Well my favorite holiday is coming up and I thought I would share what Halloween is like here in the US and then the meaning behind where Halloween
came from.
halloween costumes
Here in the U.S. people get dressed up in some form of costume be it scary, funny, serious or other type, deciding a costume can be tiresome
Witches, ghosts, aliens, princesses and batman are just some you are most likely to see every year...
Yup that is me on the left with my twin sister. We were probably 4 at this time..lol but its one of my favorite Halloween costumes and cereals to
this day
We dress up every year and dont really know why. Well from what I read in short...People would dress up like ghosts and gouls or other spirits to
make themselves look like the spirits that visited them on this night and by doing this they wouldnt be bothered when they left their house by the
spirits. They dress up for protection so that they wouldnt be recognized and would blend in with the spirits who returned on this night.
Spooky Yards/Haunted Houses
Many people also decorate their yards with scenes looking like cemeteries or pumpkin patches, they string lights like one would on Xmas, some put
scarecrows in chairs to scare others. (I dont like it when you people dress like them and jump out at me though! Stop that! lol) People will go all
out and set up their homes like haunted houses and invite neighborhoods over. The colors of Halloween are usually associated with black and orange,
which I will talk about later.
Yup I LOVE this house
They did a great job! I have had homes look like this. I love it! I wish I was able to do it this year
Also here is a
site if you need some help on how to make a spooktaclular yard or home
Halloween Yards
This makes me think of leaving offerings out for the dead, now we leave out treats like candy. Back then they decorated their homes to make the
departed loved ones feel welcomed and it was said that it helped them find their way home. This is why candles we left in windows and skeletons were
left in the window sills to honor the deceased loved ones. Today its just become more commercial and trendy to do your yard up.
Mmmm treat choices
Then there is the candy choice
do you get caramel or no caramel, name brand or not? Do you hand out toothbrushes or rolls of coins? I know many
people who really think about what they are setting out, look at the candy aisle during Halloween time and you will see what I mean esp if you are in
the US (other areas I am not so sure about). I remember getting toothpaste, toothbrushes, dollars, quarters, SOAP, canned goods and of course lots of
candy! Oh and please STOP buying those bit-o-honeys, only about 1% of Halloweeners eat them, they usually get all gooey in the bag and then
tossed..lol
Mmmmm my favorite treat
candy corn=pure sugar!!
This goes back to leaving out food and drink for the spirits now we just leave out candy.
Pumpkin carving
One of my favorites is the pumpkin carving and choosing of the pumpkin(s). Personally I like the ones I know nobody will buy, sort of like the
charlie brown christmas tree..
I will usually get 3 big ones and a bunch of little ones. I carve the big ones and paint the little ones, they last
forever! You can carve anything out of a pumpkin and many plan what to carve as well. I know I do! Gotta have the best pumpkin in the neighborhood
My lair..errr, I mean favorite place, The Eiffel Tower
My little grey guy
smile its not so bad!
Here is some neat info I learned about the Jack-O-Lantern
The name jack-o'-lantern can be traced back to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a greedy, gambling, hard-drinking old farmer.[citation needed] He
tricked the devil into climbing a tree and trapped him by carving a cross into the tree trunk. In revenge, the devil placed a curse on Jack,
condemning him to forever wander the earth at night with the only light he had: a candle inside of a hollowed turnip.
Halloween
A traditional Irish halloween Jack-o'-lantern from the early 20th century:
Now we carve pumpkins because they are easier to get in mass quantity and they are still part of the fall season.
These are all things people enjoy here in US while celebrating Halloween. There are costume parties and contests of all kinds for everything
Halloween related. Many will go out and take their little ones trick or treating while all dressed up in their best costumes and then pass out later
from a sugar coma
I know I have! Many like to watch horror/slasher flicks and just scare themselves senseless, like me
but do any of these
people really know where Halloween came from? I doubt it, heck even I didnt really know until my BF told me about it, then I started looking into a
little bit. So here is where Halloween comes from....and if I missed something please post it!
History
Halloween has origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain [pronounced: sow- wen] (Irish pronunciation: [ˈsˠaunʲ]; from the Old
Irish samhain, possibly derived from Gaulish samonios).[5] The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic
culture, and is sometimes[6] regarded as the "Celtic New Year".[7] Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient Celtic pagans to take
stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Celts believed that on October 31 the boundary between the world and the
otherworld dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damage to crops. The festival frequently
involved bonfires into which the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown.The wearing of costumes and masks at Halloween goes back to the Celtic
traditions of attempting to copy the evil spirits or to placate them. In Scotland the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or
blackened faces, while dressed in white.
Halloween History
here is another link,
The festival observed at this time was called Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween). It was the biggest and most significant holiday of the Celtic year.
The Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, more so than any other time of the year, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living,
because at Samhain the souls of those who had died during the year traveled into the otherworld. People gathered to sacrifice animals, fruits, and
vegetables. They also lit bonfires in honor of the dead, to aid them on their journey, and to keep them away from the living. On that day all manner
of beings were abroad: ghosts, fairies, and demons--all part of the dark and dread.
more info
This is my understanding of it:
.The origin of Halloween is the Celtic Festival of Samhain, lord of death and evil spirits. The celtics back then celebrated the new year around the
1st of Nov. It was considered the end of harvest and the beginning of the dark cold winter. This time was usually associated with death. It was
believed that on the night of the 31st, All Hallow's Eve, Samhain gathered all the dead souls who were condemned to live in an animals body for the
bad things they had done while living. On this night they would visit their loved ones and this was the one time of year these spirits were able to
visit with loved ones. If offerings of food, drink and shelter werent there the spirits were said to leave curses and cause havoc on their loved ones.
If these things were there they moved and didnt bother them. Doesnt this sound like modern day "trick or treat" if you dont leave a treat you will
get tricked
Samhain further reading
Samhain
Some more information on the origins of Halloween
Halloween Origins
Here is a History channel show on the origins/history of Halloween.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday over any other. I enjoy the spooky aspect of it and the dressing up and the haunted houses but I
never really knew where it all started or even its real origins. Halloween has become so commercialized anymore that people dont even know why we
celebrate it here. This holiday was later deemed evil by another religious group but I dont want to go there
Not too familiar in that area. The
celetics beliefs were consider evil since it dealt with the supernatural and beyond and they were forced over time to change their beliefs. Kind of
sad if you ask me! Halloween from what I gather in origin is about death and the dead. It also seemed to be a time of celebration, beginning and
endings. How are any of those evil?
[edit on 10/14/2009 by mblahnikluver]
[edit on 10/14/2009 by mblahnikluver]
[edit on 10/14/2009 by mblahnikluver]
