Halloween
Top 8 fun facts about Halloween
Sep
Halloween is coming very close to us, do you have any plans for this festive season? First, let’s explore the top 8 fun facts about Halloween surrounding this most special festival in the world!
Origins of Halloween
Today’s Halloween festival originates from the Celts, a people who lived more than 2,000 years ago in the lands of what is now England, Ireland, and northern France. The Celts begin the new year on November 1 of the solar calendar. A festival celebrated on the eve of the new year in honor of the late leader Samhain. This festive day heralds the beginning of the cold season, of the dark days often associated with the doom and death of mankind. The Celts believed that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes that night.
On “Soul cakes,” the poor go “went-a-souling” and they are given fruit cakes called “soul cakes” to promise to pray for. Praying for “souls.” Halloween came to the United States because of the first immigrants, most from England and some from the Celtic regions, who brought to America many different customs.
But due to limited religious beliefs, meaning that at first, the major religions introduced relatively strict rules, the celebration of Halloween was not popular among the people. It was not until the 1800s that it became a popular practice. In the mid-19th century, the custom of “trick or treat” was not popular in large cities because in these places “neighbors” were mostly like no; Many people live together without knowing each other, so Halloween sometimes causes disastrous things. Today, many communities and organizations have sponsored the fun customs of Halloween, so it has become a very fun festival for teenagers and some young people.
Halloween today most people consider a merry festival with the apples of Pomona, the black cat of Sanhaim and ghosts, skeletons of saints, and spirits. , All Saint’s Day, and All Soul’s Day.
Bats on Halloween
The image of bats on Halloween is also derived from the Samhain festival, to ward off evil spirits, the Irish people often set fires. It is those bright flames that attract insects and even bats to come for food.
You just call it Halloween, but do you know why the festival has such a name? Halloween’s original name is All Hallows’Eve, which means the eve of All Saints’ Day. “Hallow” is an Old English word meaning “holy”. The holiday name was then cut to Hallowe’en and finally Halloween as we know it today.
This is also an animal that is considered a minion of witches. According to legend, if a bat flies into your house during Halloween, it is a sign that your house is haunted. Today, bats are a popular decoration for this festival.
Why dress up and wear masks on Halloween?
Halloween would be so boring without masks. But the real reason why the mask becomes an indispensable part of this festival is little known. It is believed that, on October 31 every year, the boundary between the world of the living and the dead becomes the thinnest, moreover, the dead can stay on earth.
For a long time, Halloween was considered the day when evil spirits were returned to the earthly realm, and to avoid the evil spirits that followed and threatened, people wore masks to disguise themselves so as not to be afraid. Demons recognize and harass. Besides, wearing a mask also allows people to be free, mischievous, free from daily shyness, comfortably have fun and meet each other during the festive season.
Vintage Walt Disney World Halloween shirt, Disney Halloween shirt
A perfect gift for Haloween
BUY NOWTrick or Treat Game
Knocking on your neighbor’s door on the night of October 31, waiting for them to open the door to scream ‘ Trick or Treat ‘ is one of the best childhood memories. Is a very familiar game in the Halloween holiday of children today. But this is a form of begging in ancient times. Today, Children will wear devil costumes, go in groups and carry baskets of candy, and lanterns… Then, the children will knock on each neighbor’s door in the neighborhood, waiting for them to open. door and shouted happily: “Trick or Treat”.
The trick in English means fool, just a naughty prank on Halloween. Treat is hospitality, good treatment, in this case just confectionery. This saying means: “If you don’t want to be played badly, treat us to something”. Usually, the host is happy to give the children a lot of candy, cake to go… to scare the next house. But why is “Trick or Treat”, not any other saying? What is the real meaning behind it? According to Dictionary, the origin of this saying goes back to the Middle Ages, but it was not a custom for children as it is today. Since ancient times, beggars often disguised themselves with costumes made of straw, going around the village, knocking door to door to ask for sweets or food.
Gradually, this has become a custom, an indispensable feature of Halloween. In the Middle Ages, the poor would beg for food on October 31st. In response, they will pray for the departed souls on All Souls’ Day, which falls on November 2. Today’s Trick or Treat is a variation of the ancient practice. Halloween festival came to America thanks to the first immigrants, most of them from Scotland and Ireland. And whatever its origin, today it is still a popular custom, most looked forward to by children around the world on Devil’s Day.
Traditional Halloween colors
Orange, black, and white colors and spooky symbols on Halloween also carry indescribable creepy meanings. Almost all symbols and decorations for Halloween are orange or black. Orange is the color of pumpkins, which are harvested at the end of October just in time for Halloween. Therefore, it is associated with autumn, fertility, and life. On the contrary, black represents mourning, death, and the afterlife.
Putting orange and black next to each other on Halloween is a reminder of the devil to people, that the line between life and death is too fragile. Another very superstitious thing is that it is said that ghosts will also disguise themselves and knock on doors from door to door begging for food and money. If unfortunately, you refuse those ghosts, you will be haunted by angering the spirits.
The custom of carving pumpkins
Few people know that the Jack O’Lantern pumpkin has a rather mysterious and dark origin, originating from an ancient Irish legend. The story is about a farmer named Jack – a man who always plays tricks on the devil, and until his death, no place accepts him. People have been making “Jack-o’-lantern” pumpkin lights on Halloween for centuries. This has its origins in an Irish story about a man nicknamed “Mirror Jack”.
According to legend, Jack invited the Devil to drink with him. Due to his stingy nature, Jack doesn’t want to pay for their drinks, so he convinces the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack can use to buy alcohol. When the Devil transformed, Jack decided to keep the coin and put it in his pocket next to a silver cross. The frightened Demon could not escape and changed back to its original form. Jack eventually frees the Devil, but on the condition that he won’t disturb Jack for a year and after Jack’s death, he won’t be able to capture his soul.
The next year, Jack tricked the Devil into climbing a tree to pick fruit. When the Devil climbs the tree, Jack carves a sign of the cross into the trunk so that the Devil can’t come down until the Devil promises not to bother him for another ten years. Not long after, Jack dies. According to the story, God did not allow a cunning man like Jack to go to heaven. The Devil kept his promise not to ask for Jack’s soul, so he did not allow him to go to hell. He gives Jack coal to light his way in the night. Jack put coal in an indented turnip and roamed the earth. Since then, the Irish have called Jack’s ghost “Jack-o’-lantern”.
Pictures of witches on Halloween
Few people know that the image of a witch riding a broom at Halloween comes from a real situation in the past, the old women who are accused of being witches are often very poor people, they just walk. and sticks. Gradually, the image of sticks was replaced by the image of brooms.
In addition, accompanying the witch must be a black cat – symbolizing a helper for the witch. Even black cats are a symbol of good luck in England, while white cats are considered unlucky.
As the story above, the original origin of the lanterns was engraved on wealth, but the famine in 1846 due to the potato crop failure caused the Irish people to migrate to new lands in North America. Therefore, the image of lanterns on Halloween is replaced by pumpkins to this day.
The Legend of the Pumpkin in Ireland and Scotland
In Ireland and Scotland, people began making different versions of “Jack-o’-lantern” lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them in windows or near doors to ward off “stingy Jack” (Stingy Jack) and other wandering evil spirits. As the story above, the original origin of the lanterns was engraved on wealth, but the famine in 1846 due to the potato crop failure caused the Irish people to migrate to new lands in North America. Therefore, the image of lanterns on Halloween is replaced by pumpkins to this day.
In the UK, large turnips are used. Immigrants from these countries carry the tradition of “Jack-o’-lantern” lights when they come to America. Here, they realized that pumpkins are a popular crop in America that can make perfect lamps, so they used the pumpkins to make the lamps you see today. Until Today, Jack O’Lantern lanterns with carvings of scary faces are placed in front of the door to ward off evil spirits.
