Halloween in Rifts Earth Culture?

[darthauthor]

Do humans still party for Halloween on Rifts Earth?

I imagine they would still have superstitions

[glitterboy2098]

i'd imagine that some traditions might survive.. but i suspect that where they do, a lot of them have slid back into older forms. Halloween is derived from All hallows eve, a time of remembrance and respect for those that had passed on. and it was a christianization of traditions like Samhain and Allantide, which were fall festivals that mixed thanksgiving for a successful harvest with recognition of the spiritual world around you, including the lingering souls of the dead, 'fairies', nature spirits/gods, and so on.

it seems likely that the survivors of the cataclysm would ressurect, in spirit if not detail, many of these older traditions in an effort to appease whatever supernatural things exist in their area.

i also wouldn't be surprised if in some parts of north america, the Día de los Muertos (day of the dead) festival traditions don't continue.

[desrocfc]

After two centuries of absolute strife and darkness, humanity just clawing itself back from the brink, methinks old pastimes (e.g. Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Chanukah, Eid, Ramadan, Dharma Day) would be long-since forgotten. Not to say the CS might not have developed other rituals or civic holidays, but ones based around calendar events that typically also coincide with increased ley line activity doesn't seem like something I'd associate with the CS. <shrug>

That said, it's a GM's call. I certainly won't pack my character sheet if the GM suddenly makes it a component of their adventure, LOL.

[ShadowLogan]

After two centuries of absolute strife and darkness, humanity just clawing itself back from the brink, methinks old pastimes (e.g. Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Chanukah, Eid, Ramadan, Dharma Day) would be long-since forgotten. Not to say the CS might not have developed other rituals or civic holidays, but ones based around calendar events that typically also coincide with increased ley line activity doesn't seem like something I'd associate with the CS. <shrug>

That said, it's a GM's call. I certainly won't pack my character sheet if the GM suddenly makes it a component of their adventure, LOL.

I tend to agree this is what should happen. With re: to Halloween specifically, its customs/traditions/rituals/etc will likely only survive if they work. For example, if putting on costumes (in general) doesn't work (as its supposed to against SN/CoM/spirits on that night) that part of the tradition may die off quickly (or abandoning costume styles that don't work).

We know there is a Preacher OCC (WB14: NW) and Priests in several books, though IIRC they are presented as "generic as possible" so they might be able to represent some form of the Abrahamic Faiths, in addition to the established Pantheons (or AI). Though I would suspect that holidays we practice today may not look the same if they manage to survive at all.

[green.nova343]

Having just recently rewatched Halloween III: Season of the Witch, I could see some of the more regressed communities reverting back to blood sacrifices (human or otherwise), & especially the "Blood Druids" of England (Cochrane stole one of the standing stones from Stonehenge & figured out a way to essentially link shards from the stone into a digitally-triggered summoning circle).

Just think...with ley lines & high PPE levels, a Cochrane-like villain wouldn't even need to rely on network/satellite broadcast to initiate it...

[taalismn]

A definite lack of Snickers bars and M&Ms.

[Grazzik]

For a recent discussion on holidays... see viewtopic.php?t=186154