the jukebox junkie: HALLOWEEN FUN....PART 1

Sunday, October 26, 2008

HALLOWEEN FUN....PART 1

Since Halloween is just 5 short days away, I thought it would be fun to blog about the different aspects of Halloween that we all enjoy...and in some cases, don't enjoy so much...(like the scary movies for instance.) I realized that I didn't know much about the holiday beyond dressing my kids up to head out and score loads of candy in one single night. So won't you join me in learning about this 'spooky' time of year.....if you dare!!!

Let's talk about how Halloween originated. The history of Halloween goes back 2000 years and its origins are derived from Ireland, the UK, and northern parts of France. Halloween means 'All Hallows Eve' and occurs the day before "All Saints Day" on November 1; also considered New Year's Day by the Celts. It is believed that All Hallows Eve marked the end of summer and the start of the cold, dark winter months on November 1. The Celts associated this with death.

Some of the earliest traditions that paved the way for 'trick or treating' as we know it today included people setting bowls of food out on their doorsteps to keep the ghosts that were wandering the earth from entering and poor people would beg for food from rich people and in return the rich would ask the poor to pray for their loved ones who had died.

Dressing in costumes came about when European and Celtic people considered winter to be a frightening time. Fears of it being colder, darker and running out of food were prevalent. They would don costumes and masks in order to keep the ghosts that they believed returned at this time of year from recognizing them.

Halloween was brought to the US in the early 1800's by Scotch & Irish immigrants. Believe it or not, at that time, the elements of spookiness was removed and it was created to be a fun and festive holiday. Through time, scary themes evolved to add to the overall celebration of the holiday.