I have always thought that decorating your backyard with light-up skeletons and graves is kind of strange (not to mention the electric bill!). Then you throw that candy-begging business in it and you get a holiday called Halloween. The Czechs and Slovaks have also kind of a scary holiday called the St. Nicholas Day, but at least the figure of the devil (who tends to scare kids where ever he goes) is ballanced out by the beautiful, holy and secret angel as well as by the Saint Nicholas! Halloween is like: “The more witches, ghosts, blood and dead people, the better!…and gimme some more eye-ball candy with that!!!”
I don’t ignore the holiday I am just little more mellow about it. I decorate my house with a bunch of pumpkins, dig out my strawman and pig out on candy. No skeletons for me – thank you! How about you, what do you think of this ‘holy-day’? VOTE!
CZ: Vzdycky mi prislo divne, zdobit si vlastni zahradu osvetlenymi kostlivci, hroby a pohybujicimi se demony, nemluve o uctu za elektrinu. Pak k tomu pridate zebraci ritual o sladkosti a mate z toho Halloween. Pravda, Cesi maji den Svateho Mikulase, kdy se vecer po ulicich potuluje cert, ale alespon je vyvazeny svatym Mikulasem a bozkym andelem!!! Ti by certa srovnali do late, kdyby se jim moc rozdovadel..
Halloween samozrejme neignoruji, ale spis se u nas doma soustredim na vyzdobu dyni a strasaku a take si rada smlsnu na sladkostech. A co vy? Co si o tomto svatku myslite?
I would not say it is one of my favorite holidays, but I always celebrate it. And now with the kids it is even more fun. The candy usually ends up in the pantry for months and then I trow it away, but the whole dressing up and decorating is fun. The dressing up reminds me of Karneval in Czech in late winter. 🙂
Halloween je stary keltsky svatek, takze by mel byt predevsim oslavovan i v Cechach. Je to vlastne Svatek dusicek:-).
Dusicky se v Cechach oslavuji 2. listopadu. Vlastne nejen v Cechach. A kdyz tak vzpominam tak mi kazdy rok dlabaly jako deti dyne, stejne jako tady. 🙂
I like Halloween. I still remember my very first Halloween in the U.S., carving pumpkins, decorating, dressing up, and I haven’t stop yet. It is a lot more fun with kids especially when they are little. My teenage son still wants me to make pumpkin pie for Halloween. He says it is our family tradition. I think it’s great to have your very own traditions.
Ja mam Halloween rada. Hodne kultur ma podobny svatek, ktery oslavuje zesnule a tak nejak se snazi navazat s nimi kontakt nebo si je alespon pripomenout (Dusicky v Cechach, DÃa de los Muertos v Mexiku, atd.) Smrt je soucasti zivota a svatky tohoto typu maji dlouhou tradici. V Americe je to navic zabava pro deti i dospele.
Lenko, fakt jste v Cechach dlabali dyne? Ja jsem je snad poprve videla tady v Americe. Asi proto mi take nikdy moc nechutnal pumpkin pie. Tolik kalorii a nic moc chut. To si radsi dam nejaky jablkovy kolac :))
A mate pravdu, holky, je to vlastne nas Svatek dusicek, coz si z detstvi pamatuju jako pruvod cerne odenych lidi, co se louda po hrbitovech (pockejte, to zni jako pohreb!). My jsme meli chatu hned naproti hrbitovu a tak jsme se divali, jak se tam v ten den mihotaji (slovo?) plamenky svicek…
JJ, dlabali. Ale mozna to bylo proto ze jsme byli u babicek na vesnici a pestovali dyne. Ale co je divny je, ze jsme je dlabali stejne jako tady. a ja do dneska delam stejny obliceje a deti ted vlastne taky. 🙂 Pumpkin pie mi taky nechutna, nevim co na tom lidi maji. I kdyz cim jsem tu dele, tim se mi znechucuje mene. Clovek se hot meni. Ale co delame, tak kdyz vydlabeme dyne tak delame pure a pak ho pridavam do polevek, peceni (je to super do mufinu misto oleje, prida dobrou chut a barvu a bez kalorii z oleje), a tak.
Na Dusicky se davaji svicky a kytky a kolikrat uz zacinaji s vencema. Moje kamaradka je z Lotysska a minuly rok byla doma pres jejich dusisky a jejich hrbitovy snad sviti vice nez ty ceske. 🙂
No vidis, to jses sikulka Lenko, ja jsem lina a obliceje kreslim fixkou primo na syrove dyne 🙂
Vite, co je legrace? I kdyz jsem tohle leto mela zahradku, vsechno mi nejak uhynulo, jenom krome dyni. Nejlepsi na tom je, ze jsem ani zadna dynova zrnicka nezasazovala – byl to samorost!!!!
Pumpkin pie is the best as well as pecan pie. You have to add cinnamon to the pumpkin and other spices with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Dusicek was always explained to me as a time to remember loved ones who have passed away, visit their graves and clean them and reflect on the memories. In the US our family was not Catholic but the families who were went to the cemetery to visit their loved ones. Maybe it took on a different meaning under communism.
Jana, that’s how I remember Dusicky too. My family was atheist so as I said I remember Dusicky very, very vaguely.
If somebody has a good recipe for a pumpkin pie, I would be interested! I tried it here couple times and it was..sorry:-) awful…
I guess you have to acquire the taste for pumpkin pie. Pumpkin is a very nutritious vegetable. The seeds are good for you too. We usually roast them in the oven with little bit of salt and butter. Pumpkin pie is not as high in calories as people think. Like Lenka mentioned it is a good substitute for butter or oil in making muffins, breads, etc… if you are watching your waist line.
Helka here is my recipe, hope you like it:
1 8 inch pie crust
1 Tbsp. butter
1 cup whole milk, scalded
2 large eggs slightly beaten
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/3 tsp. mace
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup light golden pumpkin
Add butter to scalded milk. Mix beaten eggs with sugar. Add salt, ginger, mace and cinnamon to pumpkin and add egg mixture. Gradually add milk, beating gently just until mixed (not foamy). Pour into unbaked pie crust and bake in preheated 450 oven about 10 to 12 minutes to set crust. Then lower heat to 400 for about 5 minutes. As crust begins to turn a delicate brown on edges, lower heat to about 300 (filling must never start to bubble; if it should, you may lower heat to about 275). Bake until a knife blade inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean. If baked properly, the entire crust should be a light golden brown on bottom. Serve with whipped cream below.
Super! Vyzkousim to 🙂