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Tuesday 30 October 2012

Halloween is comin'....

'Halloween is comin' and the goose is gettin' fat. Will ya please put a penny in the ol' man's hat? If ya haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do. If ya haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you. And yer old man too.'

 Does anyone remember that? Cos that's what we sang at Halloween, long before all the 'trick or treating' shenanigans going on now. Actually the first time I ever even heard of trick or treating, was when I watched 'ET' for the very first time. Between that, and the proper scary costumes and face paints all the kids were wearing, I was enthralled! It was Halloween but not as we knew it!
 Belfast style, it was bin liners, tin foil and old sheets. Or in my case, an old 1970's maroon trouser suit of my mammy's. A bit of red lipstick on my nose and I was Coco the clown.  No question, our costumes  weren't wonderfully customized, lovingly made from 'vintage' affairs. They were cobbled together, dragged from the hot press/ wardrobe/ dressing up box, and  tied together with belts, safety pins and string. There was a lot of  'Guess what I am!' going on, and very hit and miss it was too.
Daddy's (not so) old shirt getting the fake blood and slash treatment.....ooooops!
And while we're on the subject - when did pumpkins join the party? I know that nothing says Halloween like a pumpkin, but then I was the turnip generation. And I'm sure that you can appreciate even with rose tinted glasses on,  that's just not the same. At. All.  I mean, there was Elliot and Gertie with their beautifully carved twinkling pumpkins on their doorstep, and we had....a turnip with a hole in it.
Breakfast...Halloween style!
And believe it or not, I'd never actually SEEN a pumpkin IRL, till we lived in America- they've been all over the pumpkin thing there for years- but it was only about 7 or 8 years ago that we've gone mad for it here as well. Now, there's pumpkin patches all over the place, and its all good....except, I suppose, for that hasbeen - the turnip.  Think about it, Halloween must've been a longstanding, much needed gig for the old  turnip, and then in breezes that upstart pumpkin, and that was it- Goodbye Turnip. Disappeared overnight like a vegetable betamax. And back in the day, you know, long before we had zucchinis and bean sprouts and rocket, the turnip was a player- a staple in every trolley. But now? When did you last see Jamie Oliver or Nigella getting all het up over the lowly turnip?  (Okay, I've clearly lost the plot when I'm feeling sorry for a vegetable-moving quickly on....).


Ducking for apples, masks with elastic bands on the back, monkey nuts, tarts with hidden 10p pieces  in tinfoil , sparklers, Bengal matches- these are my Halloween memories, and possibly amidst the pumpkins, the trick or treating, and the Harry Potter costumes,  I'm feeling a little bit, well, errrrm,  old. And even though I'm loving all the shiny new traditions,  I'm maybe missing the older ones a wee bit too. Maybe it's an age thing. Or maybe I should just go all vintage for Halloween around here... What about you? What did/ does your Halloween look like? Go on, do share...


8 comments:

  1. Just recently found your blog and I'm hooked. I'm an ex pat Co Down girl now living in the Scottish Highlands. Was just siging "Halloween is coming" to my kids this morning. Love all you memories of a 70s/80s Halloween. I suppose I combine the old and new. We carve pumpkins in favour of turnips. Turnip carving is soooooo sore on the old biceps. But we do try to go for homemade costumes or at least with things gleaned from the charity shops. And in Scotland, guising is still going strong and our kids are all expected to perform a song or a joke for their treat. I make easy peasy toffee apples but might reinstate my mum's traditional apple pie with the tinfoil wrapped coins in to break your teeth. Happy Halloween to you and yours.

    Alexa. x

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    1. It's lovely to know that I'm not alone With these memories Alexa....and it sounds like you're keeping 'er lit over in Scotland! Hope Halloween was scary and fab for your family too.xxx

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  2. ok, breath deep, cos this is a sad one...

    My children are all going somewhere else this Halloween.....boo hoo BUt that's what happens when you are the furthest away from where it's all happening!

    So just Desi and me with Edward and Maria for dinner with no childer!!!!

    I remember my mammy doing the turnips and in fact we did them before the arrival of the pumpkin for our older ones. Also one halloween when I was about 16 a strange dog came into our house and we couldn't get down the stairs for the night out, but hey we were fashionably late when we did. eventually get out But I'm old enough for that just to be 'late' lol

    So enjoy the madness and the costumes(the younger ones want them bought, I made them for the older ones), the sweets and the noise, cos someday it will be just the grown up's...

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    1. A different sort of Halloween for you then Brenda...but maybe that was welcome after the madness of years gone by? I was Loverboyless this year so instead of hosting our usual mad party we just gate crashed other people's. Maybe next year I'll sneak off to you for a nice civilized quiet Halloween night :-)

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  3. Here in America you rarely see a turnip, much less decorate with one! History says during the Civil War, both sides raided pumpkin patches as they marched along, roasted them over open campfires, kept many a man alive during a time many starved. So the lowly pumpkin has a warm spot in the collective memory of the country, no wonder it's so prominent. As for costumes, I grew up wearing homemade, making my own as I got older. My daughter always had something handmade. I was terrribly disappointed last night when she took her 2 year old son to Walmart and purchased a costume for him. I hope she comes to her senses before next year and realizes, half the fun is designing and making your costume!

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    1. Penny- I didn't realize that about the Civil War! That's so interesting- we used to live in DC and visited Gettysburg and other sites over the years and I'd no idea about the pumpkins. I know what you mean about the homemade costumes and yet the store bought one's are so....handy! Happy Halloweenxxx

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  4. Emma the turnip was a Sunday dinner staple in our house and dad carved one out every Halloween!! Ur right about pumpkins taking over!! Our wee Lucy may never know about turnips!!

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  5. The humble old turnip! Who would've thought we'd hold it so dear- and you're right- my mum used to do mashed turnip with onions in- was pretty tasty actuall!

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