Halloween is a holiday celebrated annually on 31 October.
It is the evening just before the two Christian holy days called the All Hallows’ Day:
All Saints’ or Hallowmas on 1 November
All Souls’ Day on 2 November
Why is Halloween called Halloween
As it is the evening before the All Hallows’ Day, it was called All Hallows’ Eve. Later on with time it changed into Halloween.
When is Halloween Day – When is Halloween Celebrated
Halloween Day is celeberated on 31 October every year.
What does Halloween Celebrate
There are two historical things for which the Halloween is celebrated:
Samhain (Summer’s End) the end of harvest season
All Hallows’ Days – the two Christian holidays.
Who Invented Halloween – Where did Halloween Originate
Halloween is traced back to a 2000 years old Celtic festival
called Samhain (pronounced as SAH-wen) which was celebrated at the end
of summer harvest.
So the people who invented Halloween are the ancient Celts who lived
in Northern Europe most probably in the countries of Britain, France
and Ireland.
Who first Celebrated Halloween – Who were the first People to Celebrate Halloween
Ancient Celts who lived in Northern Europe were the first people to celebrate halloween.
Celts were superstitious people who believed that on 31 October, the spirits of the dead roam freely in towns and villages.
They feared that these spirits could harm them by damaging their crops, possessing people and spreading incurable sickness.
To keep these spirits away, the Celts dressed up in scary costumes made from animal hides and fire up huge bonfires.
History of Trick or Treat
Trick or treat history is usually connected to the old custom of souling.
In souling, the poor will go from house to house to beg for soul
cakes. In return of the soul cakes the beggars would pray for those
member of the family who were recently dead.
Soul cakes were round in shape and were made from bread with currants.
Why Do We Carve Pumpkins on Halloween – Story of Jack o’ Lanterns
According to an old tale a drunken farmer named Stingy Jack was not
allowed to enter both heaven and hell after his death. His soul wandered
in the darkness. He carved out a lantern out of a turnip and coal, to
light his way and guide his soul.
The Celtics believed in this story of Jack Stingy, so they began to
place Jack o’ Lanterns outside their houses. The purpose was to guide
lost souls home while they wandered during the Samhain festival eve.
Initially the Jack o’ Lanterns were carved out from potatoes but after the potatoes famine people began to use pumpkin instead.
History of Halloween in America
The Halloween festival was brought to America by the Irish people who came to America in the early nineteenth century.
Later on in the mid of twentieth century, the festival became a hugely celebrated children’s holiday.
Its popularity has increased over time and now it is more like a
community celebration. Now even the adults celebrate it by participating
in costume parties and is a huge commercial event in North America.
Interesting Facts about Halloween – Halloween Fun Facts for Kids
Originally kids used to dance, sing or perform something before they could get their treat from the house.
In old times people used to wear animal skins as costumes.
Jack-o’-lanterns were also made from beets, potatoes and turnips.
In some American towns, Halloween was once called as “Cabbage Night.”
The fear of Halloween is called Samhainophobia.
In America, Halloween is the second-most commercial holiday after Christmas.
Halloween is the sixth most popular card-giving holiday. About 20 million Halloween cards are sent each year.
Back in 1950, Trick or treaters of Philadelphia collected change
instead of sweets for children overseas. The money collected was sent to
UNICEF. This later on created the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program.
In the year 2012, 41.1 million children between the age 5 and 14
went out into the streets for trick or treat in their best costumes. It
almost tripled in 2014.
In America, parents spend around 1 billion dollars on their kids’ halloween costumes.
It is expected that more than 175 million Americans are going to celebrate Halloween this year (2018).
It is expected that more than $9 billion will be spent on this coming Halloween (2018).
Halloween for Kids
Halloween
is a very special holiday for kids as they get to wear spooking
costumes of their favorite characters. In addition to this they go for
trick or treating in their neighbourhood to collect sweets and candies.
In Trick or Treat, kids go to every house one by one and ask the
question “Trick or Treat?”. The house owners then give them sweets or
candies. If a house owner do not give any candies to them then the kids
would play some mischievous prank on them.
In some countries the kids perform some tricks such as magic tricks,
sing a song, tell a joke, play musical instruments or any other talent
the kids may have, and in return the house owner will give them candies
as treat.
Trick and treat is a fun activity that provides an opportunity to
kids, to show off their costumes and collect as many candies as they
can.
