Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31, and Halloween 2022 will take place on Monday, October 31. The practice stems from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and dress up in costumes to exorcise ghosts.
Halloween is a celebration of all things scary, and it's celebrated on October 31 with some weird customs like trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving. So keep an eye on those awesome costumes! Today is costume day! Get your costume boxes ready because Halloween is a day to dress up as a witch, zombie, skeleton, alien, vampire, ghost, or werewolf.
How Did Halloween Get Started?
All Saints Day, also known as All Hallows Day, was a Christian holiday. It was a day dedicated to remember the deceased, especially the saints. People used to carry torches to scare away the spirits. Halloween gets its name from the fact that it was first celebrated on All Hallows' Eve, the night before All Hallows Day, which later became known as Halloween.
Halloween as we know it today began with the ancient Celtic Samhain harvest festival. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III established All Saints' Day on 1 November and adopted some of the same customs in his mission to spread Christianity.
Halloween as an American Tradition:
> Halloween is believed to have started around 4000 BC. This means that it has been around for more than 6,000 years. Halloween is a fun day for kids to dress up in costumes, tell scary stories, and knock on doors for candy. It is a popular holiday among children. To use an apt metaphor, Halloween is the monster of the Frankenstein holiday because it is a mash-up of the customs, stories, and beliefs of many different cultures.
> Due to the potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century, Irish immigrants flooded the United States, bringing with them Halloween customs.
Jack O'Lanterns weren't always made from pumpkins. Originally, turnips were used to make them. Unwanted visitors are discouraged by the Jack O'Lanterns. The people of Scotland and Ireland made Jack's lantern from turnips, potatoes and beets. The custom traveled with immigrants to the United States, where people began making lanterns from native North American pumpkins.
> During the holiday of Samhain, some people wore masks to avoid being identified by evil spirits. Wailing is a medieval tradition that involves dressing up as a character and knocking on doors to beg for a feast. However, as soon as Halloween became a commercial event in the United States, the popularity of the costume skyrocketed. The first reports of mass-produced apparel appeared in the 1930s. As trick-or-treating became more popular, dressing up became popular.
Irish legend that gave rise to the term "Jack o' Lantern":
According to legend, Stingy Jack invited Satan to drink with him, but when Jack refused to pay, Satan agreed to turn it into a coin. He did not drink the money; Instead, he kept it in his pocket and placed it near a silver cross in his house to keep Satan from reappearing.
He agrees to let Jack go in exchange for leaving Satan alone for a year, promising that the Devil will not seize Jack's soul if he dies. A year later, Jack convinces Satan not to leave him alone and claim his soul.
When Jack died, Satan kept his word and forbade him to enter hell because God did not want such a cunning person in heaven. Jack was sent out into the night with only a burning coal to guide him. He's been roaming the ground ever since, pouring the coal inside the cut turnip.
Halloween Trivia for Kids:
Trick-or-treating was originally known as "souling".
It seems strange that children are dressed up in costumes and knocking on doors looking for candy. As the Catholic Church began to replace pagan holidays with their own (such as All Souls Day), disadvantaged children and adults would visit homes dressed as spirits to accept food in exchange for prayer.
The trick or cure has been around for a long time, but it was not always like this. Trick-or-treating began when 'soling' became popular. People would pound at the door for "soul cake," a small circular cake. In return, they used to offer prayers.
There is a ritual that allows you to see witches at midnight.
The word "witch" comes from the Old English word "wicce", meaning "wise woman." In fact, Wiccan was once highly regarded. Witches are said to have had an important meeting on Halloween night. On Halloween, legend has it that if someone walks backwards dressed inside-out, they will see a witch at midnight.
really? Bone fire?
During Halloween festivities, bonfires were lit to ensure that the sun would rise after a long winter. Druid priests would often throw cattle bones into the flames, turning the bone fires into bonfires.
Stephen Clarke was the fastest to carve the pumpkin.
Everyone enjoys carving pumpkins on the occasion of Halloween. However, this usually takes a very long time! Stephen Clarke has some work experience. He set a Guinness World Record for carving a pumpkin in the shortest time. He did it in about 16 seconds! It even had a mouth, ears, eyes and nose.
Halloween phobia is a real medical condition!!!
Halloween phobia, also known as samanhophobia, is an actual medical condition. This fear can also manifest in other phobias, such as phasmophobia (fear of ghosts), wicaphobia (fear of witchcraft), and nyctophobia (fear of the dark).
The primary colors of Halloween are orange and black.
You'll see a lot of orange and black during the Halloween season, and not just because pumpkins are orange! The changing leaves of autumn also represent the color orange. It represents strength and tenacity and is associated with Samhain bonfire customs. On the other hand, black is often associated with death and may indicate an imminent long and chilly winter.
Isn't it terrible to associate black cats with Halloween?
Black cats were thought to ward off the magic of witches! He was said to bring curses and misfortunes.
Halloween traditions can be traced back to 'Samhain'.
On the night of Samhain, people used to prepare to exorcise the ghosts as it was believed that they roamed the land at that time. The Celtic holiday, Samhain, is about 2,000 years old. To exorcise the ghosts, people used to light bonfires and even dressed up in costume!
The largest number of lit jack-o'-lanterns on display is 30,581.
According to Guinness World Records, 30,581 illuminated jack-o'-lanterns were displayed in 2013 in the town of Keene, New Hampshire. Keene, who represents Let It Shine, has broken the record eight times since the first attempt. There are too many pumpkins!
Halloween folklore is full of magic and omen.
Halloween superstitions and fortune-telling from Old English folklore, such as bobbing for apples and avoiding black cats, are still prevalent today. According to a piece of tradition, a young, unmarried man who holds the mirror at midnight and walks backwards up the stairs will be their next mate.
Beggars' Night is a funny Des Moines tradition.
The night before Halloween, children in Des Moines took to the streets for Beggar's Night. According to a Des Moines Register article, the festivities began in 1938 to prevent damage and provide a safe way for young children to celebrate Halloween. Beggar's Night is similar to traditional trick-or-treating, except that in exchange for a gift, children must perform a "trick", recite a poem, or tell a joke.
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