Halloween History
Halloween History and Halloween Menu Ideas
Halloween History
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain
(pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that
is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new
year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and
the beginning of the dark, cold winter. "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. The
holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.
Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between
the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of
October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the
dead returned to earth.
Halloween is celebrated annually
on October 31. Just think about a bunch of
frightening fantasies and the scary stories featuring ghosts, witches, monsters,
and all things that go bump in the night then your thinking about one of the
finest holidays of the year.
The disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding
year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It
was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife.
The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this
time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living. “Trick or
treat” is innocent fun to relish on the Halloween Day. It comes from the
catholic tradition of eating and giving soul cakes on Halloween. People
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. The Jack-o-lantern custom comes from Irish
folklore. Wearing costumes comes from the days when Celtic villagers would
dress up in ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around , being as destructive
as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
Halloween party supplies like paper plates, napkins, and cups are a nice way to
complete a Halloween Party Theme. Halloween
decorations like pumpkin piñatas
as a centerpiece, can also double as party prizes. Party favors like Halloween
stickers or glow jewelry fit a Halloween Party Theme.
Halloween Menu Ideas:
Bloody Hand Punch
Fill a powerless rubber glove with cherry Kool aid. Tie and freeze. At
party time, cut and peel the glove off and drop into lemonade, The red will drip into the yellow and swirl when a drink is served.
Worm Sandwiches
Instead of serving regular hot dogs on buns at our Halloween bash I slice them length wise then boil them and the serve the "worms" on hamburger buns.
Featured Fun with these Free Party Games.
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