Get Into the Festive Mood with Halloween Day Celebrations

Origin

Halloween is traced back to a ritual of honoring the dead over 2000 years ago. Initially called “All Hallows Eve”, it falls on the final day of the Celtic calendar which is, of course, October 31st. This is also the “Eve of All Saints Day” which is a Christian holiday honoring the saints. Over the centuries, there were many traditions revolving around All Hallows Eve. These Halloween traditions varied greatly among the many cultures that celebrated it.

Halloween, also known as All Hallows' Eve, Allhalloween and All Saints Eve can be traced back about 2,000 years to a pre-Christian Celtic festival held on November 1st called Samhain (pronounced "sah-win"), which means "summer's end" in Gaelic, according to the Indo-European Etymological Dictionaries. People of that time believed that the night before Samhain (October 31st), the dead returned as ghosts. In order to keep the ghosts and souls at bay, people left food and wine outside their homes.

Eventually in the 8th century, the Christian Church Samhain turned to All Saints Day or All Hallows. Hence, the night before became All Hallow’s Eve. The festival is celebrated in most of the countries all over the world by dressing up in costumes. Earlier it being more of a scary celebrations when people left their homes dressed up as ghosts to trick the actual ghosts; now the day is more of a fun and frolic celebrated by the kids asking for ‘trick or treat’.

Let’s take a deeper look into some most popular activities involved in Halloween-

Tricks and Treating-

‘Trick-Or-Treat' is an important tradition of Halloween celebrations and it is expected that everyone from the neighborhood with children should purchase treats/candies for all those Trick-Or-Treaters who knock at the door. In 2005, according to the National Confectioners Association, 80% of the adults in United States planned to give away candies and sweets to Trick-Or-Treaters and 93% of children go Trick-or-treating every year. In countries like Sweden, children dress up as witches and go ‘trick-or-treating' on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter) while Danish children dress up in various attires and go ‘trick-or-treating'. In Ohio, Lowa, and Massachusetts, the night designated for ‘Trick-or-Treating' is often referred to as Beggar’s Night. In the medieval Halloween traditions of “Guising”, young people would ask for food, money, wine and other offerings dressed up in costumes. This tradition was revived or improvised by the Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 19th century, which hence called “Trick or Treating”. Earlier ‘tricks’ were more prominent but eventually ‘treats’ or candies became a ritual. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.

Bonfires and Costume Parties

Halloween celebrations are incomplete without Bonfires and costume parties. Both adults and children participate in costume parties by wearing attractive costumes of Super Heroes, Pirates, Pimps, Corrupt Cops, Dracula, Uncle Sam, Adult Bunny, Hippie, Mummy, Gangster, Werewolf, Naughty Nurse, Scary Jason, Freddy, Witch/Wizard, etc. Costumes play an important role in Halloween celebrations where both men and women dress up in colorful costumes and go to ask for treats. There are various online stores where you can go and shop for Halloween costumes to make your festival special.

Jack-o’- lantern

Halloween remains incomplete without those creepy Jack-O’-Lanterns, which is nothing but a vegetable carving, made from pumpkin. Here the pumpkin's top is cut off and the flesh inside is scoped off and a monstrous mage is carved outside and the lid is replaced. During all nights of the Halloween season, a candle is placed inside to give an illuminated effect. Hence pumpkin carving is considered to be an art. Halloween pumpkins will always be a part of the festivities. Those carved faces symbolize the need for protection. These are commonly placed on windows as they are expected to ward off evil spirits.

With the celebrations of Halloween going round the corner, it’s a great time when you can actually start shopping and get into the festive mood. In case, you are looking forward to buy men’s underwear costumes, try men’s underwear store online where you can shop for stylish and affordable costumes.

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