Halloween is a very popular holiday in the United States. It is also called All Hallows’ Eve, and it is held on 31st October. Like Christmas, it initially had a spiritual approach, and it was created with the purpose of remembering the dead, as well as all the departed souls. However, nowadays, it became more of a commercial celebration.
Halloween History
It is believed that this feast has its origins in the Celtic harvest festival, called Samhain. This was a special celebration of the harvesting season and later preparation for winter time. In any case, Halloween has pagan roots. Later on, it was somehow Christianized.
When it was initially created, this spooky feast was marked by traditional bonfires. Furthermore, back then, people believed that the boundaries between the two worlds will fade. Moreover, they thought that the dead would come into the living world and damage the crops as well as kill innocent people.
Within the United States, the first time a newspaper wrote an article about this tremendous celebration was in 1911. Then, a publication from Kingston, Ontario, presented to the public ways in which children can have fun during this popular night of terror.
Besides the United States, this celebration is also popular in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and in many other parts of Europe. However, in some places, like England, the authorities do not accept the kids are going out to ask for candies because there were cases of teenagers involved in violent situations.
When is Halloween?
Like I previously mentioned, this holiday is held on 31st October of every year. A similar festivity takes place in Mexico, every year. They celebrate the Day of the Dead, on 31st October.
Some say that this specific date was picked to represent the night of the dead because it is the night before the All Saint’s Day, which is celebrated by Christians.
Halloween Traditions
During this feast night, kids wear Halloween costumes and go trick-or-treating at their neighbors’ houses. There are plenty of Halloween costume ideas that anyone can get and wear. These are worn along with different types of masks, to resemble the evil spirits.
Before the celebration, many houses embellish their looks with Halloween decorations. There is a lot of diversity when it comes to these decorations, from stuffed witches and creepy skulls to fake mummies and other terrific items.
To get into the Halloween spirit, you should create your special outfit to wear for this day. There are plenty of ways to make easy Halloween costumes at home. Even if you are not a gifted crafter, you can still produce a fine creative look.
However, if you do not want to mess your costume, and you would rather rent one, you can easily go to a Halloween store and choose the desired items and props. Wearing costumes can be exciting especially for kids who enjoy a lot playing Halloween games and mimic different evil characters. In the case in which you do not want to wear a plastic mask on your face, you can opt for the funnier alternative of having a Halloween makeup.
When you want to create a spooky atmosphere during this popular feast, you can create a playlist with different Halloween songs. There is a wide range of music that you can put together into creating that specific scary vibe. Artists like Michael Jackson, Marilyn Manson, AC/DC, Radiohead, and many others have come up with songs which are appropriate for this celebration.
Halloween horror nights are created all over the globe, in many different countries. For example, many nations link superstitions, like crossing paths with a black cat, to this night’s celebrations. Another traditional custom is to create ugly or scary faces in pumpkins and light candles inside them. You can even place fake tombstones outside your house to attract children.
If your budget allows it, you can even use special effects to recreate a horror movie effect. Furthermore, in America is very common to use corn mazes into the decoration items. A very well-known activity during this time is candy apple making. These also go by the name of toffee apples and are apples covered with a sugar coating. It also has a stick in its middle to be easier for the kids to hold it. It resembles quite a lot with a huge popsicle.
Traditions and customs of this feast vary a lot from one country to another. For some nations, this celebration is much more important than for others. At first, people were dressed only as witches and ghosts to scare others away. However, eventually, the costumes range become much wider, including all kinds of costumes.
All in all, this spooky holiday is held with great feast within the United States. Americans organize themed parties and go trick-or-treating. The influence of this celebration has spread in many other areas of the world, even in countries that had no clue what it was all about, at first. There are only a couple of month until the next Halloween, so I want to be the first to wish you a Happy Halloween!
Image source: 1, 2