gooseberryhigh | (no subject)

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I do love how festive Americans get for Halloween, you lot certainly surpass Hogwarts' attempts at decor and the feel of the season, I will say that. October certainly is my favourite time of year, all of my favourite scarves and jewelry fit in so well with everything in October. I especially hope we do pumpkin carving, and from pictures I have seen, Americans are quite artistic when it comes to pumpkin carving. Did you know that traditionally during this time of year, turnips were carved out and made into lanterns? I suppose that takes much more precise knife work, though.

Though Americans don't really have a version of Bonfire Night, and that is a shame, but Halloween is loads better than Bonfire Night, I'd say.

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What's Bonfire Night like?

Back home the whole country lights massive fires and sets off fireworks! Well, at least ~~muggles~~ no-majs do, but once my brother Bedwyr learned about it he insisted that Mummy and Daddy let us celebrate as well! Even the little village down the lane back home all gathers together and has a beautiful grand bonfire that we could even see from our hill when I was growing up.

Oh, that sounds really cool. I think we have enough of an affinity for campfires around here -- maybe we could organize something similar? I bet Event Committee would be interested.

That would be wonderful! I like any excuse for fireworks, truth be told.

Turnip carving sounds really neat! I wonder if the house elves will let us have some turnips to practice on...

Me too! Especially magical ones.

English don't really celebrate Halloween much, right?

I'll bring it up at the next meeting! I think it's very in the spirit of the exchange program, right? We should do some British holidays.

Halloween actually originated similarly to that in America. Immigrants celebrated the harvest around a bonfire and shared ghost stories, sang, danced, and told fortunes. Our last party was actually extremely similar.

They probably didn't have a whole lot of fireworks going on since those came from the Chinese, but I think it'd be cool to celebrate this year with something similar to that. Since there isn't a lot of houses to go trick or treating around. We could have a masked bonfire. Keep it totally anonymous, as if we were trying to hide from the spirits.

Let me know how it goes. And yes, definitely!

Sort of related: I think we ought to do something for the Solstice, too.

Genius. We could have a costume contest, too! Did they unmask at the end of the night, or ever?

I guess if it was to confuse any spirits the answer is no, but ...

Right. What kind of self-respecting witches don't celebrate Solstice?

I mean technically. They only wore masks for that one night in Europe. They believed the veil between our world and the world of the dead was at its thinnest, so they needed to confuse the spirits that could now cross over, to keep themselves safe. A lot of cultures that celebrate Halloween actually celebrate it on that basis. That's why europeans hollowed out turnips and where Americans get jackolanterns from. The entire night started as a celebration to harvest but also to survive all hallow's eve's night safely.

It could be fun though. Like going to a mask party. With costume contests.

Sounds like the sort of thing my grandfather grumbles about this time of year. He's got all kinds of weird stories about spirits and pacts with the devil and such. Actually, I think one does involve putting a flaming coal inside a turnip [...]? I should ask him.

Just smush all the good ideas together.

I made turnip lanterns a few times when I was a kid! It's fiddly but they look so weeny and sweet.

While I do love the gunpowder smell of non-magical fireworks, it would indeed be safer for the forests, I would imagine.

That's a wonderful idea! I do think my other former Hogwarts students would appreciate it. Sometimes just a tiny bit of the familiar is all it takes to stave off homesickness.

It is indeed a tradition I admire very, very much myself. In our modern age we can so often forget how important nature and the changes of the season are to our lives.

~~Attempts?~~ I thought Hogwarts was always decorated really nicely for Halloween.

It would be a wonderful opportunity to practice my ~~knife skills~~ dexterity! And certainly we can use the turnip scraps to ensure they do not go to waste.

We do, but Americans tend to really get in the swing of things and put us all to shame.

My entire dorm is decorated in cobwebs and little skeleton garlands and beautiful skulls, I was always rather discouraged from such celebration at Hogwarts.

Oh. Well, that sounds um very spooky! It's a shame you couldn't decorate your dorm at Hogwarts the same way.

My ~~wretched ingrates~~ dormmates were very firm on their idea of an "aesthetic," but next year I am greatly looking forward to giving them no choice and claiming it as my own.

At Hogwarts, mind you. My dormmates here are lovely. ~~Except for that one grubby rude girl.~~ I will miss them very much.

~~I don't know if~~ ~~That sounds~~ I think that might cause a bit of friction! If you talked to them maybe you could all reach a compromise?

So have you definitely decided you're going back to Hogwarts next year?

Sometimes with particularly disagreeable individuals, they need a taste of their own medicine to know you are not to be underestimated. At least that is what Mummy says, but Mummy was not a Slytherin.

Oh absolutely, all Borgins have always graduated from Hogwarts.

You could be the first not to! If you wanted to, I mean.

An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.

Life is hardly ever so neatly black and white, you'll find. Often times one must navigate the grey areas.

But you could navigate the grey areas with kindness and understanding.

If that had worked from my first to fourth year, naturally it would not be necessary.

Oh. I suppose so. Sorry.

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