Why You Shouldn’t Believe in Halloween

Following on from my recent Ghost Story, I didn’t grow up with the Halloween tradition and as such, I don’t feel the intense need to place a ‘ZOMBIE CROSSING,’ sign and plaster it in my front garden on October 31 each year.

Nor do I relish having an imprint of a hand on my door/window/car in red paint, simulating blood. And I definitely don’t walk around with a fake plastic axe emerging from each ear in the workplace. In fact, to my way of thinking many aspects of the Halloween festival, are just bizarre. Where did the obsession with the un-dead start?

How Did Zombies Originate?

Familiar search engines suggested Zombies were based in African folklore as a “spirit that is supposed to wander the earth to torment the living” – i.e. this explanation sounds a bit like what we might consider a ghost or paranormal occurrence here.

The Haitian tradition of Voodoo, involved Zombie beings reanimated through magic, but it was actually pop culture and various Hollywood horror movies of the 90 s, such as George A. Romero‘s film Night of the Living Dead (1968) that really cemented Zombies into our vernacular.

Btw, the M.o.t.h. (Man of the House), does loves a Zombie movie.

He watches them late at night, well after I have gone to bed. If I happen to wake, I know when he is watching a Zombie movie as I hear a familiar low growl-type tortured scream of the incensed Zombie mob hungry for a feed of living flesh, permeating the walls of the bedroom. So much for romance! I usually roll over and yawn. Zombie movie plots are so vastly similar and too far debased for my television tastes that I don’t see any appeal in them at all.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Why Celebrate Halloween?

I do wonder why we teach young kids stranger danger, especially strangers bearing sweets or gifts, yet openly encourage them to wander the neighbourhood at night on Halloween, accepting lollies and god knows what else from a person completely unknown to them? Decorations entice them to enter the yard and walk up to a strangers’ door and ask for treats! Incredible.

Worse still, kids may choose to step inside a garage/house which has been decorated in a ‘ghost train’ or graveyard experience-styled theme. Wonderful!

To say nothing of the incentive Halloween gives to consumers to purchase all kinds of plastic rubbish that end up in a landfill. It really is, on the face of it, you know, a bit crae-crae.

So there will be no Halloween celebrated here at the Home by the Sea. Apologies in advance to those who love to celebrate the tradition. As you’ve guessed, I am not one of them.

My light will be off, as that seems to be what needs to be done to dissuade the young ones’ and the Zombies lollie lust. Some will no doubt think our house is fair game, especially if it is still daylight when the Halloween hoards roam the streets, hungry for their fix of sugary treats.

While I am putting the boot into this tradition, can I mention how the ‘Trick’ objective of ‘Trick or Treat’ seems to have gone out the window in favour of just getting that Treat and moving on! Nothing like time management, I guess. Kids around here head straight to the goalposts – they expect a treat and aim to collect as many as possible. Forget about performing for any sweet offerings. No messing around with water pistols or the demands of any ultimatum to the householders.

I once had to offer a biscuit/cookie to a pair of children who fronted up at my door. This was around fifteen years ago when the tradition hadn’t completely taken off yet. I was embarrassed that I had been caught out unprepared. I didn’t always have treats in the house.

I offered the kids a Chocolate Tim-Tam, which they quickly snavelled before moving on to the next house.

Why I don’t believe In Halloween

• I didn’t grow up with this tradition. It came into vogue early in the noughties, in my location.
• It sends mixed messages to kids
• It is heavily commercialised (as is Xmas and Easter)
• It produces voluminous useless plastic trash that ends in landfill or worse still, the ocean
• Making yourself look like you are dead or a bag of bones is just a tad weird.

But like always, I do try to see a silver lining. So on the plus side, Halloween:

• enhances community
• is an excuse to get to know your neighbours better if they are not hidden beneath a Sasquatch onesie splattered in red paint
• means you probably don’t need to cook the kids any dinner that night
• is something children love
• means kids get frightened in a ‘safe,’ way which may help young children process intense emotions (although I am bit conflicted on this)

Any more reasons- both for and against Halloween?

Traditional Art in the Netherlands

Hindeloopen and lock house

Unless you are lucky enough to sail directly into the harbour, it may take several hours and more than a few changes of trains to reach the tiny Dutch village of Hindeloopen in the Northern Netherland’s province of Friesland.  

I alighted at the deserted railway station and felt a stab of disappointment as the town of Hindeloopen, itself, is not immediately visible from the railway station. To add to that, the only residents assigned to “meet and greet” tourists are some rather indulgent-looking cows! Not what I was expecting, at all.

After a twenty-minute walk carrying luggage with no wheels, (remember those times?), I reached the village of Hindeloopen proper and began a step back in time to the 16^th Century, where Hanseatic traders plied cobblestone streets and canals; where ol’ salty Sea Captains built iconic homes with gabled facades and decorated their interiors with elaborate folk art motifs, peculiar to the area.

History of Hindeloopen and Hindelooper Folk Art, Friesland

Ever since the 13th Century, the moorings in the harbour at Hindeloopen provided Norwegian and other Hanseatic traders with a safe haven from the rough weather in the ZuiderZee. All these foreign influences were gradually absorbed into village culture in Hindeloopen. Even the language spoken in the village has more in common with dialects from the Scandinavian countries than it has with its own national Dutch language.

At an altitude of 1 metre below sea level, the village of Hindeloopen had often suffered economic setbacks from devastating floods and inundation from sea water until 1932 when the Afsluitdijk was constructed and the rough seas of the ZuiderZee were tamed at last.

Unfortunately, the closure of the Zuiderzee to the open sea also meant the rapid demise of maritime trade and this forced the citizens to search for an alternate means of income. The unemployed sailors soon discovered there was a market for the traditional wooden objects they’d painted during the times when the weather prevented them from going out to sea. The painted objects became known as Hindeloopen art.

Today, the visitor to Hindeloopen will see grassy dykes along the ZuiderZee, dotted with grazing sheep; a harbour bustling with tourists and luxury yachts and many colourful rowboats in Hindeloopen’s sleepy canals. In summer, the many gardens burst with lush hydrangea blooms and the various artists open their studios to showcase an amazing collection of painted wares.

Art Studios in Hindeloopen

Traditionally, the men of the village are the painters of Hindelooper folk art; the woman and wives merely operate the shopfront where the art is sold, so any questions I had on the technical aspects of painting during my visit went largely unanswered. On reflection, I thought this barrier might inadvertently protect the cottage industry from contemporary artistic influences and maintain its purist form.

At the village’s only hotel, I found examples of Hindelooper folk art including a Spinning wheel, a six-sided High Chair and a Bridal suite complete with a “box-bed,” built into the wall. Furthermore, whilst dining at the nearby Pancake cafe, I noticed every chair and table, therein, was painted in Hindelooper florals by Gauke Bootsma, whose neighbouring studio is brimming with a stunning array of art.

Gauke Bootsma

The sheer quantity of works in Bootsma’s shop is absolutely overwhelming. Although his work is in a contemporary light and airy style called, ‘Basic Hindelooper’, the larger items of furniture and serving trays are decorated with a detailed panel depicting village scenes such as sailing boats, Hindeloopen Sluitshouse, (Lock House), or typical Dutch windmills. 

The shop’s display is themed around the traditional background colours of Hindelooper ie: one room has pieces on stained timber; another has monochromatic white and blue designs, and still another has designs on green backgrounds, a feast for the eyes.

Whilst browsing the many cabinets, wine racks, gate-leg tables, milk cans and smaller items in this shop, I spotted the artist, (who was once destined for a career in seafaring like his Harbourmaster father), hard at work upstairs in his studio, producing yet another beautiful Hindelooper item. On seeing me looking at him working, he quietly closed the door to his workshop. The artists can sometimes be secretive about their techniques!

Harmen Zweed

Directly opposite the town’s Hotel, is the studio of Harmen Zweed who paints in the Classic style.  There is a ‘must see’ door lavishly decorated with biblical motifs, fruit, detailed flowers and scrolls, all painted with translucency and an illusion of depth not seen in the Basic style.  The six-sided traditional high chair gives the visitor a hint of what the Zweed’s kitchen must be like, which is painted completely in Hindelooper.

According to Jenny, (the painter’s wife), who operates the Zweed shop, there are ten colours traditionally used in Hindelooper painting, with the predominant floral motifs being the Dogrose, Starflower and Carnation, but tulips may sometimes be used.

You will find several other painting studios in Hindeloopen such as Iekoon and Meine Visser’s shop. Het Roosje’s studio, established in 1894, is almost a museum in itself and contains expertly painted stair-stools for alcove wall-beds, furniture and specialist woodcarving.  

Harmen Glashower’s stunning painting is impressively detailed, but his shop is open only upon request, although I did find him working in the nearby Dutch Fabric shop. The shop stocks the traditional chintz fabrics used in the Hindeloopen folk costumes, and has a photographic catalogue of Glashower’s painted work available for browsing.

Traditional Hindelooper fabric and costume

HISTORIC FOLK ART in MUSEUMS

Museum piece

The Museum Hidde Nijland Foundation located in the Town Hall (circa 1683), is the place to view Hindeloopen’s painting heritage. Not only is there an enthralling collection of colourful tines, bowls, and cupboards, but also furniture and staircases for wall-beds, dating back to the 17^th and 18^th Centuries. 

My personal favourite was a wall panel in blue on a white background, with bird and floral motifs. I noted a faux marble finish was often incorporated into the rim or side of an object. The display of traditional and brightly coloured folk costumes and Dutch tiles are inspirational in colour and design.

Would you like to know more about Traditional forms of art in Hindeloopen? Check out these links.

Roosje Hindeloopen

Glashouwer Hindeloopen – in Dutch

Christmas in July

What happens when you want to eat Christmas food, you live in a tropical country, and it is 35 degrees (nearly 100 F), in the shade. What do you do?

Christmas Decorations

You organize a Christmas feast, in July, when it is actually wintertime.

I know all the citizens of the northern hemisphere might have a hard time comprehending things being so upside down here. It really is too hot to eat rich Christmas food in the summer months in Australia – which can be up to five months long!

You see come the month of December, I’m more focused on keeping cool and retreating to the ‘Pool room’ – (don’t worry Aussies will understand the reference); lying in air conditioned comfort and watching old home movies or reading a good book, or maybe writing a blog post or two.

The only appetite I have during that time is for salad greens, which is acceptable for me on December 25, but not the rest of the family. Surprisingly, they expect a bit more than rabbit food at Christmas time.

A growing tradition in Australia is to have Christmas in July gatherings, with friends and family and enjoy a mock Christmas meal of Roast meat, Yorkshire pudding, Christmas mince pies and plum puddings with custard.

Scandinavian Glogg

Since the sixteenth century, Glogg is a warm drink brewed at Christmas time in Nordic households to welcome and warm guests travelling in the cold December weather. The name can be translated to mean “glow,” and may be served fortified with alcohol, or non alcoholic. Either way Glogg incorporates a number of spices that resemble the aroma and flavour of a Christmas cake.

Traditionally, the ingredients in mulled wine include: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, orange, and almonds all of which infuse hot fortified wine. However, other recipes have called for cherries and raisins, as well as brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup, and in place of red wine, local distilled spirits such as aquavit or vodka, whisky, bourbon, and even white wine. In the non alcoholic version, ginger provides an added warming element.

The Tea Centre

My Christmas in July celebration happily extends throughout July but not with the traditional Glogg but with a variety of Glogg Black tea from The Tea Centre.

Glogg Black Tea

The supplier offers this tea in both black and green tea blends, and it contains many of the ingredients found in mulled wine: cinnamon for a welcome immunity boost for the Aussie winter and Cardamon, which is known to be beneficial in reducing pain, headaches, nausea and inflammation.

Reminiscent of Nordic Christmas traditions and mulled wines — cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger recreate this special drink … also a touch of almond and orange peel bits.

The Tea Centre

thespruceeats.com/traditional-glogg

For me, drinking this tea brought back those sumptious feelings of Scandinavian hygge. Danish Hygge is that cosy feeling you have when you are curled up in front of the fire, snuggling under a fleecy throw, candlelight dancing across the walls, with your closest loved ones. It is a feeling of being at ease, comfortable and relaxed.

Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com

Aromas of cinnamon and cloves permeated the air as the pot was brewing. If you’re thinking it is not so dissimilar to a cinnamon herbal tea, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the additional flavours of orange peel, ginger and almond.

This tea would work really well with the Danish Spice cake recipe, I posted recently.

Delicious and healthy.