IT was meant to be a major demonstration calling for Halloween to be made a public holiday in New South Wales, but only a small crowd turned out to wave placards.

The demonstration of adult, costume-wearing participants was organised by the so-called Halloween Institute of Australia to lobby NSW Premier Kristina Keneally to make October 31 an official holiday.

Tell us what you think. Do Australians deserve another public holiday?

The institute's chairman Sanjay Gidwani today read an open letter to the premier outside Parliament House, outlining the group's reasons.

While some may say it's an American holiday, Mr Gidwani believes Halloween can be about celebrating Aussie values.

"What is more Australian than meeting the neighbours and engaging in the local community?" he said in his letter.


Mr Gidwani spoke of Halloween as a fun day for children and adults, but no children were present in the group of about 14 that marched from the MLC Centre in Martin Place to the front of parliament.

Hey, I got nothing against meaningless days off, but this is a stretch even for me.

Well I suppose some people would say yes, other people would say no.  Then again I remember that we used to have Easter Tuesday as a public holiday.  That is of course until one liberal premier in Victoria came along and changed it.  Also What ever happened to show day?.  Was that not considered a public holiday years ago?.  

This calendar is almost too well thought out isn't it.

In our lives, we are living an average of 2 days out of a week, 10 days out of a month, 118 days in a year and yes, that does include the 14 public holidays for us VICTORIANS.

247 days a year we are forced to slave.
129 days we work more than we live in a single year.

So why the f.u.c.k not, make it a 128, please, please GOD. Oh wait, the wrong department did you say? Well who the F.U.C.K DECIDES HOW MANY DAYS I HAVE OFF EVERY YEAR THEN HAA? DO I GET A VOTE? NOO? AWW WHY THE F.U.C.K NOTT?

stick with the pyramids it's lets complicated buddy

I dont get how anyone could justify wanting halloween as a holiday.

What a joke.

No. Get a smacking job.

No wonder no-one wants to run a business in Australia, if anything sell it off overseas. We have stuff all 'manufacturing' in Australia for starters and just run off selling our Resources be in Mineral Wealth, the Fish in 'our' seas or Old Wood Forests to name some.

Besides paying dead-beats, who can't even do their jobs properly due to drug and alcohol influences, a wage that is one of the best for 'working class' in the world. Employers now have to pay double-time and a half upon another day, because lets face it ...a lot of people work on those days and chuck sickies on ordinary days.

The more public holidays the better.

As long as the pubs are open and kebab vans are operating. I'll happily welcome any new public holiday.

Don't expect me to hire you dude, I'll let you keep the entire year a holiday to enjoy as many kebabs and pub flies as you like upon Govt/taxpayer benefits.

Crook, why not just take the whole year off.

Oops, forgot who I was talking to for a minute.

Funny thing is there has already been an extra public holiday granted this year.

There is christmas day 25, then monday 27, and also tuesday 28th.  The Tuesday being granted as an additional public holiday.

Quote:

Employers now have to pay double-time and a half upon another day, because lets face it ...a lot of people work on those days and chuck sickies on ordinary days.

Not for those of us on a salary. No penalty rates, no payed overtime. Public holidays? You end up working through half of them anyway.

I'm still surprised we celebrate some old fat Finnish dude getting high on a magic sleigh from the same magic mushrooms he feeds his deers.
...oh yes, thats right RETAILING. ::)

I vote for Halloween

Say Canada and Japan did it, we feel left out. I heard Japan only does Punken and Witches.

No, it's stupid to celebrate a Holiday in Australia that refers to the Northern Hemisphere seasons.....

Halloween is a celebration about the end of the Northern summer...

Seems pointless to celebrate it in the middle of Spring...

There's a shortage of public holidays over the winter months. ...something in July would be welcome.

The economy is hardly going to shut down because of one day off.  Don't us drones deserve a bit of leisure time?

... wrote on Oct 28^th, 2010 at 1:18pm:

There's a shortage of public holidays over the winter months. ...something in July would be welcome. The economy is hardly going to shut down because of one day off.  Don't us drones deserve a bit of leisure time?

Well the end of summer here( for the same festival as Halloween) would be April 30th to May 1st......

Or the Winter Solstice....June 20-21 (well round about anyway)..

I suppose that'd be closer to winter months..

Police Warn Parents About Dangers of Halloween
Oct 27, 2010

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Police are asking parents to keep a close eye on their kids this Halloween. Sargent Cristy Hamblin said police will be paying close attention to traffic this October 31st, and for good reason. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration kids are four and a half times more likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than any other day of the year.

Cedar Rapids Police are also hoping technology can help to reassure and protect the public. They are encouraging parents to check out the Iowa sex offender registry before letting their kids go trick-or-treating.

“It will bring up their name, their picture, who the victim was as far as male or female, the age group,” said Sargent Cristy Hamblin.

Hamblin said although sexual related crimes do not necessarily spike on Halloween, the department is using the holiday to spread awareness.

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Police-Warn-Parents-About-Dangers-of-Halloween-105913083.html




It all sounds too bloody hazardous for MY liking

Though it was rather quaint, on our first Halloween here, to have a procession of costumed kids "trick or treating" door-to-door (something we'd, understandabley, never seen in the inner city)

Unfortunately, unprepared as we were, all we could offer were cans of beer or a few cigarettes

I had to send the "significant other" down to the the supermarket for some musk sticks and aniseed rings

buzzanddidj wrote on Oct 28^th, 2010 at 8:26pm:

It all sounds too bloody hazardous for MY liking Though it was rather quaint, on our first Halloween here, to have a procession of costumed kids "trick or treating" door-to-door (something we'd, understandabley, never seen in the inner city) Unfortunately, unprepared as we were, all we could offer were cans of beer or a few cigarettes I had to send the "significant other" down to the the supermarket for some musk sticks and aniseed rings

LOL...the past couple of years I have tied the front gate closed...lest the pesky critters might breach the boundaries and beg for non-existent treats...

That said, my 12 YO has asked if he can dress up and go out with some friends for his first Halloween 'celebration' this year - I'm thinking about it...

buzzanddidj wrote on Oct 28^th, 2010 at 8:26pm:

I had to send the "significant other" down to the the supermarket for some musk sticks and aniseed rings

Bet they were popular with the kiddies.   ;D

qikvtec wrote on Oct 28^th, 2010 at 8:37pm:

buzzanddidj wrote on Oct 28th, 2010 at 8:26pm: I had to send the "significant other" down to the the supermarket for some musk sticks and aniseed rings Bet they were popular with the kiddies.   ;D

The mind does boggle...somewhat...

I think Melbourne Cup day is a more reasonable option.

Not a lot of productivity that day anyway.

Halloween has no relivance to Australia even though it has become popular with the kids over the last decade.

I think Christmas is the dumbest excuse for a Holiday in this part of the world.
Besides the concept being originally from Finland about an old fella getting "high" on his sleigh with some Reindeer who nibbled the same Mushrooms he was on.
I just can't see the point of seeing people dress up all 'wintery' in the middle of a hot summer.
I dislike these winter decorations being already on display in October in Shopping Malls/Plaza's etc.
I dislike the Retail scam of pricing products up only to somehow be able to sell them dirt cheap a week after Xmas day.
I dislike how this 'celebration' is more of a SALE.
I dislike the corruption of Religion and its interpretation over an astronomical event.

I dislike how parents can only enjoy Xmas 'through' their children because they know what a rotten time it really is.

I dislike how Australia can whinge like me, but not come up with anything better of an excuse to have a holiday.

sucks doesn't it.
:-[ :(

dontworry wrote on Oct 26^th, 2010 at 6:10pm:

This calendar is almost too well thought out isn't it. In our lives, we are living an average of 2 days out of a week, 10 days out of a month, 118 days in a year and yes, that does include the 14 public holidays for us VICTORIANS. 247 days a year we are forced to slave. 129 days we work more than we live in a single year. So why the f.u.c.k not, make it a 128, please, please GOD. Oh wait, the wrong department did you say? Well who the F.U.C.K DECIDES HOW MANY DAYS I HAVE OFF EVERY YEAR THEN HAA? DO I GET A VOTE? NOO? AWW WHY THE F.U.C.K NOTT?

So you want another day off. Lets take a look on what you are asking for.

There are 365 days per year available for work. There are 52 weeks per year which you already have 2 days off per week leaving 261 days available for work. Since you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up 170 days, leaving only 91 days available.

You spend 30 minutes each day on coffee breaks, that accounts for 23 days a each year, leaving only 68 days available. With a one hour lunch period each day, you have used up another 46 days, leaving only 22 days available for work.

You normally spend 2 days per year on sick leave, leaving only 20 days for work. We are off for 5 holidays per year, so your available working days are down to 15 days.

We generously give you 14 days vacation days per year which only leaves 1 day available for work and you will be dammed if you're going to take that day off!!!!

It seems to me that Halloween has become just another excuse for shops to make more money judging by the amount of Halloween merchandise I've seen on sale.

wrote on Oct 30^th, 2010 at 2:16am:

It seems to me that Halloween has become just another excuse for shops to make more money judging by the amount of Halloween merchandise I've seen on sale.

That's true...
The Woolworths here in town is selling the large round pumpkins (which I've never seen in Woolies before), like you see on American TV shows at Halloween for $25.00 EACH...

Some of the Scottish traditions at Halloween are pretty cool - like ducking for apples and  treacle scones, where the kids eat these triangular scones hanging on a string draped across the room. plastered with treacle. At least they have a traditional basis for Halloween over there. We don't.

Quote:

The Celtic festival Samhain is one of the four quarter festivals. In Gaelic it is Samhuinn which means hallow tide or season, the feast of all-souls. The souls of all the dead are said to be free on that day, 1st November. 1st November was the first day of the Celtic new year and the transition between old and new year was believed to set free evil spirits which would visit your house.

Jaykaye_09 wrote on Oct 26^th, 2010 at 5:25pm:

Hey, I got nothing against meaningless days off, but this is a stretch even for me.

It's even more of a stretch considering that not even the Americans get a day off for Halloween.

Maybe we should just go the whole hog and have Thanksgiving, Independence day and Washington's birthday as Australian public holidays

Then again how about we just try and get back what was taken away.  Easter Tuesday, and royal show day?.

wrote on Oct 30^th, 2010 at 11:55am:

Then again how about we just try and get back what was taken away.  Easter Tuesday, and royal show day?.

Wasn't Easter Tuesday known as something like 'kid's day at the show' - when we still had 3 year school terms (in NSW)!?

As for the proposal for a Halloween holiday: I doubt it will ever get up - given that it comes too close to the October long weekend and very few business leaders would have a vested interest in supporting it (for most, it would be deemed contrary to their vested interests)...

I am not sure about N.S.W but in Victoria we always had Easter Tuesday as a public holiday.  That was until Jeff Kennett the liberal premier took it away as far as I know.  Easter at one stage was always five days.  

wrote on Oct 30^th, 2010 at 11:55am:

Then again how about we just try and get back what was taken away.  Easter Tuesday, and royal show day?.

Yes I remember the good old days when I used to get Show day and Easter Tuesday off.

I'll never forget the way Jeff Kennett did it. At first he threatened to cancel Easter Tuesday, Queens Birthday, Show Day and Melbourne Cup day. There was outrage so he "compromised" and just got rid of Easter Tuesday and Show day.

Equitist wrote on Oct 30^th, 2010 at 12:00pm:

As for the proposal for a Halloween holiday: I doubt it will ever get up - given that it comes too close to the October long weekend.....

What October long weekend?

The_Barnacle wrote on Oct 30^th, 2010 at 12:11pm:

Equitist wrote on Oct 30th, 2010 at 12:00pm: As for the proposal for a Halloween holiday: I doubt it will ever get up - given that it comes too close to the October long weekend..... What October long weekend?

LOL...I was thinking that it was the Queen's Birthday - but it is Labour Day in NSW...

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/events/vacations.html