THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

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ON THE 31ST OF OCTOBER AROUND MOST PLACES AROUND THE GLOBE THE FEAST HALLOWEENS OR HALLOW'S EVE OR ALL SAINTS EVE IS CELEBRATED.

Halloween is the second highest grossing commercial holiday after Christmas.

The festive Halloween is one of the oldest dated celebrations, going back nearly 2000 years. The word Halloween was not seen used dates untill k around 1745. The Word Halows Eve comes from a Scottish term meaning "hallowed evening" or "holy evening, which is the evening before All Hallows' Day "All Hallows'" is found in Old English "All Hallows' Eve" is itself was not seen until 1556

Halloween began as the festival of Samhain. It was part of the ancient Celtic religion in Britain and other parts of Europe. The roots of Halloween can be traced back to the Druid religion and Lord Samhain. Lord Samhain was a Druid God and was the most powerful, and more feared than any other Gods they believed in. At the end of summer, the Celts believed the veil between our world and the world of ghosts and spirits got really faint(thin). The Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. The Celtic People believed spirited came back, to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. The Druid people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.

In the Church, traditionally, they held a vigil on All Hallows' Eve when worshippers would prepare themselves with prayers and get ready for fasting prior to the feast day itself.

In many Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant churches.The day after Halloween, the 1st of November, "All Saints' Day" is a celebration of all Christian saints, particularly those who have no special feast days of their own

CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

Jack-o'-lantern

This ritual was named,

after the phenomenon of a strange light flickering over peat bogs, called will-o'-the-wisp or jack-o'-lantern

This was the tradition of carving faces into vegetables. A ritual that dates to the Celts. As part of their autumnal celebration, they wanted to light the way to their homes for the good spirits, so they carved faces into vegetables such as turnips and squash.

It was The Irish who brought the tradition of carving (Pumpkin) into Jack O'Lantern. However, the original Jack O'Lantern was not a pumpkin. it was a turnip. Pumpkins did not exist in Ireland.

Adult Halloween Skeleton Fancy Dress Costume - Size S-M - Black from ASDA George

Halloween costumes

Centuries ago, in ancient times, Celtics thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the country on Halloween night. In fear, they began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.

Trick or Treat

Since the 16th Century the tradition. During the Middle-Ages, children and sometimes poor adults would dress up in the aforementioned costumes and go around door to door during Hallowmas begging for food or money in exchange for songs and prayers. The first known mention of trick-or-treating in print in North America occurred in 1927 in Blackie, Alberta, Canada

Apple Bobbing or Apple ducking or duck-apple.

Apples were strongly associated with the Otherworld and immortality, while hazelnuts were associated with divine wisdom.

This game is played by filling a large tub or a large bowl with water and putting apples in the water. Because apples are less dense than water, they will float at the surface. Players then try to catch one with their teeth.

Apple Bobbing or Apple ducking or duck-apple

Ghosts Tours

A ghost tour is a special tour that takes visitors to locations with paranormal activity, that doesn't mean a cemetery. These tours are usually places or building where it is believed to be haunted. or spooky.

Soul Cake

A soul cake is a small round cake which is traditionally made for All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day to commemorate the dead in the Christian tradition

By the 8th century, soul cakes were given to beggars (soulers) who would say prayers for the dead on All Souls' Eve.

This tradition was more commonly done in Britain and Ireland. These days, soul cakes are generally presented as a small round cake, variously spiced, often studded across the top with a cross of currants. They are a part scone, part biscuit, part teacake. Souling was a Christian practice and carried out in many English towns on Halloween and Christmas

OWL

In Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches and to hear an owl's call meant someone was about to die.The owl is a popular Halloween image.

BLACK CATS

Black cats have been typically looked upon as a symbol of evil omens, in relation to being suspected of familiars of witches, or actually shape-shifting witches themselves.

Skull

The most common representation of the skull is death and mortality.Bones are the last earthly traces of the dead, and seem to last forever: bones symbolize the indestructible life

Colours

Orange and black are the two colors associated with Halloween and together they have a yin/yang type of relationship. other colours such as white, red,purple and green are popular as well.

31ST OF OCTOBER IN HISTORY

75AD Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor.
802 Empress Irene of Byzantium driven out
994 Wolfgang of Regensburg, German bishop and saint died
1147 Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, died son of King Henry I of England
1214 Eleanor of England, died queen consort of Castile and the daughter of King Henry II of England.
1345 Ferdinand I, king of Portugal was born.
1391 Edward, King of Portugal was born
1424 Władusław III, king of Poland was born
1517 Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Part of the Protestant Reformation
1541 Michelangelo Buonarroti finishes painting "The Last Judgement" in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
1587 After being founded in 1575, Leiden University Library opens its doors
1614 Ben Jonson's had his first performance of the comedy Bartholomew Fair at the Hope Theatre in London.
1632 Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter was born
1705 Pope Clement XIV was born
1838 Luís I of Portugal was born.
1864 Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
1907 Edgar Sampson, American musician and composer was born
1917 Battle of Beersheba: The "last successful cavalry charge in history".(Part of World War One
1918 Spanish flu-virus kills 21,000 in US in 1 week
1918 The Aster Revolution terminates the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, and Hungary achieves full sovereignty.(Part of World War One)
1922 Benito Mussolini is made Prime Minister of Italy
1924 World Savings Day was established
1936 Michael Landon, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter was born.
1940 The Battle of Britain ends: The United Kingdom prevents a possible German invasion (World War Two).
1941 Mount Rushmore is completed.
1955 Princess Margaret cancels wedding to marry divorced Group Captain Peter Townsend
1956 The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.(Part of The Suez Crisis)
1971 Bomb explodes in Post Office tower in Fitzrovia, London, owned by BT Group. .
1984 Indira Gandhi Indian Prime Minister is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. Riots break out in New Delhi and other cities and around 3,000 Sikhs are killed.
1997 In the news British au pair guilty of murder.A Boston jury has found Louise Woodward, 19, guilty of second degree
1999 EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket, killing all 217 people on board.
2000 – Willow Smith, American singer, actress, and dancer was born
2003 End of Mahathir era in MalaysiaThe Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, has handed over power and stepped down after 22 years in office.
2017 A truck drives in a crowd of people in Lower Manhattan, killing eight people.

FOOD ASSOCIATED WITH HALLOWEEN

Barmbrack (Ireland)
Bonfire toffee (Great Britain)
Candy apples, candy corn, candy pumpkins (North America)
Monkey nuts (peanuts in their shells) (Ireland and Scotland)
Caramel apples
Caramel corn
Colcannon (Ireland; see below)
Halloween cake
Novelty candy shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats, worms, etc.
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Roasted sweet corn
Soul cakes

HALLOWEEN MUSIC

JUST FOR FUN!

This Is Halloween Marilyn Manson PLAY
Spirit In the Sky - Norman Greenbaum" PLAY
"Highway to Hell" - AC/DC PLAY
"Time Warp - The Rocky Horror Picture Show PLAY
"Halloween (Theme)" - John Carpenter PLAY
"Ghostbusters" - Ray Parker Jr. PLAY
"Monster Mash" - Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers PLAY
Thriller" - Michael Jackson PLAY
"Disturbia" - Rihanna PLAY
"Runnin' With The Devil" - Van Halen PLAY
I Put a Spell On You"Nina Simone PLAY
"Superstition" Stevie Wonder PLAY
"The Adams Family" Theme PLAY
"Ding, Dong, the Witch Is Dead! "PLAY
"Hungry Like the Wolf Duran Duran PLAY
"Witchy Woman" Eagles PLAY
Devil Woman -Cliff Richard PLAY
"Do They Know It's Hallowe'en? by The North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative PLAY
Skeleton Song-Kate Nash PLAY
She Wolf-Shakira PLAY
Witchcraft Frank Sinatra PLAY