No they don't. The whole Halloween thing is very American, though probably didn't originate there. Britain celebrates it because of its relation to America. A lot of American culture washes up on British shores such as Halloween. The french don't celebrate Halloween.
well my gf said they sort of do/did.. they did for 3-4 years than basically got rid of it as it was not their culture really, which makes sense. and I wanted to ask if they celebrate april fools in this thread but my gf confirmed that they do tonight.
it's begining actually, but mainly because it'scommercially good for candyshops and toy sellers. the real thing is called "mardi gras", it's in february or marsh, i can't remember, and it's more like a carnival, taking place before the "carême", wich is a sort of ramadan for christians. what happens on october 31st is "la toussaint", commemorating the dead, in a rather sad way. it's the day families are supposed to flower the cemetaries. it's a good commercial thing for flower sellers, especially for the specie "chrysenteum" .
This year in France, my doorbell never stopped ringing with Halloween visitors. How could someone say that it is not big in France? Perhaps not as big as in America, but much bigger than Australia or England.
wth are u talking about, no one celebrates it in france, especially not this year... of course u can buy candy and scary outfits here and there, but theres no kids trick or treating... they tried to introduce it a few years ago, but it really sounded like a commercial celebration so very few pple celebrated it. i think the whole concept is fun but u cant force pple to celebrate something thats not in their traditions. and i think its originally an irish celebration, not an american one.
Halloween is Celtic. It is the Pagan new year's eve. (later taken as all saints day by the christians) It was orginally native to the British Isles, Bretagne, Normandie, perhaps much of northern France..of course France was Romanised, and Britain was Germanised, but these traditions survived in the celtic fringes of Scotland and Ireland, and have made a return to England (allbeit in an American Form). Halloween is our oldest holiday, one last link to our ancient ancestors... The french may not celebrate Halloween, but a lot of them traditionally visit cemeteries on Nov 1st...this isn't just a coincidence, and it predates All Saints Day. So just like her awkward celtic counting system, France could lay a claim to Halloween if she wanted to...
yea we do go see our dead pple in cemetaries on nov 1st. its all saints day (la toussaint). i did this year for the first time in a loooong time. its gloomy tho
