HALLOWEEN
Trick-or-Treating?
Halloween on October 31 is undoubtedly the creepiest, most ghostly holiday of them all. Halloween is a holiday that is celebrated on October 31st every year, although it has primarily Pagan and later Christian roots, it has become a secular celebration today. It is a holiday where children go door-to-door collecting sweets and pocket money, often dressed in gruesome costumes.
Celebrated in October every year, Halloween is the scene of colorful images. Within the scope of Halloween events, Halloween parades, costume parties and different events are organized in the USA and European countries. Halloween, which is a part of the culture in the USA, is a celebration theme that has spread all over the world, regardless of its religious content, with the influence of popular culture. So how did Halloween originate? Let’s take a look at Halloween historical journey.
History of Halloween
The origin of Halloween is the Samhain Festival, celebrated by the pagan Celts in ancient Britain. The Celts considered November 1 the end of summer and the beginning of winter. The origin of the word samhain is based on the Old Irish words sam (summer) and fuin (end). At this date, the herds were returning from the highlands, and the land lease agreements between the landlords and the farmers were renewed.
During the Samhain festival the souls of those who had died were believed to return to visit their homes, and those who had died during the year were believed to journey to the otherworld. People set bonfires on hilltops for relighting their hearth fires for the winter and to frighten away evil spirits, and they sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts thought to be present. It was in those ways that beings such as witches, hobgoblins, fairies, and demons came to be associated with the day. The period was also thought to be favorable for divination on matters such as marriage, health, and death.
When the Romans conquered Celtic lands in the 1st century, they combined their own death festival, Feralia, and their harvest festival, Pomona, with Samhain. The influence of Christians on society thus began to increase in the 8th century. Christians celebrate All Souls’ Day on November 2, a day to honor the dead, as the Celts did at Samhain. The evening before the celebration began to be known as All Hallows Eve. The eve of All Saints’ Day (October 31) was considered sacred and hence the name has been Halloween in Western languages. In the late Middle Ages, secular celebrations fused with the Christian holiday. As a result, the holiday we know and love today began to take shape.
Trick or treat by going door to door? Asking the question is an indispensable tradition of Halloween. This also tradition has a place in history. In England and Ireland during All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day celebrations, poor people would visit the houses of wealthier families and receive pastries called soul cakes in exchange for a promise to pray for the souls of the homeowners’ dead relatives. Known as “souling,” the practice was later taken up by children, who would go from door to door asking for gifts such as food, money, and ale—an early form of trick-or-treating. You must have seen the children carrying hollowed-out pumpkins in their hands while doing this but instead of pumpkin people would carry with them lanterns made of hollowed-out turnips in the past. Oh! by the way, why is the hollowed-out pumpkin a symbol of Halloween?
The practice of carving faces into vegetables became associated with Halloween in Ireland and Scotland around the 1800s. Jack-o-lanterns originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack,” who tricked the Devil and was forced to roam the earth with only a burning coal in a turnip to light his way. The jack-o’-lantern has a long history with Halloween. Their origin comes from an Irish myth about Stingy Jack, who tricked the Devil for his own monetary gain. When Jack died, God didn’t allow him into heaven, and the Devil didn’t let him into hell, so Jack was sentenced to roam the earth for eternity. In Ireland, people started to carve demonic faces out of turnips to frighten away Jack’s wandering soul. When Irish immigrants moved to the U.S., they began carving jack-o’-lanterns from pumpkins, as these were native to the region.
Modern Halloween Day
What Can You Do to Celebrate Halloween?
By the 1950s Halloween became a holiday that was primarily for the children.
Halloween plays off our phobias. Killer clowns and antique dolls creep you out? Bats and spiders make your skin crawl? Does the sight of blood make you faint? Go over your fears by having fun at Halloween.
Halloween became increasingly embedded in popular culture and horror movies would often be released to coincide with the holiday. You can experience Halloween by watching Halloween themed movies. We have a few suggestions!
- Halloween
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Donnie Darko
- The Crow
- Hocus Pocus
- Friday The 13th
- Trick ‘R Treat
- Night Of the Demons
- Casper
- Scream
You can eat candy or prepare yourself Halloween-themed snacks and meals while taking care of your dental health.
You can decorate your house with Halloween figures to get into the Halloween spirit.
If your house is complete, now it’s your turn to decorate. Get ready to go to the Halloween party. Many clubs or pubs organize various parties during this period. You can also enjoy the fun by wearing your Halloween costume. But only the costume is not enough, you have to do your craziest make-up for this day. You can also have your canine teeth done with the vampire tooth theme, which will add realism to your make up and costume, at our YEG Clinic.
Happy Halloween everybody
