Deano
bit late but cool read
TREAT ... OR TRICK -
http://www.davidicke.com/oi/extras/october/One.jpg
THE REAL HALLOWEEN
Hello all
When I was a kid Halloween pretty much passed us by, but now it has become a multi-billion dollar industry. This is especially so in North America, but Britain has caught the craze, too. In the last decade spending on Halloween paraphernalia has risen from 12 million pounds to 120 million in just five years.
Halloween is now the third most profitable retail event in Britain after Christmas and Easter and one market analyst said the seven days leading up to October 31st are expected to be the second biggest shopping week of the year. In the United States alone the Halloween industry is worth $5 billion.
Caroline Woffenden from Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket chain, said the increase in demand has been so extreme they have had a team researching for the last six months, partly in America, to follow the 'Halloween trends' and expand the number of products available. Woolworth's spokeswoman Francesca Colling said: 'It's no longer a matter of a few plastic fangs. People want expensive gimmicks. They want a wide range of themed food and drink. They want extravagant decorations for their houses. They even want fancy-dress outfits for their pets.'
http://www.davidicke.com/oi/extras/october/Two1.gif
I planned to see some preserved steam trains at the weekend only to find that they were running with a Halloween theme in a 'Wizards Weekend' when the railway was taken over by 'wizards, ghosts and other ghastly apparitions'. There was 'a haunted railway tunnel, ghost train and creepy stories'. It shows how deeply the theme has become established in Britain since the aggressive selling of Halloween was imported from the United States.
But so what? It's just a bit of fun isn't it? Dressing up is a laugh and its great for kids knocking on doors and trick or treating or being scared by stories of ghouls and ghosts? Well, yes, on the face of it, but what goes on behind the facade of this family fun?
Firstly it seems the whole thing is starting to get out of hand. Jean Paldan is an American living in England and works with the independent watchdog group, Corporate Watch. She told the media this week:
'In America, you can't buy a loaf of bread around Halloween without being bombarded with themed advertising. The night itself is extraordinary: we used to get 200 children knocking at our door, trick or treating in a single evening. They would literally form a queue outside our house carrying pillowcases for their loot.'
Another parent said:
'Every year that night comes round and I know what will happen. Early on you get a few cute younger children all excited and dressed up. Then you start to get big groups of teenagers in no costume other than horrific masks shouting and banging on the door demanding "cash or food". Ignore them and you get your home attacked, open the door and you get nothing but cheek.'
These stories are taking us further away from the 'just a bit of fun' image of Halloween, but there is a way to go yet because what happens behind this gathering Halloween façade is far worse than the intimidation of residents and the creation of another multi-billion dollar corporate pig trough.
The 'scary stories' associated with Halloween are based on fact and while many children are having fun others are having a very different experience. Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, is one of the major nights of human sacrifice for the truly vast Satanic network that includes some of the most famous people on the planet.
http://www.davidicke.com/oi/extras/october/Three1.gif
Halloween is said to have started with the Celts 2,000 years ago, but it will go back much further than that because the sacrifice is linked to the earth's energetic field and that is affected by the movement of the planets. So this would have been a time for sacrifice long before the Celts. October 31st sees the start of the new Celtic year and Halloween is known as the Festival of Samhain (pronounced Sah-win), which was held in honour of the 'Lord of Death'.
The Druid priests believed that the dead returned to their original homes that night and if food and shelter wasn't forthcoming the evil spirits would respond by casting wicked spells on those who refused them. The Celts offered sacrifices to these 'dead spirits' and it was believed that if they were happy with what they were given they would leave you alone. Otherwise you were in trouble and horrible consequences would ensue. The Druids would go from house to house demanding gifts and cursing anyone who denied them. This is the origin of the modern-day 'trick or treat'.
TREAT ... OR TRICK -
http://www.davidicke.com/oi/extras/october/One.jpg
THE REAL HALLOWEEN
Hello all
When I was a kid Halloween pretty much passed us by, but now it has become a multi-billion dollar industry. This is especially so in North America, but Britain has caught the craze, too. In the last decade spending on Halloween paraphernalia has risen from 12 million pounds to 120 million in just five years.
Halloween is now the third most profitable retail event in Britain after Christmas and Easter and one market analyst said the seven days leading up to October 31st are expected to be the second biggest shopping week of the year. In the United States alone the Halloween industry is worth $5 billion.
Caroline Woffenden from Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket chain, said the increase in demand has been so extreme they have had a team researching for the last six months, partly in America, to follow the 'Halloween trends' and expand the number of products available. Woolworth's spokeswoman Francesca Colling said: 'It's no longer a matter of a few plastic fangs. People want expensive gimmicks. They want a wide range of themed food and drink. They want extravagant decorations for their houses. They even want fancy-dress outfits for their pets.'
http://www.davidicke.com/oi/extras/october/Two1.gif
I planned to see some preserved steam trains at the weekend only to find that they were running with a Halloween theme in a 'Wizards Weekend' when the railway was taken over by 'wizards, ghosts and other ghastly apparitions'. There was 'a haunted railway tunnel, ghost train and creepy stories'. It shows how deeply the theme has become established in Britain since the aggressive selling of Halloween was imported from the United States.
But so what? It's just a bit of fun isn't it? Dressing up is a laugh and its great for kids knocking on doors and trick or treating or being scared by stories of ghouls and ghosts? Well, yes, on the face of it, but what goes on behind the facade of this family fun?
Firstly it seems the whole thing is starting to get out of hand. Jean Paldan is an American living in England and works with the independent watchdog group, Corporate Watch. She told the media this week:
'In America, you can't buy a loaf of bread around Halloween without being bombarded with themed advertising. The night itself is extraordinary: we used to get 200 children knocking at our door, trick or treating in a single evening. They would literally form a queue outside our house carrying pillowcases for their loot.'
Another parent said:
'Every year that night comes round and I know what will happen. Early on you get a few cute younger children all excited and dressed up. Then you start to get big groups of teenagers in no costume other than horrific masks shouting and banging on the door demanding "cash or food". Ignore them and you get your home attacked, open the door and you get nothing but cheek.'
These stories are taking us further away from the 'just a bit of fun' image of Halloween, but there is a way to go yet because what happens behind this gathering Halloween façade is far worse than the intimidation of residents and the creation of another multi-billion dollar corporate pig trough.
The 'scary stories' associated with Halloween are based on fact and while many children are having fun others are having a very different experience. Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, is one of the major nights of human sacrifice for the truly vast Satanic network that includes some of the most famous people on the planet.
http://www.davidicke.com/oi/extras/october/Three1.gif
Halloween is said to have started with the Celts 2,000 years ago, but it will go back much further than that because the sacrifice is linked to the earth's energetic field and that is affected by the movement of the planets. So this would have been a time for sacrifice long before the Celts. October 31st sees the start of the new Celtic year and Halloween is known as the Festival of Samhain (pronounced Sah-win), which was held in honour of the 'Lord of Death'.
The Druid priests believed that the dead returned to their original homes that night and if food and shelter wasn't forthcoming the evil spirits would respond by casting wicked spells on those who refused them. The Celts offered sacrifices to these 'dead spirits' and it was believed that if they were happy with what they were given they would leave you alone. Otherwise you were in trouble and horrible consequences would ensue. The Druids would go from house to house demanding gifts and cursing anyone who denied them. This is the origin of the modern-day 'trick or treat'.