History of Halloween
Halloween is the second most popular holiday after Christmas in the United States! Everyone loves the magic of make believe that Halloween provides. A good Halloween mask is an effective way to give your alter-ego permission to come out an play. A creative costume give us great permission to pretend to be whoever we have always secretly wanted to be. And yes, that includes the fantasy of being a very scary vampire.
Halloween, a largly secular holiday, originates from the Gaelic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints.Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America during Ireland’s Great Famine. The day is often associated with orange and black, and is strongly associated with symbols like the jack-o’-lantern. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, ghost tours, bonfires, visiting haunted attractions, pranks, reading scary stories, and watching horror films.
Samhain could be seen as a festival of the dead. The ancient Gaels believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family’s ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm.
The term Halloween, originally spelled Hallowe’en, is shortened from All Hallows’ Even – e’en is a shortening of evening. It is now known as All Saints’ Day. A time of pagan festivities, Popes Gregory III (731–741) and Gregory IV (827–844) tried to supplant it with the Christian holiday (All Saints’ Day) by moving it from May 13 to November 1. Although All Saints’ Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were once celebrated on the same day.
Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. 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 a (mostly idle) threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. In some parts of Ireland and Scotland children still go guising. In this custom the child performs some sort of show, i.e. sings a song or tells a ghost story, in order to earn their treats.
Halloween costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. They are said to be used to scare off demons.