Although a day dedicated to remembering the dead, Halloween has now turned up into one of the coolest events to celebrate in most parts of the world including India. Traditionally observed on October 31, it is associated with the western world and a favorite holiday among children. Halloween is a fun event that encourages kids and adults alike to dress up in costumes, tell spine-tingling stories, and go from door to door collecting candy.
Here are some of the facts to know about Halloween –
Halloween Didn’t Originate In America
Halloween’s origins come from a Celtic festival in Ireland for the dead called “Samhain.” Celts believed the ghosts of the dead roamed Earth on this holiday, so people would dress in costumes and leave “treats” out on their front doors to appease the roaming spirits.
Jack O’Lanterns were originally not made of pumpkins
Carving pumpkins on Halloween is not only fun, it’s also believed to scare away evil spirits. But do you know since Halloween originated in Ireland, so did the carving of pumpkins… only, they didn’t use pumpkins, because there were none in Ireland. In place of pumpkins, the Irish used turnips to make their jack-o-lantern masterpieces.
Dressing up like ghosts
This tradition is also Celtic in its origins. The fear of ghosts roaming the earth used to keep most folks indoors during Samhain. That was till the day people thought up a brilliant idea–if we dress up as ghosts ourselves, the real ones wouldn’t be able to tell us apart from themselves. So people dressed up as creepy and scary ghosts to blend in with the evil spirits that roamed the earth. And that’s how the tradition of dressing up as ghosts, ghouls, gory corpses or zombies, and witches came about. Of course it’s a tradition that’s continued till date.
Trick or treat?
Halloween is one of the most enjoyable festivals for kids, because on this one night, they get to dress up as they like and go around the neighborhood asking people for candies. In fact, Halloween is so popular with kids that they look forward to it as much as they do to Christmas, when Santa gets them gifts.
Black and Orange
The classic Halloween colors can also trace their origins back to the Celtic festival Samhain. Black represented the “death” of summer while orange is emblematic of the autumn harvest season.
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