h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There is a character called Satan who takes Jesus to the top of a mountain and tempts him. There is a snake in the garden of Eden who tempts Eve. I don't think the Bible ever says explicitly that these two are the same person, or uses the word Devil, but I could be wrong.

Gnomon is right. Genesis just refers to 'the serpent'. I don't think Satan appears until the New Testament. I'm not sure that the Old Testament even mentions Hell, as such. There are various places, such as Sheol (often translated as 'the grave' or 'the pit') and Gehenna (literally 'the valley of Hinnon') which are sometimes translated as 'Hell', but no specific mention of the place.

I definately preferred Hallowe'en when I was a kid, mostly due to the sweets I got , but also because the kids had to do something. In the West of Scotland, where Tam O'Shanter was a bit too realistic for comfort at that age, we were expected to do a little song or tell a joke or something for your sweets. We would ring the bell, ask politely if the inhabitants were having Hallowe'en and if so we were led in to do our piece and rewarded.
These days kids just seem to expect sweets for being there. That said, I have never had someone round the door who has not gone away peacefully when I have said no.

You lot have got it easy- kids knocking on the door and asking for money, or throwing eggs at your door- piffle. Where I come from, Halloween is like Christmas Eve, as has been for as long as the oldest people in the village could remember. They are Mischief nights, the police bascially say "F**k it", and don't come out 'till morning. From midday 'till morning, all normal rules are suspended, and any old scores are settled. The idiots of the village are in charge. Everyone under about 30 dress up, and everyone else hides. Barrells of beer and bonfires are on every street corner, shops board up the windows, and Mr. Sensible takes a holiday. Kids go trick or treating, but if anyone answers the door, it will be to do something unpleasant to the child- or possibly give them a beer for being brave enough to come out .

I think we have much more fun that way...

That... is fun!?!????

Yep- it is. Because although 'anything goes' that very fact means people are generally too concerned about enjoying themselves in ways they can't normally, to worry about doing anything really nasty. When was the last time you could spray the local police station, or village councilor's house, in silly string, or throw eggs around, without getting into trouble? And it's only one day, after that, everything goes back to normal, until the next Mischief Night. Singing, playing with fire, going up to your neighbour that you really can't stand, but have to be polite to the rest of the year, and covering him in flour and eggs, and telling him what you *really* think of him. Think about it, doesn't it sound in the least bit appealing?

This, don't forget, is from the county that brought you Shrovertide Football

>going up to your neighbour that you really can't stand, but have to be polite to the rest of the year, and covering him in flour and eggs, and telling him what you *really* think of him<

It may be appealing for the thirty seconds of enjoyment you'd get before I shoved your teeth down your throat, as would most of the people I know, local tradition or not...and presumably, as the old bill have shut up shop for the night, there's nothing to stop me doing that, either...

it's appealing, but I can always write something mean about them, thus expressing what I really feel about them, and use it for a school assignment besides. Yes. Ok, I'm being weird.

I like most people. It's ok.

That, Blues Shark, would appear to be the difference between your neighbours and mine. Think I'll stick to mine- chances are I'd get like for like back. Or possibly a firework launched at my back, but hey, I know where the brook is

I guess you just demonstrated why such traditions persist in certain parts of the country, but are stamped out in less, civilised quarters

Civilized!??? Hee hee hee...

Doesn't sound that ideal a neighbourhood. Shame you 'really can't stand' some of your neighbours. Wouldn't want to pelt my neighbours with flour and eggs. Where I come from we get along quite well.

Yep- see, we can have mischief nights with no rules, and no-one dies, and hospitalisation is only accidental. Whereas Blues Shark implied that all out violence would be the result of such a night amoung the people he knows, therefore, we're more civilised, so

Oh. Right. :-p

I think it's the old north-south dicvide thing again.

Simply put, I have as little to do with my neighbours as possible. I've never even *seen* the people that live in the other two flats in my house. I have no wish to do so, or the slightest curiosity about who they are or what they do.

Although they do a damned good elephant impersonation on the stairs.

Whereas I can't avoid meeting my neighbours- I have to walk through one set's back yard to get to my back door, and there are only little fences/walls on any side. There is no privacy here, I see my neighbours, by which I mean those in the houses four or five up and down, everyday. We talk, gossip, meet in the pub, and in two and a half days time I shall do some fairly unpleasant things to one of them, because she really gets on my tits. It's quite possible I shall unpleasant things done to me, too. Then on All Saints Day, everything will go back to normal, with all steam let off until Christmas Eve, when similar things will happen.

Hallowe'en pranks are bad enough but why on earth Christmas eve ? Good way to spend Christmas Day - clearing up mess, flour and eggs from an unpoliced evening from hell. What about poor people wanting to go to Midnight Mass ?

Err, you know, I haven't a clue why Christmas Eve. Hmm, You've got be thinking now. I shall go and do some research and report back. Although I suspect it might be something to do with the Pagan festival of Yuletide, which Christmas got dropped on top of.

Maybe. See, maybe things are different here. We don't have neighbours. We have nighbors.

bloody foreigners

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Have a look at my entry "A week of Traditions" A641503 which has been in stasis for far to long to see that Trick or Treating comes from an amalgamation of traditions combining the Mischief Night or Fright night lore whereby you'd try and scare each other comming from the All Saints Day/All Soul's day celbrations and the traditions of going house to house sharing food, soul cakes or gifts associated with the harvest festival celebrations. All of this has become rolled up in Halloween - mainly trough export to America and reimporation in a bastardised form, but all of these traditions were still quite common just fourty years ago, and some still linger in a small scale.