Saturday, October 31, 2009

Trick or treat!


Although not French at all, Halloween was kinda celebrated a few years ago in Paris - Mostly because bars and restaurants were looking for a new occasion to get the people to go out and party ( and buy drinks!)- but now it is no longer. The only place I  managed to find a scary character last night was the costume rental place right in front of my house! So let me wish my American visitors a "merry" Halloween. May you manage to scare away the evil spirits until next year (and find a cure for the economic crisis too LOL). Update: People still celebrate Halloween in France, see the huge line in front of the costume rental place today...

28 comments:

  1. No Halloween here, but it's still fun to celebrate. I love this guy's teeth...

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  2. Oooo Scary! I'm sure I heard him growl at me when I brought the page up.

    With a child in grammar school, of course I still get to dress up and go trick-or-treating every year. This year I'm dressing as Octomom. Do you think I can collect some handouts along the way? Seems to work for her.

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  3. Eary Happy Halloween!

    "I got five pieces of candy!" "I got a chocolate bar!" "I got a quarter!" Charlie Brown: "I got a rock."

    Hears to hoping you don't get a rock. LOL

    So Scary Eric... I meant the image not you. lol.

    Trick or treat, Smell my feet
    Give me something good to eat !!!

    The history of "Trick'O'Treating" can be traced back to the early celebrations of All Soul's Day in Britain. The poor would go begging and the housewives would give them special treats called "soulcakes". This was called "going a-souling", and the "soulers" would promise to say a prayer for the dead.

    Over time the custom changed and the town's children became the beggars. As they went from house to house they would be given apples, buns, and money.

    During the Pioneer days of the American West, the housewives would give the children candy to keep from being tricked. The children would shout "Trick or Treat!".

    I got tired of signing myself "Anonymous" so in honor of 'All Hallows Eve' just call me Charlie Brown. Actually Charlene Brown would be more accurate. The sugar rush begins! I do love dressing up for Halloween. Be safe and have fun everyone. I know I will. lol

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  4. In Scotland we always celebrated Halloween. As children, we didn't do 'trick or treating', we went out 'guising' i.e. in disguise.

    We could dress up as anyone or anything, not necessarily scary. We went round the neighbours' houses and had to do a 'turn' which could be a song, a poem, some acting or some kind of performance before we would get our treat. Often a lot of effort went into the costumes and rehearsing the 'turn'

    I think 'trick or treat' has taken over now. I think we had to work a lot harder then.

    The treat we liked most was cash, followed by sweets (candies) and lastly fruit or nuts, So some things never change!

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  5. Wow, Eric—love this photo! Where I grew up, we got so many treats in our neighborhood, we carried a pillowcase to collect all our loot (then had to deal with the cavities!). I'll probably be watching the fabulous NYC Hallowe'en parade from the ex's apartment, which overlooks the parade route.
    BTW, is anyone else having this problem: It says Eric posted at 12:01. But if I'm home and log on then, all I see is yesterday's post for at least an hour. Also, it takes 30–40 seconds for his blog to come up. So, is it just me?

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  6. Alexa Eric is now on winter time. So his posts are an hour later. Of course, starting this Sunday that will change again. (US goes to daylight savings.)

    Halloween has never been a favorite holiday for me. Strange when you consider I teach theatre. Maybe I'm just more European than I thought. hmmmm...

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  7. Thanks, Wren -- that may explain at least part of it. To be perfectly honest, these days I'm not that crazy about Halloween either. Appreciate the NYC parade, but have absolutely no interest in taking part. (Didn't stop me from spending the better part of the day today helping one of my kids with her costume though.)

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  8. This is one unpleasant looking character! Is this costume shop in business year-round? If so, for what occasions or situations do customers most often rent costumes there?

    Thanks for the Halloween wishes. To me, the holiday is not what it used to be in the U.S. Although I never really watched the show "Seinfeld," I LOVE Jerry Seinfeld's book called HALLOWEEN. It captures the holiday as I experienced it in childhood--with candy, masks held on by rubber bands, costumes that came in boxes, and mother-child conversations along the lines of "Mom, Superman (or, in my case, Wonder Woman) doesn't wear a coat!" Now if only we could go back to a problem like that instead of an economic crisis!

    Whatever you do all this October 31st, may it be a "merry" day, too!

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  9. I wrote a post about Halloween in France this week. As an American in Paris I am admittedly rather nostalgic around this time of year :)

    www.lostincheeseland.com

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  10. That's excellent... I love the effect!
    So many good stories this night about Halloween party and its origins. That is fantastic and very sweet from you. I'm totally stunned ... Wellcome Charlie Brown !
    Drummond, I hope you are not loosing your sleep with Halloween trick and treat, don't you? :)

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  11. *aren't you ...
    Sorry, please don't sack me ... ;)

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  12. Ooh la la ** I mean 'are you'.
    I hope you are not loosing your sleep .... are you?
    Sorry all. :) I'm French... And do need English lessons ;)

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  13. I was amused to see the Elvira costume to the right of the photo. This character was created in the US back in the 80s resulting in a movie and a long running series of Coors beer ads. I find it amazing to see her costume hanging in a Paris shop and to think of the impacts of one culture on another. Scary, indeed.

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  14. So THAT's where Michael is. Where've you been, honey? ;)

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  15. Stuart - I had exactly the same thoughts about Elvira!

    I also wonder what the sign to the top left says and means. (To Mad Laughter?) (I'm sure that's wrong!!) I'm guessing its the name of the shop - looks like there's another sign with the same words just below it perhaps.

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  16. Yes. "Au fou rire" is the name of the costume shop. And I think it translates into English as "giggle". But I'm the French student here. Experts, please. We await.

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  17. That's okay, Flore. I'm American and I need French lessons! Or, I should say: je suis americaine et j'ai besoin des classes en français.

    Feel free to correct me.

    I'm glad this custom hasn't taken over in France. Vive les différences!

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  18. Y'all obviously haven't been to the Marais.

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  19. @Stuart. Fou rire means "to laugh your head off" or more when you cannot stop laughing.

    @Starman, you're right, my mistake people still celebrate Halloween in France, see the huge line in front of the costume rental place today...

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  20. Hey, I saw the same line yesterday on the way to lunch at Chartier and couldn't resist pix either:
    http://www.parisatacertainage.com/madametut/2009/10/halloween.html

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  21. I liked Drummond's account of Halloween in Scotland. We really ought to make these kids work harder for their treats. =)

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  22. Oh la la la !!!! I cannot believe the line at the costume rental!! I remember during my "Wild" younger days in Paris I spent several Halloweens in the city of light and the day went by completely unnoticed[even in the Marais]...the last Halloween I was there was 2005 and there was lot's of Halloween Candy in the chocolate shops but I didn't see any one in costume. Even in San Francisco the day isn't what it used to be; unruly mobs have pretty much caused the city to cancel Halloween and so a small group of idiots ruin it for everyone. BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Happy Halloween to all!! J'adore le photo....Ouaiissss!! ;-)

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  23. By the way...I'll be celebrating Halloween in my favorite little French Bistro in SF...L'Ardoise so I will toast you all with a "cup" or two...LOL!! ;-)

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  24. Tonton! I ate at L'Ardoise last Sunday, esp. since it was one of the few great places open on for dinner on that day.
    But I am writing because I wanted to go for dinner tonight at one of my fav places called Les Petites Sorcieres, not even thinking about what it meant in terms of Halloween tonight. The hostess was dressed up as..you guessed it, a witch, and a beautiful one, at that. After a few minutes, I hear loud SCREAMS in this upscale place. I turned around to see 5 French female ,dressed up for Halloween teenagers coming in for trick or treat!!!!!! The hostess found some candy for them , and before they left, howled out a few more screams for us.
    What a laugh for me and everyone else there(all French and over a certain age)....am I correct, my American friends, in remembering that we went to houses, not restaurants in the USA for trick or treat? I guess this was the French take on it as city dwellers don't stock up on candy for the holiday here(as yet.....)

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  25. phx-cdg...you ate at "L'Ardoise" in Paris right??? Lucky you!!

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  26. I'm so embarassed, I didn't read your statement correctly, Tonton! I was so excited to have eaten in the same place as you, or so I thought, that I started to write back immediately!!!! Maybe one day, WE WILL have Paris!

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  27. As our Scottish friend points out Halloween is a Celtic festival, originally Samhain and has been celebrated in Ireland and the UK for centuries. It a festival at the end of the harvest and I suppose has "evolved" into what it has become today. Years ago for us it was all about trying to eat an Apple hanging on a string with no hands, "dunking for apples", cutting out turnips into ghoulish shapes and dressing up and calling to the neighbours, signing a song or performing some act.

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