House party

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This article is about the event. For the motion picture, see House Party (film).

In the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada the term house party refers, typically, to a type of party where large groups of people (usually high school or college students) get together at a designated house, mainly for the purpose of consuming alcoholic beverages. High-schoolers often throw such parties when their parents or guardians are away from home for extended amounts of time.

In Ireland and the United Kingdom, a house party can be referred to as a "free gaff". Such parties are classified as house parties in order to distinguish them from parties that take place in the college dorm rooms and other places on campus.

[edit] House parties in history

An early example of a house party can be seen in the play Mostellaria (The Haunted House) by the Roman playwright Plautus. In it a young man called Philolaches is having a great time while his father is away on business. Philolaches has also borrowed a lot of money to buy the freedom of the slave-girl he loves. One day he is having a house party with many friends, when his slave Tranio interrupts the merry-making to announce that Philolaches' father has returned unexpectedly and will arrive from the harbour at any minute. Amid the general panic, Tranio has an idea. He hustles Philolaches and his friends into the house and locks the door. The father now arrives. Tranio greets him respectfully but pretends that it is dangerous to enter the house because it is haunted.

Unfortunately, at this moment a money-lender turns up to claim the money that Philolaches borrowed. Tranio thinks quickly and pretends that the money was borrowed to buy the house next door. Even when Philolaches' father meets the real owner of the house, Tranio manages to hide the truth for some time, but he is found out at last and jumps onto the top of an altar to escape punishment. All ends happily, however, when one of Philolaches' friends arrives and persuades the father to forgive his son. Even Tranio is forgiven.