tradition as an Autumn one.

So, Americans and non-Americans alike, what would you list as your Halloween culture?

[Coidzor]

Drunken Debauchery and far too many children out during the daylight because parents are too scared to go out in the actual dusk as they have to wait for it to be properly dark and the children stuck in bed so they can have their drunken debauchery.

[nedz]

There is a tradition in the North of England where the night before Halloween kids go out and play pranks, but that doesn't happen in London. Halloween itself is a fairly minor, since we have another event at the beginning of November where we burn an effigy of the Pope Guy Fawkes, which tends to crowd it out.

BTW I think you are referring to Toffee Apples

[Castaras]

Halloween is an excuse to go in fancy dress to places, for kids to guilt trip houses into giving sweets, and for adolescents to egg places.

Fancy dress parties are fun. The latter two I wish would kindly bugger off. Guy Fawkes is much more fun anyway.

[Asta Kask]

Nothing, although the stores here are trying to commercialize it. With little success.

[scurv]

State side it tends to be caramel/candied apple for the fall season. Although Toffee Apples sound good... Thank you for my next culinary endevour

[Castaras]

Toffee Apples over here = Caramel apple over yonder, I believe. Not certain though.

[Tobtor]

I my country (Denmark)there is no native halloween traditions. There are in fact no late fall feast, special events or so. There are some who celebrate Saint Mortens evening (10th of november) (same origin as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Day). But the only real tradition is that you eat goose or duck on that day - very few people know why it celebrated and very few even remember it.

We have to some extent importet american halloween since it apears in a lot of pop culture (and shops want to fill an otherwise boring season with some sales).

We do have candied apples, i dont know how old the tradition is though. But in the beginning of winter/christmas (which seems by to start about now in the shops....) we have candied almonds (brændte mandler - translates to burnt almonds, but its almonds heated/fried with sucker and a bit of water - does that exist in America or other countries?).

But generally the fall is not our season of traditions - they are from christmas to easter. Our "dress up" tradition is "fastelavn" before lent. WHere such activities as dressing up "making trouble" to you get candy and so on goes on. It is also the day when we beat the cat out of the barrel - yeah I will let you look that one up and see if yopu can find it (look for danish carneval or something like that I asume)
It is not as cruel as it sounds (though it used to be a hundred years ago).

[Maelstrom]

Originally Posted by Castaras

Toffee Apples over here = Caramel apple over yonder, I believe. Not certain though.

Candy Apple = Toffee Apple...caramel apples something altogether different (and oh so yummy!)

[Katana_Geldar]

Nothing really here. I could probably count on one hand the number of trick or treaters that we've ever had. Shops try and sell Halloween stuff but I have no idea how well they do.

I kind of wish it was bigger, maybe it would delay the Christmas creep.

[Randomguy]

Around Toronto, at least, it's pretty much the same as in the U.S, but less squashing pumpkins and egging houses (though maybe just because I live in a nice neighbourhood). I don't think I've ever actually seen a candied/caramel apple before, though.

[Eldan]

Doesn't exist in Switzerland, at least not traditionally. It's All Hallow's Eve, and good catholics go to church. That's died out, more or less, so the only thign left is recycled American halloween movies on German TV.

[Coidzor]

Originally Posted by Katana_Geldar

I kind of wish it was bigger, maybe it would delay the Christmas creep.

Probably not. They started putting out Christmas trees and decorations for sale in September here. September! I'd have sworn that last year they at least waited until late October to start up with that malarkey.

[Malak'ai]

Nothing traditional here in New Zealand, though in the last decade or so it has started creeping in.
It's funny when kids who don't actually know what it's about come knocking on your door in really crappy costumes (I mean I had a young boy of about 10 turn up last year with a newspaper poncho and a bowl on his head claiming to be a knight) then run screaming when you open the door because you're all dressed up, about to go to a Halloween party yourself .

[Totally Guy]

I'm going to New York this halloween. Can't wait.

[Eldan]

So, general question. Is Halloween celebrated traditionally anywhere except the US and parts of Britain?

[The Succubus]

Originally Posted by Castaras

Halloween is an excuse to go in fancy dress to places, for kids to guilt trip houses into giving sweets, and for adolescents to egg places.

Fancy dress parties are fun. The latter two I wish would kindly bugger off. Guy Fawkes is much more fun anyway.

I kind of pegged you as being enthusiastic about a festival involving large amounts of fire.

[Togath]

Are the negative clichés(the pumpkin smashing and such[not the false ones about poisoned candies/razor blades]) true in some places?, I've never encountered anything relating to them where I live, but they sound like a widespread clichés(though why anyone would tolerate them seems unfathomable)

[Serpentine]

In Australia, we have dress-up parties around that time, and maybe some horror movies. Very private celebrations, basically. Basically never trick-or-treaters, and when it happens I doubt they have much luck - probably a lot of funny looks. Some shops sell decorations and the like. Few places, if any, decorate outside their homes, unless they have a party on (if then).
You can get toffee apples sometimes, but they're not specifically associated with Halloween, October nor autumn.
Autumn celebrations (which would be around March-May) are very local, if they happen at all. I think the town where I went to uni had an autumn festival, and they were particularly proud of the colour of the autumn leaves they got. Other towns no doubt have their own, but there's definitely nothing even close to as national nor as culturally-ingrained as the US's Halloween.

[factotum]

Originally Posted by Eldan

So, general question. Is Halloween celebrated traditionally anywhere except the US and parts of Britain?

Given it was originally the Christian festival of All Hallows' Eve I would expect it to be celebrated most places that have a long Christian tradition...

[Madara]

Originally Posted by Togath

Are the negative clichés(the pumpkin smashing and such[not the false ones about poisoned candies/razor blades]) true in some places?, I've never encountered anything relating to them where I live, but they sound like a widespread clichés(though why anyone would tolerate them seems unfathomable)

It doesn't get too bad. The most we have is a bit of smashed pumpkins and TPing(Which is really annoying when it rains the next day) although, since its cold up here, we have the "Forks in the lawn" trick which can be really nasty.

If anything, the clichés are still around because parents have to explain what "Trick or Treat" means. Although there is this nice old man in my neighborhood who used to play fun tricks on kids (Empty candie wrappers, a fake door...ect)

[Eldan]

Originally Posted by factotum

Given it was originally the Christian festival of All Hallows' Eve I would expect it to be celebrated most places that have a long Christian tradition...

True, but that's not what I'm thinkign of. All the modern celebrations associated with Halloween seem to come more from the celtic festivals around that time, with some heavy changes. The disguises, the pumpkins, the ghosts... not very Christian. Sure, it's all hallow's eve here. But I've never seen a pumpkin or a monster mask in church.

[Aedilred]

Halloween is minimal here, but growing. The shops are full of Halloween merchandise but it is still a long way off the same sort of profile it has in the USA. You get the odd group of children trick-or-treating but I've never had more than one group round in an evening, and never have I heard of anyone being "tricked" for any reason.

Bonfire night has a (slightly) higher profile, but it's harder to commercialise, so the retail industry has an interest in pushing Halloween. But then Bonfire Night is a bit weird anyway, as far as festivals go.

We do have toffee apples (caramel apples in the US) but they tend to be more associated with Bonfire Night, presumably because it's an older tradition.

(Yeah, ok, obviously, it's not actually older, because Hallowe'en is a pre-Christian festival. But since it's been around, Bonfire Night has been the autumn festival here and Halloween less so; it's only in the last few decades that Halloween's developed any sort of profile, and even then it tends to be viewed as American and sniffed at).

[Haruki-kun]

Halloween in Mexico is observed. There are specials at stores and children go trick-or-treating during the afternoon/early evening. Houses also get somewhat decorated, schools decorate, and some grown-ups have halloween parties.

It doesn't seem to be as widespread as in the US, though. In the US adults enjoy Halloween almost as much (if not more) than children, while in Mexico it was mostly a tradition done for children alone.

Also, some people in Mexico prefer to boycott the day because (and I quote) "(this tradition) is not even ours". It's not a Mexican holiday, and it's two days before the Day of the Dead, which is a more important holiday to the culture, so some people think it kind of competes with it. It's probably hard to get children interested in the Day of the Dead since it is not often seen on (American) Saturday morning cartoons and movies, and its traditional "in memory of" concept is not as attractive to a kid as the candy and the costumes are.

[Socratov]

(fairly) nonexistent. the amount of halloween that does come through came over from halloween, but then again, begin November we (in the Netherlands) have the feast of St.Martin (Sint Maarten over here) where little kids go form door to door singing and waving about with lanterns, and 5 december we have the source of Santa Claus: i.e. Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas of Myra) where the saint gives presents to good little kids and let's his servants throw candy around. So even though for grown-ups we have little (yay halloween party with girls with slutty costumes), for kids it's a paradise over here

Also the parties that do happen here as a result of cultural mingling are ok I guess. I can't tell you about the funniest costume I saw though, it would violate at least 3 of the biggest rules

[Eldan]

Heh, I forgot those. Though Saint Nicolas (here on the sixth) is really quite a bit away from Halloween. We do have St. Martin, though. It's the start of Carneval, though all the other carneval celebrations are in February.

[Asta Kask]

We do, however, have a tradition involving kids dressing up as witches and asking for candy from random strangers. But that's for Easter.

[Mynxae]

As far as I know, around here in Aus we don't really celebrate Halloween. If anything it's an excuse for a party full of booze. Rarely have I seen people even prepare any candy, lollies etc for kids if they come knocking. My old neighbourhood had a thing where they sent out a letter in the mail in the estate (a few hundred houses, my Dad's estate, posh place) to put your front light on if you were participating so the kids knew where to go and where not to go. /shrugs

[North_Ranger]

I would say practically non-existant in Finland, as All Hallows' Eve is pretty much considered the one day in autumn when people visit graves of the dearly departed. There's been some effort on the side of stores to bring Halloween parties and masks and such up, but they're mostly for kids. Trick or treating doesn't happen, but at least in the universities and such young people tend to have costume parties and such.

The reason why trick or treating probably hasn't landed here is because we have two winter/spring holidays that fulfil the same function: St Knut's Day (January 13), when children dress up in monster costumes and "take Christmas away" by getting treats (essentially a gentle version of Krampus, if you will). And then there's Eastertime, when kids dress up as witches and such, and exchange decorated branches for candy.

[scurv]

recipes for carmal and toffee apples, They do seem comparable if somewhat different from each other.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1...-toffee-apples

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/C...Caramel-Apples

Although this does look like something to do with the girl-scouts one of these weeks soon.