\t<\/p>\n
It’s that time of year again.
\nHalloween. People buy pumpkins to carve, candy to eat and costumes to
\nwear. So this week’s question wasn’t a surprise. What is the origin
\nof Halloween and it’s many traditions?<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Christmas,my birthday and Thanksgiving all great but I have to admit Halloween is my least
\nfavorite holiday. I’ve never found being scared fun and I’ve never
\nseen the point in walking door to door for candy. The latter probably
\nis due to the fact that as a child I lived in a neighborhood with few
\nchildren so there was always left over candy at home. Since my mom bought the
\ntype of candy I liked there wasn’t a need to go out. As long as I can
\nremember I’ve hated dressing up and as a child I especially hated
\nwearing make-up. Plus it was always cold out and several times it
\nrained.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Carving pumpkins, eating the candy and
\nfood and watching Halloween themed television are the only traditions
\nI willingly participated in. So eventually my parents gave up on
\ntrying to get me to see the fun side of Halloween and let me stay
\nhome to give out the candy.\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Some people love Halloween and I
\nhave no problem with that; I buy candy and hand it out at my
\napartment and decorate my front door and answer the door with a smile on my face. I don’t want to spoil any
\nelse’s fun… or have my car egged.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
So where did it all start? Two thousand year
\nago in Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France. the festival
\nof Samhain was held to mark the end of summer and start of winter.
\nFor them, the winter meant a time of less food, cold weather and
\ndeath. Live stock had to be moved indoors, the last of the food
\nneeded to be harvested and disease came with winter.\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The day was considered to be the new
\nyear and was celebrated with feasts, sacrificial offerings, practical
\njokes and homage to the dead. The day was a day of chaos, not part of
\nthe new year or past year where paranormal beings such as faeries and
\nghost could walk the Earth. The feasts were a way for people to call
\nto their past loved ones back to the Earth but with spirits of those
\nthey loved came evil spirits. This is where the costumes come in.
\nThey were to disguise themselves and ward off the evil spirits.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Some historians believe that while this \n<\/p>\n Halloween didn’t reach North America \n<\/p>\n Originally jack-o-lanterns were made \n<\/p>\n The tradition of trick-or-treating, or \n<\/p>\n Traditional costumes of monsters, \n<\/p>\n Bobbing for apples, games involving \n<\/p>\n My favorite part is definitely the \n<\/p>\n With every holiday comes those who try \n<\/p>\n So there you have it. A quick overview It’s that time of year again. Halloween. People buy pumpkins to carve, candy to eat and costumes to wear. So this week’s question wasn’t a surprise. What is the origin of Halloween and it’s many traditions? Christmas,my birthday and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[11,67,71,151],"class_list":["post-11287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-all-hallows-eve","tag-ghosts","tag-halloween","tag-vampires"],"yoast_head":"\r\n
\nfestival sounds like it could be the origin of Halloween it’s
\nsimilarities may be consequential. It’s more likely that Halloween
\nhas to with the holy day, All Saint’s Day held on November 1st<\/sup>.
\nOn that day, saints and passed loved ones who had not reached Heaven
\nyet were honored. The night before, then known as All Hallows’ Eve,
\nchildren and the poor went door to door collecting soul cakes to use
\nin prayer for the souls in purgatory. These souls were represented by
\njack-o-lanterns. It was believed it was the day that spirits could
\ntake their revenge on those who wronged them in their life. Costumes were often worn to protect people from
\nthose who passed who may still be holding a grudge against someone
\nstill alive.<\/p>\n
\nuntil the first decade of the 20th<\/sup> century. Early
\nsettlers, namely the Puritans, were against the holiday. Now the day
\nis celebrated by most of North America with little acknowledgement or
\neven awareness it’s origins. However, there are some religions and
\ncultures that are against Halloween viewing it as a Pagan holiday.
\nBut as I said, today it is more of a secular holiday and the original
\nmeaning is mostly lost.<\/p>\n
\nwith turnips in Ireland but later pumpkins were used; basically they
\nused whatever was available. The current images we think of when we
\nthink of Halloween (witches, vampires, etc), come mostly from Gothic
\nand horror literature and films. There are also many symbols that
\ncome from the idea of the end of the harvest such as pumpkins, corn
\nhusk and scarecrows.<\/p>\n
\nguising, came from Scotland and Ireland dated to the late 1800s.
\nChildren dressed in costume going door to door carrying lanterns made
\nof turnips in which they asked for food or coins. Today children ask
\nfor treats to prevent them from performing a trick on the person who
\nanswers the door. The trick threat is rarely carried out.<\/p>\n
\nghosts, witches and devils are worn which leads back to the idea of
\nprotecting one’s self from harmful spirits. Today, children and even
\nadults dress up as pretty much anything they want; from fictional
\ncharacters to the traditional spooky characters. Mass production of
\nsuch costumes was started in North America around the 1930s.\n<\/p>\n
\ndivination and telling ghost stories are all common traditions
\npracticed today. We also have things like haunted houses and
\nhayrides. There is now an element of fun in the once scary
\ntraditions.<\/p>\n
\nfood. Candy apples, candy, popcorn balls and sweet corn. All the
\nfoods have their own origins but many they are linked to what food is
\navailable this time of year (apples, corn and pumpkins).<\/p>\n
\nto ruin it. There have been reports of people tampering with candy by
\nputting sharp objects in them. This led to few people consuming
\nhomemade treats that are handed out, parents having to inspect candy
\nand even some hospitals offering to X-ray candy for free. It’s always
\nbetter to be on the safe side but we should at acknowledge that such
\nevents are rare. But it’s similar to a plane crash; people think it’s
\nmore common because when it happens the media makes a big deal about
\nit.<\/p>\n
\nof Halloween. So, be sure to protect yourselves from the ghosts and
\nenjoy the treats!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"