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Halloween overblown or underdone  

16 members have voted

  1. 1. Anyone else tired of halloween yet?

    • Ugh, yes - It's disgusting!
      2
    • Heck no - bring on the candy!
      10
    • Yes - I'm tired of it being shoved down my throat everywhere I go.
      3
    • No - I haven't gotten to show off my costume yet!
      3


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I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm very tired of being bombarded at every turn by one holiday or another. BUT THIS! no THIS! Ugh, I'm stretched to the limit just keeping myself fed, clothed and housed in this economy without commercialism trying to seduce me into buying over-priced holiday merchandise with it's bright colours, catchy jingles and persistent pushing. I am tired. Tired of having to brace myself against the constant pressure to buy, buy, buy. I'm exagerating, of course, but really...it does feel this way a lot of the time, especially as yet another holiday is coming up.

I realize many would argue that a lot of these holidays are solemn religious afairs, but for the most part, at least for the main "Western" culture ones like Christmas and Easter, they aren't even based in the religion popular opinion claims them to be celebrating! I know...I've said religion twice now. Please don't jump down my throat. I'm not trying to be offensive, and I appologize if I have offended you, or do so in the rest of my post. I'm just expressing my frustration and trying to initiate a good-natured debate :)

So, what do you think? Are holidays just a way for companies to keep people buying and consumers to have a reason to shop, or are they really what society advertises them to be, that is holy-days?

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Personally I don't care about holidays and don't easily get tempted to buy stuff I don't need or find pretty or can't afford. I know what to prioritize and will only buy "cool/pretty/self-indulging" things when I know I worked hard for it and it won't effect my finances.

Some holidays are kind of meh for me, as in, I don't celebrate them and they have no value for me. Other festivities just bring out a nice atmosphere. People are nicer, its cosy, stuff like that. I do like those, but I have this feeling most of the winter, even if it's not a holiday. That's probably also why I prefer the winter holidays more than others.

I do tend to avoid shopping malls since I don't like crowded places, and don't like shopping much either, so that helps a lot I guess.

Maybe if shopping is a hobby it can be hard to get pushed to buy things you don't need. Shops just know a lot of people can be swayed to buy stuff so they will do their best to make a nice profit. The only thing that sometimes amazes me is how soon they start, sometimes months in advance. I guess it pays of or they wouldn't do it...

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Well, I can't say much about Halloween because we don't have it in my country. Despite that (or maybe because of that), I've ALWAYS wanted to celebrate Halloween. It seems like a very fun time of the year!

 

About other holidays... I usually dislike them. I ESPECIALLY hate Christmas. It's totally commercialised now, and everything turns to heck. And that god-awful music! Christmas themes everywhere! I hate it, hate it, hate it, and the fact that New Year comes right after it also angers me. It's like a whole week of empty celebrations. Idk.

 

In my country we also have Carnaval, which is my opinion is a messy heck too. It's in the middle of February (meaning HOT, HOT, HOT here in the southern hemisphere), streets are PACKED FULL of parades, basic rules don't seem to apply. Gash.

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Personally I don't care about holidays and don't easily get tempted to buy stuff I don't need or find pretty or can't afford. I know what to prioritize and will only buy "cool/pretty/self-indulging" things when I know I worked hard for it and it won't effect my finances.

Some holidays are kind of meh for me, as in, I don't celebrate them and they have no value for me. Other festivities just bring out a nice atmosphere. People are nicer, its cosy, stuff like that. I do like those, but I have this feeling most of the winter, even if it's not a holiday. That's probably also why I prefer the winter holidays more than others.

I do tend to avoid shopping malls since I don't like crowded places, and don't like shopping much either, so that helps a lot I guess.

Maybe if shopping is a hobby it can be hard to get pushed to buy things you don't need. Shops just know a lot of people can be swayed to buy stuff so they will do their best to make a nice profit. The only thing that sometimes amazes me is how soon they start, sometimes months in advance. I guess it pays of or they wouldn't do it...

 

*nods* I don't get easily tempted into buying things, but I strongly resent the implication of the whole thing that I'm a mindless drone who -must- have this or that. It frustrates me because so many people do get suckered into it. I suppose I shouldn't care, but I feel badly for people being duped by marketing experts strategizing how to attack the consumer next. Maybe it's just that I've been on the marketing side of it and hate the mentality it requires to be good at it.

Really? I find the Christmas season feels really tense. People seem to be so stressed and angry in the stores. I guess there may be more of an attempt to practice kindness, but it's a hollow kindness, to me. It just seems so forced. To be fair, I do run into people who seem genuinely happy about the season and stuff, but the general crowd seems frazzled. I agree with you about winter feeling kind of cozy and stuff though :) I love wrapping up in a comforter with a mug of tea or hot chocolate and a good book, looking out at the snow-scape and feeling blessed that I have a warm home. The scene outside our window is lovely in the winter. Snow flakes are really neat, too. Last year we created a Calvin and Hobbes style snow sculpture (shark chasing a swimmer) on our front lawn, haha.

I think they start the "holiday season" earlier and earlier every year. I noticed that the dollar store near me had only -just- put out their Halloween stuff when the next week they were putting out their Christmas stuff already :tired:

 

Well, I can't say much about Halloween because we don't have it in my country. Despite that (or maybe because of that), I've ALWAYS wanted to celebrate Halloween. It seems like a very fun time of the year!

 

About other holidays... I usually dislike them. I ESPECIALLY hate Christmas. It's totally commercialised now, and everything turns to heck. And that god-awful music! Christmas themes everywhere! I hate it, hate it, hate it, and the fact that New Year comes right after it also angers me. It's like a whole week of empty celebrations. Idk.

 

In my country we also have Carnaval, which is my opinion is a messy heck too. It's in the middle of February (meaning HOT, HOT, HOT here in the southern hemisphere), streets are PACKED FULL of parades, basic rules don't seem to apply. Gash.

 

The only thing I liked about Halloween was the whole costume thing, but that can be done anytime of the year, all you need is a group of friends willing to come to a costume party and poof costume fun without the ghastliness of all hallows eve :)

 

I completely agree with you about the Christmas thing. I hate getting the cheesy music trapped in my skull :(

 

Hmm, I was always kind of curious about Carnaval - it seemed like a fun sort of chaos, but I never thought about what it must be like to have to -live- it. To me it would be a go-vacation-somewhere-with-Carnaval kind of thing, but I wouldn't want to participate in it now. I've grown out of the whole party scene, I guess.

 

Ohh, also, I am interested in purple things, too! I actually have a collection in my gallery of Purple things :D

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I actually really enjoy the holiday season! It's fun to mix things up a bit - I enjoy the parties, the new scenery (whether people in Halloween costume walking through downtown or lights strung everywhere and holiday displays in store windows), the Holiday shows, the new seasonal food and drink, travelling home to spend time with family for a bit - it's a fun way to wind down the year, I think. There's a guy who plays saxophone on my street corner for tips in the mornings, and I'm just counting down the weeks till he starts playing carols. :3

 

I don't ever find myself buying too much "stuff" - mainly just holiday cards, because I love stationery and Christmastime is a good excuse to drop notes to friends I haven't touched base with in too long. I guess I might feel differently if I had family or friends who really pressured me to buy a lot of things!

 

To those who said they did feel like they bought/were told to buy too much stuff this time of year, what kinds of things are you talking about? I was going to assume gifts, but Halloween isn't really a gift-giving holiday, haha.

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I actually really enjoy the holiday season! It's fun to mix things up a bit - I enjoy the parties, the new scenery (whether people in Halloween costume walking through downtown or lights strung everywhere and holiday displays in store windows), the Holiday shows, the new seasonal food and drink, travelling home to spend time with family for a bit - it's a fun way to wind down the year, I think. There's a guy who plays saxophone on my street corner for tips in the mornings, and I'm just counting down the weeks till he starts playing carols. :3

 

I don't ever find myself buying too much "stuff" - mainly just holiday cards, because I love stationery and Christmastime is a good excuse to drop notes to friends I haven't touched base with in too long. I guess I might feel differently if I had family or friends who really pressured me to buy a lot of things!

 

To those who said they did feel like they bought/were told to buy too much stuff this time of year, what kinds of things are you talking about? I was going to assume gifts, but Halloween isn't really a gift-giving holiday, haha.

 

Well, Christmas, Easter and Valentine's are the worst culprites, since others are often expecting (even if they say they are not) to receive at least something. Halloween it's more that the gruesome decor is so totally unavoidable. It's the first thing you see when you walk into a store, and even when I go for a simple walk down the street, there are veritable graveyards and creepy creatures crowded on people's lawns :( I realize I'm probably more sensitive than the average person, but I really don't appreciate the overwhelming display of what really are "the bad guys" almost everywhere I go :\ I get that everyone has the right to do what they want with their property and person, but that doesn't mean I have to like it :P

I don't necessarily feel tempted to buy things, but I definitely feel the pressure. I don't have trouble not giving in, but so many of these holidays aren't even understood by the average celebrant. I feel like a lot of them wouldn't be participating if they knew where the holiday originated from *thinks of Valentine's Day and shudders*

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I like taking time out to celebrate the seasons. I don't feel pressured by all the things in the store, though I do roll my eyes and avoid them and wonder who wastes their money on that. I'm a consumer "dropout" -- I try to grow or forage for what food I can (mostly growing easy veggies and picking from public fruit/nut trees and berry bushes), mend my clothes to make them last as long as possible, buy from thrift shops/garage sales/etc. as much as possible when I actually need something, borrow rather than buying (books, movies, tools, etc.), and live as simply as I can, making do with what I have (e.g., I make my own laundry detergent, and I use vinegar and soap for most of my cleaning). So to me, the holiday consumerism is just an extension of everyday consumerism, and I choose not to participate just like I choose not to participate the rest of the year.

 

Some holidays are more special to me, but that's because of how I celebrate them with friends and family. Halloween doesn't bug me; I enjoy giving candy out, but my driveway's too long, steep, and scary for us to get any trick-or-treaters. I did get annoyed when I saw fall things in the store in July -- I like to live in the current season instead of trying to rush the next season into existence. To me, Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day are 3 different holidays that fall on subsequent days.

 

I'm sometimes offended by the co-opting of religious holidays, but I know that these have also become cultural holidays, so I try to separate the two in my mind. And even my family celebrates the religious and (some of the) cultural aspects, but we separate them out. For example, some families have a creepy elf that they move around their house at Advent, and the kids are actually taught to believe the thing is real -- and so then they go to school and their classmates who don't have the creepy elf start asking their parents why they don't have one (it's becoming similar to Santa for those families who don't celebrate that tradition -- the pressure is building for everyone to get the creepy elf so they don't "spoil" it for those who believe in the creepy elf). In my family, Santa was kept pretty low key. Christmas Eve was for family presents and a buffet with all our favorite holiday foods, with a strong emphasis on family. Christmas Day started with Santa, but we'd already gotten all the big presents (Santa gave one small present to each of us, plus a new board game to the family, and stockings were stocked with some candy but mostly small necessities, like chapstick and new socks), and the focus was on going to church and the religious aspects of the day. So a creepy elf would have elevated Santa above where my parents were trying to keep him. (tl;dr for this paragraph: I don't mind if others commercialize things, but they shouldn't pressure others to "keep up" with them.)

 

Oh, another peeve for Christmas: when people who don't celebrate it as a religious holiday tell me "it's over" before January 6th. For me, Christmas begins on 12/25 and ends on 1/6. The period before Christmas (starting around U.S. Thanksgiving) is Advent, and it's a period of preparation with totally different symbols and music. If you want to start celebrating Christmas early and ignore Advent, that's your prerogative; I didn't judge you, so please don't judge me for following my religious tradition and celebrating Christmas during the whole religious season of Christmas.

 

I guess my biggest holiday pet peeve is how St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in the U.S. For me, it's a time to celebrate my culture and heritage, and to see what I'm trying to celebrate completely bastardized... ugh. Using the day as an excuse for drunkenness and debauchery is bad enough (especially with offensive drink names like "Black and Tan" and "Irish car bomb"), but when the 3-leaf shamrock (with important religious connotations) is corrupted into a "lucky four-leaf clover," and teachers are "teaching" such malarkey as leprechauns trashing the classroom on that day (that's a clurichaun, not a leprechaun, and that folklore has absolutely nothing to do with St. Patrick), just... ugh! A classmate once wore orange because she wasn't Catholic (she knew nothing about the Troubles or what she was inadvertently conveying)... I just celebrate with my friends from my Irish dance class and try to ignore what everyone else is doing that day, and we usually get the opportunity to share some Irish culture with those interested in learning more about it.

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I have to agree with some of this. I went to Target and Big Lots over the weekend and they are already selling christmas decorations when halloween isn't even over yet. I also dislike how stores are opening earlier and earlier for Black friday. I'm okay with midnite madness, but 6-8pm on thanksgiving seems a bit much. I just wish they wouldn't start the sales so early.

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Im in the uk and halloween is not the big deal it is in some other countries so it hardly effects me at all, I find it quite cute here as only the children seem to be interested in it I think, apart from some venues like nightclubs that make something of it. You can pretty much totally ignore it here.

 

I think that companies have tried to get the uk to buy into it so that we will buy lots of stuff but it has a very limited effect.

 

It does look like it might be fun in the USA but I can see that it could be annoying too

 

There are plenty of places starting to sell things for christmas here now however so it does seem to start earlier every year

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The Black Friday stuff is definitely ridiculous. It's sad that companies are trying to turn Thanksgiving into a shopping holiday. Luckily it's easy to avoid, and the movie theaters are always empty as a consequence if you feel like going out to a film on those days! :P

 

I can kind of understand having holiday decorations and such for sale super-early at craft stores - if you're planning to undertake any large holiday projects, a lot of the time you need a couple months' head start! And also I just really like to buy myself a poinsettia plant as early as possible when the season starts, lol.

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I don't mind halloween... Getting dressed up in spooky outfits and having a party can be good fun, but I don't do it every year. But like AJ said, it's not really a big thing here in the UK... You can choose to just ignore if it you want.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have to agree, majority of the holiday season is overkill. Its annoying that you walk into a target right after Halloween and they already have Christmas stuff up.I see the holiday as a time to spend with family and friends, not to be bombarded with that specific holiday decorations and sales.

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I have to agree, majority of the holiday season is overkill. Its annoying that you walk into a target right after Halloween and they already have Christmas stuff up.I see the holiday as a time to spend with family and friends, not to be bombarded with that specific holiday decorations and sales.

I knew I'd enjoy seeing you around ;) hehe I totally agree with you. I enjoy having the time off to see family and friends, but yeah...There was Christmas stuff out before Halloween was even over yet! Craziness. I wonder How they decide when to start stocking that stuff.

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Just wanted to put a fun fact in here about this

 

I think they start the "holiday season" earlier and earlier every year.

It is actually getting earlier each year. The "How to do everything" Podcast episode- "The Christmas Singularity" Christmas decorations will overlap in the year 2099. Meaning that Christmas decorations for 2100 will be up starting on Christmas 2099, if the current holiday expansion holds.

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I'm with kris10ly - the holiday season can be a lot of fun. There's wonderful food, beautiful decorations, and time off to see family. As far as gifts/commercialization goes, I usually only ask for things I need, and I enjoy buying things for other people. I try to be thoughtful and get unique, personal things I think they'd like, even if it's inexpensive.

 

I know gift giving, family time, etc., can be done at any time of the year, but the holidays are a great excuse for it. How often would you remember to reconnect with old friends or give a gift to someone you love if we didn't have those special occasions? I guess it depends on the person. Nevertheless, they're certainly not harmful gestures, no matter what motivated them. :)

 

I guess that mostly relates to Christmas, but I think any holiday is a good chance to relax or have some fun - things many people otherwise forget to do!

 

 

Edit: I do get the annoyance with the earlier and earlier start to the holiday season, but as long as it's effective it's not going to change. I don't mind it myself, but if it bothers you, unfortunately the only thing you can do is try your best to ignore it. :(

Edited by passiflora
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I really enjoy the holidays themselves. I dislike the commercialism attached to them. Like I always love thanksgiving and christmas because I spend it with my family. Usually none of us can afford a gift to give though because of the economy lol. But still spending time with your family is a lot of fun. Or at least for me it is.

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I love hanging out with my family, but I wish there wasn't the general need for an excuse to get everyone together and enjoy each other's company :( I suppose my biggest issues really are with the commercialism because, otherwise, I could just ignore the whole thing quite easily and do my family thing like there was no "holy-day" reason behind it.

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The holiday items for sale everywhere never really bothered me all that much. In fact, I kind of like all the decoration, especially during the winter months.

 

Where I live, after all the fall beauty is gone (the air goes from 'cool'/'crisp' to downright COLD, all the leaves drop off the trees), everything is gray/brown, dull, cold, sad-looking. And then I walk into Wal-Mart and am greeted by a display of 100 Santas, colored lights, shelves of candy canes and sparkly snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, and… I don't know, it's just nice to look at. Cheerful.

 

Since I won't be purchasing any of it anyway, I just sit back and enjoy the scenery without thinking about big marketing ploys designed to take my money.

 

But stores do seem to be hopping on the holiday wagon earlier and earlier each year (or maybe they always have, and I just never noticed it when I was young). I went grocery shopping the day after Halloween and was met with a display shelf full of peppermint chocolates and fuzzy santa hat decorations.

 

In any case, for the winter holiday season (let's say, U.S. Thanksgiving through Valentine's Day), the cheerful items lining the shelves make for some nice scenery in an otherwise dreary, blah season.

 

That being said…

 

I find the Christmas season feels really tense. People seem to be so stressed and angry in the stores.

 

YES. This. I avoid stores like the plague in the few days leading up to Christmas, since they're full of frazzled stressed-out people hurrying to find last-minute Christmas gifts. And don’t get me started on the parking lots on those days. It's an all-out WAR for parking spaces.

 

Black Friday is also bad, the epitome of hype. People lined up outside stores in freezing temperatures, prepared to burst their way in and trample anything in their way only to get 20% off on the latest gadget that they probably don't need (and could get for even cheaper after the frenzy is over and stores need to clean out their inventory). Every year there are news stories about people who are injured, shot, trampled to death over this, and I just don't get it. :sad01_anim:

 

 

I guess my biggest holiday pet peeve is how St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in the U.S. For me, it's a time to celebrate my culture and heritage, and to see what I'm trying to celebrate completely bastardized... ugh. Using the day as an excuse for drunkenness and debauchery is bad enough (especially with offensive drink names like "Black and Tan" and "Irish car bomb"), but when the 3-leaf shamrock (with important religious connotations) is corrupted into a "lucky four-leaf clover," and teachers are "teaching" such malarkey as leprechauns trashing the classroom on that day (that's a clurichaun, not a leprechaun, and that folklore has absolutely nothing to do with St. Patrick), just... ugh!

 

I remember this. In kindergarten, my teachers trashed the whole room on St. Patrick's Day. My class came back from lunch and found tables and chairs overturned, toilet paper strewn all over everything, all the boxes of toys spilled out onto the floor, and the teachers told everyone "The Leprechauns came! Go catch them!" (At which point the classroom became a disaster zone of upturned furniture and 20 screaming five-year-olds in green hats tearing it up even more looking for 'leprechauns').

 

In kind of the same vein, my one holiday annoyance is the (albeit minor) hype surrounding Cinco de Mayo.

 

Every bar in town advertises Cinco de Mayo specials, and the stores plop up big sombreros-and-maracas signs advertising discounts on taco shells. :rolleyes_anim: I remember back in university, people would throw Cinco de Mayo parties which were really just an excuse to wear jumbo-sized sombreros, get drunk and pig out on nachos. (No, Cinco de Mayo is NOT "Mexican Independence Day"… it celebrates Mexican victory over the French forces at the battle of Puebla…)

 

I guess this really is no different than the commercialization of any other holiday, though, so I just roll my eyes and get on with it.

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