Halloween
From Pagan Festival To Secular Holiday
Halloween is a holiday that can be a lot of fun, celebrated with
candy, parties, and costumes, and like many holidays in the United States,
Halloween comes from imported immigrant traditions. This holiday, which came
from Pagan culture with many religious rituals has developed into a secular and
profitable fall celebration in the United States.
Samhain
The
origins of Halloween come from Ireland and Scotland, with the Celtic holiday of
Samhain, which was celebrated on October 31. Representing the end of the
growing season and the start of the winter, part of the Samhain celebration was
practical; it was the time when grain and livestock were examined, and animals
slaughtered as needed to ensure that the livestock as a whole wouldn’t
starve through the winter. Feasting often occurred at this time, and in some
ways, this might seem similar to the American Thanksgiving.
Because this
time was viewed as the change of the seasons, however, this was also viewed as
a time when spirits could be communicated with, so it was also considered a
time to honor the dead, as well as a time for making predictions. Eventually,
the Catholic Church moved its All Saints’ Day to November 1 to replace
this tradition with their own.
Move To America
Despite the
efforts of the Catholic Church to replace the holiday with religious
celebrations, the Irish continued to celebrate their holiday in their own way,
eventually importing it to the United States in the 1800s. It took time for
Halloween to catch on in the United States, as the country was still moving
away from Puritan traditions of not celebrating holidays. In fact, the popular
Halloween fixture, the jack-o’-lantern, wasn’t a part of Halloween
until the 1860s, though there was previously a tradition of carving vegetables
like turnips into lanterns in Ireland and Britain. In early celebrations,
Halloween was most often celebrated by pranks and by games such as bobbing for
apples.
Modern Celebrations
Many of our Halloween traditions
didn’t start until the 1900s, with costumes only gaining in popularity in
the first half of the century; mass-produced Halloween costumes didn’t
appear in stores until the 1930s. Similarly, our tradition of trick-or-treating
didn’t start until the 1950s. However, the holiday seems to be here to
stay, with Halloween existing as one of the most profitable holidays for
stores.
Celebrating Halloween Today
Today we think of Halloween as simply a day when children dress up
in costumes and go from home to home to “trick or treat” and collect
enough candy to make any parent cringe. Halloween is now celebrated with
costumes and treats and is so popular in the United States that many candy
makers make specialized candies and props for this one night. Children and
adult enjoy trick or treating around their neighborhood streets.
In
addition to dressing in costumes and collecting candy from neighbors, children
look forward to sending Halloween cards to their friends. Usually, about a week
before October 31st, many children enjoy sending Halloween cards to their
friends. Sending cards, whether at home or during school, can bring many smiles
from children as it prolongs the evening of trick or treating.
Annually,
Americans spend millions of dollars purchasing holiday home décor for
their homes. Decorating your home for the holiday is a fun way to showcase your
home and brighten up the neighborhood. The most popular holidays for purchasing
home décor are Christmas and, surprisingly, Halloween. Finding the
perfect Halloween home décor can be a fun and entertaining experience,
if you know where to look. Every year, home dwellers often delight in
decorating their homes with symbolic Halloween decorations. One popular effect
is the Halloween haunted house.
Many home decorations are quite elaborate and enjoyable; you too can create
distinctive Halloween decorations without spending too much money.
The
primary Halloween decoration is, of course, the jack-o-lantern. Inexpensive at
your local supermarket, you can choose a pumpkin that matches your size
requirements, from small to extra large. Many families prefer the pumpkin
jack-o-lantern, but a Halloween decoration that is gaining popularity are
synthetic pumpkins that are already equipped with different colored lights
inside that run all evening with batteries. If you would like to go a little
further with Halloween decorations,
you may choose to decorate your porch with inexpensive black and orange crepe
paper, synthetic spider webs and bats, and scary painted faces. You can also
find looping cassette tapes that play scary Halloween music and sounds. One of the most
sought after effects is the Halloween haunted houses effects. There are
numerous ways to make you front yard or house look like a haunted house. The
Halloween haunted houses theme can go as far as to have
tombstones
and fog machines placed in the yard for an over all foggy and eerie
effect. Other props can be a pneumatic
Halloween casket and coffins made from cardboard or wood and to have
someone dressed scarily jump out of it as children pass by going to the front
door.
Children and adults alike live out their
monster or character fantasy during this single night of the year. Most people
go out with their kids to do the rounds and collect candy from the neighborhood
while others go and attend parties. During the parties, you can whip up all
kinds of Halloween food from store bought goodies. One of the easier to do
Halloween food is the Halloween inspired cupcakes.
Halloween is one of
the holidays that people get an excuse to have a party. The exciting part of
having a Halloween party is the fact that we can use costumes and pretend to be
whoever we want to be or pretend to be monsters or other mythical creatures.
This tradition does not go back so far; in fact it is just in the early 19th
century that the basics of Halloween were introduced to the United States of
America. Many variations are integrated to some traditions that originated from
Ireland and other European countries. A Halloween party usually has games like
bobbing for apples and bean bag tosses, although, the games will depend on the
age of the kids having the Halloween party. Younger children prefer games and
costume contests while young adults prefer to just dance and mingle around.
One of the cool things about Halloween is that it gives you the
opportunity to flex your creative muscle and try to create a fun, festive
Halloween theme within your home, whether you’re just looking to have some
fun with your family or you’re entertaining guests for Halloween. Putting
a Halloween theme into your home is easier than you might think, and because
part of the holiday is focused on food, you can start at your table.
Recent Halloween Articles
History of Halloween
Understanding the history of
Halloween can perhaps help you decide what to let your children take part in,
and what to keep your children away from. Also, knowing the origin of Halloween
and its history can also help Christians view the adult, youth, and child
activities associated with Halloween celebrations in the light of Christ's
truth.
Halloween Origins and Customs
History traces Halloween
back to the ancient religion of the Celtics in Ireland. The Celtic people were
very conscious of the spiritual world and had their own ideas of how they could
gain access to it - such as by helping their over 300 gods to defeat their
enemies in battle, or by imitating the gods in showing cleverness and
cunning.
Creative Ideas For Halloween
Costumes
People of all ages look forward to an evening at the end of
October called Halloween. This is a time when they can choose a fantasy costume
and dress up as they go to parties or follow the kiddies around to collect
candy and other treats.
Scary Halloween Sounds
When
you say Halloween sounds, this could actually mean a lot of things. It could be
spooky noises associated with legendary or mythical creatures of the night. On
the other hand, Halloween sounds could also be dance music that is specialized
for spooky times or darker times.
Halloween Poems Have Scary
Themes
This special evening at the end of October is supposed to be
scary, and the atmosphere is usually created by some traditional characters
that have been used for many years..
Naughty Adult Costumes for
Halloween
A popular type of costume for Halloween is a naughty one, as
many women enjoy the opportunity to present themselves more exotic or sexy than
usual.
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