….The Jackolantern is still sitting in the window, there are still tiny black plastic spiders all over the house, pictures of pumpkins still adorn the walls and the house gets decorated for halloween everday…..Why?  Well it’s our first time! ….Halloween is not a big deal in Australia, It comes and goes, almost unnoticed except for ‘The Simpsons’ halloween specials, or re-runs of cult horror flicks.  It is coming though, with our immersion in American mass media,  dressing up Halloween parties and ‘trick or treating’ are certainly gaining popularity.

I actually thought Halloween only really happened in America.

I thought it would pass unnoticed for us yet again.

But then a couple of months ago the supermarkets started to fill up with costumes. Everthing from witches to princesses, ghosts to dracula arrived and immediately started to fly off the shelves. Add the ‘Halloween Tent’, with it’s  display of singing pumpkins (I want candy) coffin shaped drinks coolers, spiders webs, and ‘carving’ pumpkins and I’m starting to get it.

The charity shops follow soon after. They must save all the constumes they’ll be getting now, until next Sept/Oct.

We’re invited to a halloween party, and the next thing I know, we’ve bought costumes (D is very excited about being a ghost) purchased our pumpkin and ordered our ’scary cupcakes’ to take to the party!

This is all getting very fun.

People are also talking, Nursery parents comparing the way Halloween was for them as children compared to how it is now.

Straight from their mouths……….

…..30 (ish) year ago,

• Turnips and not pumpkins were carved into lanterns. (Imagine hollowing out a turnip!!)

• Trick or Treating was known as Guising (as in disguising) and children would dress in disguise walking from neighbour to neighbour performing  songs,  poems or jokes for their treat.

• Costumes were rustled up at home, not purchased from a store.

It was these conversations that made me realize that the celebration of Halloween is steeped in history, mystery and intrigue.

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A few things about Halloween you may not know:

• The name Halloween is thought to have been a Scots variation of the term ‘All Hallows Even’ (The night before All Hallows or All Saints Day)
• It is linked with the Celtic Harvest Festival of ‘Samhain’ (sow-in) roughly translated as summers end.
• In the Northern hemisphere it traditionally marks the end of the light time and the beginning of the dark time.
• It was thought that the veil between worlds became thin on All Hallows, allowing spirits both good and bad to cross over. Harmless ones (often family members) were welcomed and invited in while the harmful ones were warded off.
• The costumes were worn as protection from these spirits. Young men would diguise themselves as harmful spirits to avoid being harmed.
• Traditionally in Celtic halloween festivals, large turnips were carved into lanterns and placed in windows to (you guessed it) ward off more evil sprits.

(Information sourced from Wikipedia)

Halloween Our Style

First things first, Pumpkin Carving.

We then had to turn all the lights off, light the lantern and run around the house scaring each other.

Dressing up was definitely a must…..

Bobbing for apples was an all important task.

Apple bobbing was traditionally a form of divination as the first person who got hold of one was thought to be the first to marry.

The only thing we didn’t do is ‘Trick or Treat’, although I did expect some people to our door, my boys were a little too tired and a little too little. We were content with our Nursery Halloween party, sitting together around a big table drinking blood (red cordial) and eating scary cupcakes, severed finger biscuits and lots of sweeties (the empty seats are for the friendly spirits invited in for tea ). We also had music, dancing and games!

So even though the official day is over, and most of the sweeties (scottish for lollies/candy) are gone, we will still be talking about Halloween for a while to come, still watching ‘The Nightmare before Christmas’ and still finding little black spiders all over the house!!

Happy Halloween!!!

What did you do?

Edinburgh in Autumn

The Party At The Palace

Sundays Stories – Interview with Mike CJ

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The Sun is shining on my face, a gentle breeze is blowing, bringing to my ears the sounds of people talking and laughing, children playing, and through it all the sweet sounds of jazz….. This is a rare moment of complete relaxation.

Jazz on A Summer’s Day is the biggest jazz event in the UK, with thousands of people converging on the Ross Theatre in Princess Street Gardens to eat drink and revel in the atmosphere. It is one of the free events of the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival and a fabulous family day out.

People really come prepared with sumptuous picnics, lots of booze, chairs, shade shelters and most importantly for a relaxing day out, plenty of stuff for the kids.

We arrived about half an hour before the jazz began, so got a great spot on the lawn for our little picnic. (Opps we forgot the wine oh well) The kids ran amok. D Found himself some friends to play with and we hardly saw him for the rest of the day (four years old and we’re already cramping his style) and R started dancing before the music even began!

First up were the Edinburgh School’s Jazz Orchestra, followed by No Name Horses, Mike Hart’s Society Syncopators (I have never heard a clarinet sound so beautiful) and the Criterion Parade Band (these guys were heaps of fun).

By this stage we had run out of food and the boys have run themselves ragged (lovely children turn into little monsters at this point), so we head towards home with a stop for ice cream of course. We miss the last few acts including the RAF Big Band, but all in all a fantastic day out.

I am by no means a Jazz Buff, and certainly could not ‘review’ the music. The event in itself was everything I expected (would have liked some wine though!). The weather was beautiful, the atmosphere was relaxed and buzzing with a tangible festival feel.

The festival runs through the first week in August and is part of The Edinburgh Festival.
Individual entries range from free – around 30 pounds.

For more about the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival go to the official website here

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1. A Day Out in August: The Edinburgh Festival

Playing Dress Ups.

Edinburgh is awash with excitement in August. Every year an ever expanding collection of arts and cultural events descend upon The Festival City to entertain and delight thousands of people from around the world.

Strangely enough there is actually no such thing as “The Edinburgh Festival”…. confused?…. I was too.

It turns out “The Edinburgh Festival” is a collective term for the all the events happening around the month of August.

It all started in post war Edinburgh 1947, with the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) designed to “provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit”. 1  Also in 1947 The Edinburgh International Festival was gatecrashed by eight theatrical companies performing independently. This began what evolved into the Edinburgh Festival Fringe or “The Fringe”. 1

A visit to Edinburgh in 2009 afforded the opportunity to experience over 20 different festivals, including the Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Edinburgh International Festival, The Edinburgh Military Tattoo, The Edinburgh Comedy Festival, The Jazz and Blues Festival and even the Internet Festival.

As we were aiming for a free (or almost) day out, we stuck to ‘The Fringe’. You can’t really miss the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, it is the largest festival in town with over 34,000 performers in 2098 shows. 2 During the day, many of them walk The Royal Mile in full costume handing out flyers, and giving small performances to entice you in for their evening show. 

Roll Up Roll Up

6 Ways to Enjoy the Edinburgh Festival for (almost) Free

• Take a picnic – Soak up the amazing atmosphere in one of Edinburgh’s beautiful parks.
• Check out The Street Performers – An event in themselves, the street performers do everything from sword swallowing to the Limbo. They do ask for money as they’re not paid by the festival. Payment however is optional so if you can’t afford it, it’s great entertainment for free, and if you can, a few pounds for some fun live acts is well worth it. Master 4 took great delight in delivering shiny pounds to the “pirates hat”. 
• Taster Performances – Small stages dotted along the Royal Mile host miniature performances as an enticement for the evening shows. These cost nothing and mean you can see a great variety of entertainment in a short space of time. (Great for littlies)
• Special Deals – Check out fivepoundfringe.com for (sorry to state the obvious) 5 pound shows, freefringe.org.uk for free comedy, or if you’re there on the day, listen out for shouts of “Free Comedy Here”, be spontaneous and go in! There are also heaps of shows with “2 for 1″ ticket prices.
• Exhibitions – Of the 56 exhibitions on show during The Fringe, almost all of them were free. Paintings, Posters, Jewellery, Film, Quilts, Soap, Chairs, The Sign Spotting Project, Illusions and even works crafted from a giant wych elm felled in the Royal Botanic Gardens in 2003 were on show in various venues around the city.  
• People Watching – You can see everything from ancient samurai warriors, 10 foot clowns, zombies and even a giraffe walking around the The Royal Mile during the festival. The atmosphere is awesome.

We started our day with a picnic in the beautiful St Andrew's Square

Each time I looked this 'statue' had moved

He Really Did This!

and that!

 Essentials

• Be prepared for any weather – Sunscreen, hat, warm coat, umbrella and ‘wellies’ may all be needed on the same day!
• Take your sense of adventure and spontaneity. 
• Patience – Be prepared for crowds
• Comfortable shoes
• Water
• If you’re going with kids, plenty of snacks and drinks

A note on Accommodation

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Guide 2009 suggests that during the month of August accommodation can be costly and hard to find. Plan ahead and book in advance. Visit edfringe.com for links to accommodation sites or try gumtree for more options.

One of my favourites, French group ZicZazou making music with stuff out of the shed

ZicZazou on the last night of The Fringe 2009

You may also enjoy
The Sign Spotting Project

1 Wikipedia
2 www.edfringe.com

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1. Jazz On A Summers Day