Halloween, British style

Celebrating Halloween is a more recent development here in the UK.
It's a growing trend, from what I understand, but hasn't yet reached the mammoth proportions that are found in the US.

I think part of the difference is that the UK already has it's harvest based festivities covered.  The celebration of Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night fills the void of Halloween in America.  Just a week after Halloween, Guy Fawkes Night is a tradition that involves fireworks and a giant bonfire.  It's a British institution in a way that Halloween doesn't seem to be.

When it comes to Halloween, there are no shelves full of individually packaged "fun-sized" candy.  There are a few decorations available, but not nearly to the level of that found in America.  Not a single house in our neighborhood is decorated- at least on the outside (and I doubt on the inside).

The only costumes I've seen are the cheap drugstore kind.  And they're mostly scary.  Not cute or funny.  I guess they take the ghoulishness of the holiday seriously.  I think that may be the main difference.  In America, the focus is on little kids dressing up and being adorable and getting candy, with a soupcon of "scary" (mostly the kind that isn't really scary).  In England, I think the focus on the scary means that it isn't really appropriate or geared towards little 'uns, so they don't really know what to do with it.

A cute little ballerina for Halloween.

I didn't actually start dance lessons for a couple of years, but the dream was already there!

I saw the following costumes today:
1. A cute little boy (~5 yrs) in a skeleton jumpsuit at the grocery store.
2. A sweet little witch (~4 yrs) walking along the road with her mom.
3. A young man (~20 yrs) dressed in a wedding dress and veil with zombie makeup being dropped off at a bar by his girlfriend.
4. A pack of 6 or so teen girls (~15 yrs) dressed in tattered school girl-ish outfits and drippy blood and pale makeup in the bathroom at the grocery store (What!?  I'm pregnant.) fixing their faces and teasing their hair.

That's it.  Not a single other costume in sight, despite the fact that I was in very busy parts of town at various times of the day.  I didn't see any packs of kids and parents out trick or treating in our neighborhood either.  It's the kind of area that it perfect for it too!  Ross says that Brits don't know the rule about leaving your porch light on as a sign that you are open to candy-seekers, so I think it just all seems too complicated.

Also, the phrase "trick or treat" seems to cause some confusion.  Whereas in America, everyone knows it's just what you say.  It's really just means "give me some candy please".  In England, it's less clear.  What is this "trick"?  Do you retaliate if the people don't have candy to offer?  Again, I think it's the dark nature of Halloween in the UK.  The people are searching for the ominous and creepy element, whereas Americans are happy to turn it into a more cartoony version of it's original incarnation.

Thus ends my ramble on Halloween in the UK.  You can blame reader Elizabeth if you didn't enjoy it, because she requested it! :)

My country tis of thee

In honour of the 4th of July (ironically one of the only dates that Americans will automatically format in the British style... date then month...)  let's talk a little about patriotism.

But first, a funny anecdote:
A couple of years ago, Ross was with me in Dallas for the 4th of July.  We went to Grapevine and did a wine trail.  It was fun and HOT.  I mean HOT.  Note to all of you:  heat and wine don't go well together.  We were wiped out before mid-afternoon.  Ross remarked on all the people who happily wishes all of the passersby (including him) a "Happy 4th of July"!  He said, "There's nothing happy about it!  I lost an empire!"
No joke, a few people did ask him, in all seriousness, if it bothered him to be reminded of the war.  In case you are wondering... British people do not generally continue to mourn the loss of "the colonies"- at least not actively.

God Bless America!

This image is pretty much guaranteed to bring on feelings of pride and patriotism from most Americans.*  Regardless of many factors that might separate Americans, this flag tends to join people together.  At sporting events people are reverent (and good spirited) as they sing the familiar refrain of "the laa-and of the freeeeeeee.... and the home.... of the..... brave".  Americans are, in general, proud to be Americans.  They often proclaim that they live in the greatest country in the world and that God blesses it regularly.  People from all walks of life salute the flag.   They fly a flag from their front porch. They line the streets of their neighbourhood with tiny little plastic flags on wooden dowels.  They emblazon various items of clothing with the stars and stripes.  They have big 4th of July parties.  BUT their patriotism, though perhaps most on show for that day, doesn't stop during the rest of the year.  

As for the British people.  They aren't nearly as flag-waving of a bunch.  They tend to reserve patriotism for sporting events.  Outside of football, overt boisterous patriotism (the kind that the 4th of July is made for!) here is generally tinged with racism.**  It sounds bizarre, but an illustrative anecdote:

A couple of months ago, the Royal Exchange (where we have season tickets) was looking for everyday people to act as "supernumeraries" (code for extras) in their upcoming production of A View From The Bridge.  We thought it could be sort of fun, so we sent in our pictures and availability.  We got word that we were through the first hurdle (apparently we weren't excluded on the basis of our looks) and should come in for a group "casting".  We showed up at the stage door to the theatre, as instructed, and went up to the costume department to be measured.  Then a group of about 15 people went into a large rehearsal room.  The director and her assistant were there and had us all sit in chairs in a circle.  She then asked us to go around the room and tell our names and one interesting thing about ourselves.  (I'm getting to the relevant part- I promise.)  There was a young man in our group- late teens I would say- who was clearly an acting student.  He had a very serious look on his face and a drama department sweatshirt on his body.  When it came his turn to say his interesting fact, he said: "I'm VERY patriotic."  The intensity with which he said this is hard to convey via text, but trust me when I say it was a bit weird.  It might as well have been code for "There is a black man in this circle and I'm totally uncomfortable with it."  I believe this story, more than anything, demonstrates the difference between patriotism in the 2 countries.  (By the way- we didn't get cast.  Which was good, because when we saw the play we realized we would have been really bored doing it.)

And now, to address a reader request from Anita.

Anita wanted to know what an expat does in England for the 4th of July.

The answer is:

A)  If you're me.  Nothing.  We're working a usual day.  We didn't do anything particularly "American" this weekend to mark the occasion or anything- though we did hear some unexplained fireworks on Saturday night.  (edited to add:  We just ate watermelon!  That's something.)

B)  If you're a cool expat who has expat friends (I've looked, but they all seem to be in London!)  you might have a little celebration.  I've seen quite a few blog posts about picnics and cookouts and the like.  I don't think any of these gatherings have been broken up my pitchfork wielding locals, irate over being reminded of their lost empire.

*I realize that this isn't always the case and that there are people who have protested actions taken by America and have burned the flag.  Not everyone will fall in this sweeping generalization, but for arguments sake, let's ignore those outliers.  
**Again, a generalization.  I'm positive that there are British people who are simultaneously overtly patriotic and not at all racist.  

Etiquette of Ex's

Loyal Reader Micah posted an excellent suggestion for a post:

"...the need to sign off with xx and the meaning behind how many you include.  Discuss."

Kisses!

This is certainly a difference between American and English culture.  Nearly all communications here in England (text, email, written) seem to end in these little marks "xx".  It's not something I've gotten the hang of yet.

It seems to me that the etiquette is as follows:

- "xx" is standard for anything.  Seriously- a text message from an acquaintance usually ends in 2 x's

-"xxx" is for close friends or family members.

-"xxxx" (or more) is for romantic partners or on cards from children.

Am I right?  Please feel free to discuss how you use ex's in your written communications.

Mo' Money Mo' Problems Part 2: Old Timey Money

What the heck is this song even about?

Recently, loyal reader Wiley requested an explanation of what exactly "tuppence" is.  Old timey British money always sounds really cool to me: farthing, tuppence, ha'penny, sixpence, shillings, guinea, crowns.  I always imagine Dick VanDyke saying the words in the world's worst "British" accent.

Prior to February 15, 1971 British money was much more dissimilar to American money.  A pound was made up of 240 pence.  This certainly makes the use of a sixpence coin more understandable- as 240 is divisible by 6. A pound was made up of 20 shillings and a shilling was made up of 12 pennies.  A penny was subdivided even further.  A penny was made up of 2 ha'pennies or 4 farthings.  Tuppence specifically applies to a quantity of 2 of these pre-decimal pennies, though some people still use it with current decimal pennies.'

A guinea is an interesting amount of money.  It was 1 pound and 1 shilling.  It was considered a "gentlemanly" amount and was used to pay artisans for their wares.  Sort of like a built in tip or commission.  It's still used today for buying and selling race horses.

Fun/Slightly Weird Fact:

Tuppence and ha'penny are also slang for a young girls private parts.

Old timey mothers and governesses might caution their wards to "Keep your hand on your ha'penny."

This means that they should guard their virtue.  They might find themselves "expensively" involved if they don't...

So does that clear things up?

Any other reader requests?

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series where I'll talk about cockney rhyming slang and money. Fun!