Halloween
History of Halloween
Halloween is a holiday often celebrated on October 31. Halloween is short for "All Hallow's Eve". Scottish immigrants carried the tradition into North America. Other western countries embrace the holiday sometime in the late twentieth century such as Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Halloween has its origins from the Celtic festival known as Samhain. Samhain was a time used by pagans to stack up and stock up for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on the night of October 31, the boundaries between the living and the dead were broken. They believed that the deceased would come back to life and reak havok, sickness, and destruction on the land and the animals.
Pagan Halloween
This is a pagan ritual done every year on the night of October 31. They surround a human - like pumping and dance around it chanting.
Halloween in Ireland
This is a huge tradition in Ireland. They build a enormous bonfire which they believed kept the evil spirits away, and then they dressed up in disguises. People from all over Ireland come and surround it to watch it burn.
Alaskan Halloween
These are the costumes that men and women in Auckland, Alaska dress up like. They carve out pumpkins and go around playing pranks on people to celebrate Halloween.
Halloween Now Days
Halloween in America
Traditions now days are dressing up and going out trick or treating. Little children find it fun to go to the store and buy a costume, whether scary or extraordinary, and put it on and go out with either family or friends to trick or treat. They go door to door and knock and when they open it, they say "trick or treat!" People carve out pumpkins and set them out on their front porches with a candle inside. Some people like to carve out scary faces, and others like to carve out funny faces. Alot of people throw parties at their houses and dress up in Halloween cotumes. Some schools have costume contests. They have a scary contest, funny contest, and even a wierd costume contest.
Trick or Treating
Children love to trick or treat! They have tons of fun doing it. They get to go out and buy fun looking costumes and dress up in them to go out trick or treating. They go door to door and knock and when they open up the door they say, "trick or treat!" And the man or woman gives them candy to put into their Halloween baskets. This tradition came from the Celtic culture, when they danced around a fire and offered up food and gifts to keep the peace and to keep the spirits away.
Costumes
Children dress up in scary and sometimes funny costumes for Halloween. They go to the store and find a outfit they like and their parents buy it for them so they can be all dressed up to go out trick or treating. This all originated back into the middle evil ages when they would dress up in costumes, chanting, and singing, and making mischief.
Food
Many people eat candy on Halloween. Other people make recipes associated with Halloween and other traditions within their families. They eat pumpkins, turnips, and they give people soul cakes. They also put pumpkins made from vegetables on the window sill to welcome spirits and wanting souls. They eat cheese pumpkin, pumpkin pie, and sweet pumpkin.
Skeletons
Many people today go out and buy skeletons for Halloween and put them in their yards, in the windows, on their houses, in their closets, and sticking out if car trunks. The Celtics put skeletons up in their windows to represent the deceased.
Work Cited
- http://www.halloweenhistory.org/
- http://topics.info.com/Why-do-we-celebrate-Halloween_1077
- http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/halloween/a/Why-Do-We-Wear-Costumes-Halloween.htm
- http://www.whyzz.com/why-do-we-trick-or-treat-on-halloween
- http://www.foodtimeline.org/halloween.html
- http://www.nashvillehalloweenguide.com/halloween-history