Halloween Exchange

[IvanIvanovich]

Lets have a trick or treat exchange. The goal here is to send distinctive regional and local items to other members around the world that would otherwise not be able to get them easily or at all. We all know Halloween time is one of the best times of the year for some seasonal treats. Other local Halloween customary related items are also more than welcome.
Try to send items that you know are not exported commonly. Avoid home made/unsealed or quickly perishable treats. Gags and other Halloween items are also more than welcome here. Please try to limit yourselves to a max $15 value. Do not enter if you can't be bothered to spend at least $2 on items and shipping to international recipients.

I will then start pairing people up after 15 October and let it run through 30 October.

[sth]

i'm in!

[matt3o]

isn't Halloween a US thing? I mean, we have it over here just because kids like candies, youngsters getting drunk and adults dressing furriers... but I don't think there's anything interesting to buy here

[sth]

candies! why not?

[HzFaq]

Sounds fun, I'll sign up when I get back from work.

We usually get a care package from Poland every couple of months so I should be able to send some authentic Polish sweets .

[pasph]

No halloween here, thanks but no thanks.

[the1onewolf]

No halloween here, thanks but no thanks.

What?

[pasph]

No halloween here, thanks but no thanks.

What?

Really tired of imported shit just to try to suck money where there isn't anymore

[sth]

No halloween here, thanks but no thanks.

What?

Really tired of imported shit just to try to suck money where there isn't anymore

this is literally pocket money being spent on local sweets to be sent to someone who might not have tried it before

if we're gonna complain about the economy, let's complain about banks and defense companies and oil giants, not halloween gift exchange

happy holidays

[matt3o]

okay remove halloween and let's call it "candy exchange program" There are some delicious cookies I can send from here.

[pasph]

it isn't so simple, is trying to import a cultural and economic model that don't belong to us just because they have eated or wasted all our resources

happy holidays
our holyday is "All saints' day".

[pasph]

"candy exchange program" is ok and welcome!

[sth]

it isn't so simple, is trying to import a cultural and economic model that don't belong to us just because they have eated or wasted all our resources

happy holidays
our holyday is "All saints' day".

is there no candy in italy?

my holy day is halloween. hail satan

[Findecanor]

I'm in! I like tasting the local treats when I travel, and I sometimes buy things at ethnic food stores just to try them out.

For me, Halloween is a good excuse to play dress-up. (Not that I wouldn't dress up otherwise...)

[Halvar]

Halloween has no tradition here either. However, the retail industry has had some success in the last 20 years by insistently trying to establish it (as a means to sell the crap China is making originally for the Americam market). Happened with other American holidays like Valentine's day before. I guess trying to make us all buy turkey on American thanksgiving will be next.

I suspect that's pretty much what pasph meant, too. Imported holiday.

So using this day to celebrate the stuff that is not globalized (yet) is actually a neat idea.

I'm in.

[matt3o]

I dressed up like the blues brothers with a friend once, they though I was a tax inspector. another time by The Middleman (google it) and my wife as Wendy Watson. Nobody knew who the heck we were. BTW, not for halloween but for a holiday called "Carnevale" (which is held in february or march, depending on when Easter falls).

[Medowy]

Definitely signing! Who wants finnish candy??

[sth]

Definitely signing! Who wants finnish candy??

full disclosure, finnish candy is herring. just herring.

all finnish food is just herring

[HzFaq]

Isn't it Finland that have that super (super super) salty liquorice?

[sth]

Isn't it Finland that have that super (super super) salty liquorice?

that's holland! maybe finland too! but in finland it's herring.

[IvanIvanovich]

Or call it the Samhain, Hop-tu-Naa, Calan Gaeaf, Allantide, Day of the Dead, Reformation Day, All Saints' Day, Devil's Night... Exchange if it makes you happier.
True in the US it's much more about treats, costumes and other novelties than any of the original Pagan/Christian purpose of the day. I don't see any reason not to exchange some nice fall time seasonal treats around even if you don't particularly care about or celebrate any of the holidays.

Perhaps if it's a success we can keep doing similar every couple month or something.

[Findecanor]

Isn't it Finland that have that super (super super) salty liquorice?

It is popular also in Sweden, but people in Finland tend to like it more. They also have Salmiakki-flavoured vodka.
Otherwise, I think that as we are close and has such a shared history, that the general taste and traditions are much the same.

In Sweden, it is common to start each holiday feast (Christmas, Easter, Midsummer) with an entrée of pickled herring and potatoes.
It is only northern Sweden that has the tradition of eating fermented herring: "Surströmming" which is infamous for its awful smell. People who it eat every year tell me it is tastes much better than smells. The cans buckle under the pressure from the fermentation and are supposed to be opened under water - otherwise you could be sprayed with foul-smelling brine.

In Easter, Finns but not Swedes eat "Mämmi" - a kind of sweet dark porridge/pudding made from rye. It is sold in Swedish supermarkets around then only to cater to the Finnish minority. I tried it once and don't like it.

[Medowy]

Isn't it Finland that have that super (super super) salty liquorice?

Yeah we do have that. It's pretty good actually.

[DanielT]

I'm in Not for the Halloween but for the fun of exchanging treats with other people
Here we have something with similar meaning in November but it's not funny at all

[pasph]

I'm in Not for the Halloween but for the fun of exchanging treats with other people
Here we have something with similar meaning in November but it's not funny at all

Mosii de toamna?

[DanielT]

I'm in Not for the Halloween but for the fun of exchanging treats with other people
Here we have something with similar meaning in November but it's not funny at all

Mosii de toamna?

Yep, that one

[pasph]

In an italian region (Puglia) they have a traditional sweet for 2 November: "colva", it is a recipe very similar to the "coliva" (or it is koliva?)

[DanielT]

In an italian region (Puglia) they have a traditional sweet for 2 November: "colva", it is a recipe very similar to the "coliva" (or it is koliva?)

Coliva
Coliva is traditionally made to celebrate the dead in Romania, even if it is very tasty I never could eat it.....I associate it with all the grim and morbid rituals we have in my country.
Just read about colva, the recipe is similar, same soaked and boiled wheat, and has the same Greek origins.

[IvanIvanovich]

Everyone should have received an email from me now with your exchange partners mailing address. Luckily I was able to match up everyone with someone from another country so this should be pretty nice chance to get things that may not be possible to have locally.

Sign up is open until the end of the month, so I can pair more off as we go from now.

[Findecanor]

Package sent. I can't promise that it will show up by Halloween though.