fankoo 

I think that should be recycled on bonfire night with that head as the head of the guy 

I think we will all remember the Halloween miracle 2012. In spite of the fact, that we had supplies of sweeties and small change by the front porch, neither of us felt well enough to keep answering the door. It has siled down!

You still not well Joe? Hope you both can  munch sweets tonight and feel better tomorrow

Huh ... I bought loads of Haribo, we've had one little boy round. Hubby has now gone out and I am in the house on my own. If the doorbell rings I don't want to answer it.

 

I'm such a wuss!!

Very good pumpkin Pengy  -  artistic and scary !!!

How is Milo enjoying the night. Hopefully he got some treats and no tricks

well he put his outfit on and he walked around the area when it was walkies time but I took it off when it started to irritate him - he looked like a ghost dog 

 

 

Had three youngsters round earlier but I think the p!ssing rain has seen 'em all off this year... none out last night for mischief night last night.?.? Last night was the night we used to go trick or treating when we were kids and halloween was a night for guarding our bonfire and swapping ghost stories 

Pengy, Milo looks like he's enjoying himself aww 

Don't think he'd scare any trick or treaters  

What area you from Muf? The bonfire was a big thing in my N. Ireland childhood. Fireworks were banned, so we used to have a bonfire and my Gran used to know these certain leaves which went bang like a firecracker when we threw them in the flame  

Well that was....quiet.

 

My kids went out trick or treating around 5:45pm and ended up with their treat bags stuffed with sweets.  Only 4 kids came to my door so now I've all the leftover sweets/bars/chocolates from that and now my next door neighbour has come in with 2 big bags of sweets because they were waiting for my boys to call and they didn't! 

 

There's way too many sweets in here now.

Quiet round here had around 10/12 come to the door.Done my neices tan for her fright night at the school, she went as Tinker Hell.

 

 

Lol my mate is telling me that her son is disgusted that someone actually gave him an apple!  Fruit is compulsory on Halloween!

 

In saying that though one of my sons got a pear and the other has no fruit in his bag so everyone must be giving up on the fruit and nuts tradition

I didn't give fruit or nuts .My bags had a chocolate Apple,crisps(Quavers), a chocolate spider/eyeball and small  packet of haribo.

Lucky kids thats yummy Erin I hope they said  thanks 

Autumn ripe fruit was the essence of Halloween - sorry to hear that Ells 

prepared 50 bags (little packs of haribo or mini maltesers with an eyeball, lolly, chews and another sweet, just have 5 bags left, compared to 1 last year

woooooooooo!!!!!! Happy Halloween everyone!

Not bad Machel  sounds like you were were well prepared 

 

This is has been my background music tonight - proper scared me into the mood   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b4WaiX4A_Q&noredirect=1

Happy Haloween!

thank christ thats ova for anotha year

Snot over til all the Souls is RIZ!!!!!!.....   

   I had a Little Dead Riding Hood visit.     

 

anyone want half a ton of haribo and swizzels lollies btw?

Love it

I did lollies and penny carmel things last year and left with most of them,gave them a miss this year.I couldn't believe how happy some were to see a chocolate apple on a bliddy stick( 59p from Morrisons)

Aww thats so cute  God love 'em

I got 2 pks of boiled fruit sweet (ASDA under 50p each), 2 pks of toffies (Same) and 2 pks of mints(same) (all individually wrapped)

 

We 'lost' the older twos scary stuff (i hid the lads mask as he was being a pain with it and cant find it and the girl had her hat but couldn't find that either. pfft only one of my lot who had actual dressy uppy type stuff was minime, who had a black and gold witch dress and hat

 

Have been left with a whole packet of each type of sweets and bowl half full of the others! Although i did have fun with El loro's laughing sound clips! Even when Daddy rocked up.. we switched all the lights off.

 

we also made 2 dec's to encourage the lil peeps. One was a ghost....dead easy (snigger) white papre blah blah stuck in front window and my 10 yr old made a cardboard pumpkin picture that we cut out and stuck on the door

Oh AND i don't do Halloween!!!!

Jenstar you got sucked in muhahahah! Happy Halloween   

LoL I spooked myself out and now I can't sleep  Oh well...theres always  Beetlejuice 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVN-5-I5iBo

yup i did, but it was kinda fun, i'm thinking (quietly so i can change my mind) of maybe having a party next year

 

Edit: I'm not watching your clip as i do want to sleep tonight

Fun isn't it Jenstar  Glad you enjoyed Halloween - and definitely have a party next year *nods*

 

Oh dear I fear I'm up for a few hours  I'm not sleepy. The pumpkin and my light up skull have done their job - scaring the bejaysus out of me  

Happy All Saints Day. Its also Dia de los Muertos [which I love the idea of]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dia_de_los_Muertos

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and all banks are closed. The celebration takes place on November 1, in connection with theCatholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls,marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddessMictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world: In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. InSpain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures.

 

Origins

The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back to its indigenous pagan cultures. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors had been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years.^[1] In the pre-Hispanic era, skulls were commonly kept as trophies and displayed during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.

The festival that became the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess^[2] known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the modern Catrina.

In most regions of Mexico, November 1 is to honor children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2. This is indicated by generally referring to November 1 mainly as Día de los Inocentes ("Day of the Innocents") but also as Día de los Angelitos("Day of the Little Angels") and November 2 as Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos ("Day of the Dead").^[3]

Beliefs

People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.^[3]

Plans for the day are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the three-day period, families usually clean and decorate graves;^[2] most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas(offerings), which often include orange Mexican marigolds (Tagetes erecta) called cempasúchil(originally named cempoaxochitl, Nahuatl for "twenty flowers").

In modern Mexico, this name is sometimes replaced with the term Flor de Muerto (Flower of the Dead). These flowers are thought to attract soulsof the dead to the offerings.

Toys are brought for dead children (los angelitos, or «the little angels», and bottles of tequila,mezcal or pulque or jars of atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto ("bread of the dead"), and sugar skulls and beverages such as atole. The ofrendas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased.^[2] Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the ofrendas food, so though the celebrators eat the food after the festivities, they believe it lacks nutritional value. Pillows and blankets are left out so the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives. In many places, people have picnics at the grave site, as well.

Some families build altars or small shrines in their homes;^[2] these usually have the Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, scores of candles and an ofrenda. Traditionally, families spend some time around the altar, praying and telling anecdotes about the deceased. In some locations, celebrants wear shells on their clothing, so when they dance, the noise will wake up the dead; some will also dress up as the deceased.

Public schools at all levels build altars with ofrendas, usually omitting the religious symbols. Government offices usually have at least a small altar, as this holiday is seen as important to the Mexican heritage.

Those with a distinctive talent for writing sometimes create short poems, called calaveras (skulls), mocking epitaphs of friends, describing interesting habits and attitudes or funny anecdotes. This custom originated in the 18th or 19th century, after a newspaper published a poem narrating a dream of a cemetery in the future, "and all of us were dead", proceeding to "read" the tombstones.Newspapers dedicate calaveras to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons in the style of the famous calaveras of José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican illustrator. Theatrical presentations of Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1817–1893) are also traditional on this day.

A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (in Spanish calavera), which celebrants represent inmasks, called calacas (colloquial term for "skeleton"), and foods such as sugar or chocolate skulls, which are inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead. Sugar skulls as gifts can be given to both the living and the dead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto, a sweet egg bread made in various shapes from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits, often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.

José Guadalupe Posada created a famous print of a figure he called La Calavera Catrina («The Elegant Skull» as a parody of a Mexican upper-class female. Posada's striking image of a costumed female with a skeleton face has become associated with the Day of the Dead, and Catrina figures often are a prominent part of modern Day of the Dead observances.

The traditions and activities that take place in celebration of the Day of the Dead are not universal, often varying from town to town. For example, in the town of Pátzcuaro on theLago de Pátzcuaro in Michoacán, the tradition is very different if the deceased is a child rather than an adult. On November 1 of the year after a child's death, the godparents set a table in the parents' home with sweets, fruits, pan de muerto, a cross, a rosary (used to ask the Virgin Mary to pray for them) and candles. This is meant to celebrate the child's life, in respect and appreciation for the parents. There is also dancing with colorful costumes, often with skull-shaped masks and devil masks in the plaza or garden of the town. At midnight on November 2, the people light candles and ride winged boats called mariposas (butterflies) to Janitzio, an island in the middle of the lake where there is a cemetery, to honor and celebrate the lives of the dead there.

In contrast, the town of Ocotepec, north of Cuernavaca in the State of Morelos, opens its doors to visitors in exchange for veladoras (small wax candles) to show respect for the recently deceased. In return, the visitors receive tamales and atole. This is only done by the owners of the house where someone in the household has died in the previous year. Many people of the surrounding areas arrive early to eat for free and enjoy the elaborate altars set up to receive the visitors from Mictlán.

In some parts of the country (especially the cities, where in recent years other customs have been displaced), children in costumes roam the streets, knocking on people's doors for acalaverita, a small gift of candies or money; they also ask passersby for it. This relatively recent custom is similar to that of Halloween's trick-or-treating.

Some people believe possessing Day of the Dead items can bring good luck. Many people get tattoos or have dolls of the dead to carry with them. They also clean their houses and prepare the favorite dishes of their deceased loved ones to place upon their altar or ofrenda.

No -one celebrating but me  Oh well guess I'm a pagan but I love this time of year  Heres a suitable song for All Saints Day/ Dia de los Muertos nhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tcwlCHSdGQ&feature=autoplay&list=PLd0v7XZ8a-KeMJK1XgcfxqzI2ePD3UcPd&index=8&playnext=2

rosie... the first picture's well creepy!

It is Kaffy 

Since I saw a documentary on Dia de los Muertos... I'm kind of fascinated by it. Its like an Irish wake but taken to extremes...