Halloween  Happy Halloween Wishes
From 101lifeStyle.com
Introduction Of Halloween: Halloween is observed on the eve of October 31st, every year. Although it originated as a Pagan Celtic harvest festival in Ireland, it reached the Christian world and is a much awaited festival, in the United States, Canada, UK, Australia and Puerto Rico. In Ireland, the name was All Hallows Eve and this name is still used by some older people. Halloween was also sometimes called All Saints' Eve. The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year. Traditional Halloween symbols (witches, black cats, pumpkins, candles, masks, parties and pranks) appeared in the U.S. during the late 1800's.
Today Halloween is associated with thoughts of the dead, of spooky ghosts, spirits and devils. A popular custom practiced on Halloween most notably by children who dress themselves in spooky costumes and go from one home to another in the neighborhood, calling out "trick-o-treat" and "begging" for candies or gifts to be placed in their beggar bags. The word "trick" refers to a (mostly idle) "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. In some parts of Scotland children still go guising. In this custom the child performs some sort of trick, i.e. sings a song or tells a ghost story, to earn their treats. The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European custom called "souling". On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes," made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul's passage to heaven.
Another custom, called the 'jack-o-lantern", where a pumpkin is used whose top is cut off, and the inside flesh scooped out and an image, usually a monstrous face, is carved onto the outside surface, and the lid replaced. At night, a light is placed inside to illuminate the effect. The Jack-o-lantern is the festival light for Halloween and is the ancient symbol of a damned soul. Originally the Irish would carve out turnips or beets as lanterns as representations of the souls of the dead or goblins freed from the dead. When the Irish emigrated to America they could not find many turnips to carve into Jack O'Lanterns but they did find an abundance of pumpkins. Pumpkins seemed to be a suitable substitute for the turnips and pumpkins have been an essential part of Halloween celebrations ever since. Many activities, such as costume parties, playing pranks, haunted attractions, bonfires, apple bobbing, watching horror films and telling scary stories are also associated with the celebration of Halloween. Black and orange are the holiday's traditional colors. Halloween costumes are traditionally modeled after supernatural figures such as monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. Over time, the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities, and generic archetypes such as ninjas and princesses. ********************************************* History Of Halloween |
