Thursday 1 November 2012

Do You "Celebrate" Halloween?

I find this time of year confusing.

The word "Halloween" derives from All Hallow's Eve, the day before All Hallows (Saints) day, November the 1st. If you go back far enough, before Christianity arrived in Europe, it was the pagan equivalent of the day of the dead.

That's all very well, but here in England we haven't celebrated the "day of the dead" for over 1,000 years. We don't even celebrate All Saints day anymore.  

Anyway, what's this got to do with money?

Well, according to one post I've read recently: Halloween is Serious Business. Believe it or not, some of our cousins across the pond spend almost as much on this day, as they do on Christmas!

And I've still no idea why! Exactly what are people celebrating? Is it simply a good excuse for a party? If so, why not just have a party??

<rant>
But it's not just that. Halloween is almost entirely driven by rampant consumerism. You only have to look at the supermarkets, who seem to make the most fuss about this. Yesterday, I used one, and ALL the staff were covered in fake blood, and bad makeup... then there was the rest of the shop, with bits of halloween bunting and pumpkin shaped deal markers everywhere.

To be honest with you, I'm ****ing sick of the continuous drive from all large businesses to continually sell me stuff. If it's not my bank trying to sign me up to another credit card that I don't want, it's a well known coffee shop trying to sell me a ridiculously priced pastry to go with my order, or my car insurance company phoning me up trying to sell me pet insurance and so on.

It's no wonder the average man on the street carries more debt than ever before.

By constantly bombarding us with advertising and special offers, companies think they're going to make more money, but it just isn't the case. Simply, all of us have a limit, and that's called the size of our pay packet. Once it's gone, there's no more left in the pot. It's a finite amount, and it's MY pot, and I'm going to KEEP as much of my money from leaving it as I can!

And it's not like we need to save up for Christmas or anything...
</rant>

On occasion I have decided to have a little rant. Just to get things off my chest, you understand...

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