Halloween Traditions & History

[Aaryanna]

Okay here?s the question. Just what do all of you do for Halloween? Does your family have any traditions that you follow? I?ve been thinking about this as I chose to do my English assignment on the history and traditions of Halloween.

Truthfully I don?t know a lot about it other than it?s suppose to be the day that the dead can come back to life, or least that?s what I thought it meant. What I?ve been finding is quite different than what I originally thought the holiday was. For example since the ninth century, Christians have celebrated All Hallows Day on November 1 in honor of deceased holy persons or saints.

I also found that the Christian Halloween adopted traditions from an older Celtic holiday. One where the Druids had a festival called Samhain, during which the god of the dead was believed to come back to earth accompanied by ghosts and goblins.

I also ran into information that the belief that Samhain is a god of death is inaccurate. But rather that they believed that their God dies, later to be reborn and that its actually a day in observance of the death of a God.

Here?s another really weird one about Halloween. Why do people say ?God bless you? when you sneeze? The Welsh believed that a sneeze blew the soul right out of the body. If someone sneezed on Halloween, people would bless one another to keep the devil from capturing the soul.

It really is interesting to read. Here?s the site about Halloween History & Traditions. [URL=http://ww4.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/13587.xml][B][COLOR=DarkOrange]Halloween[/COLOR][/B][/URL]

And here?s one with info why ?Samhain? the Celtic God of the Dead is a myth. [URL=http://www.religioustolerance.org/hallo_cu.htm][B][COLOR=DarkOrange]Myth[/COLOR][/B][/URL]

As for what my family does, well we usually go to a dress up party either at church with lots of games and food or trick-or-treating or both. It?s really a lot of fun cause my mom totally decorates the house for the month and on Halloween night she dresses up like a witch and plays creepy music at the house. So it?s lots of fun when all the people come around trick-or-treating. ^_^

We also go to some place in the valley that either has a hay ride or cornfield maze to explore. And my favorite is going to a haunted house. I could go almost every day all month!

Anyway, what traditions do all of you follow? Or what's your favorite things to do on Halloween?

[Panda]

I love Halloween, always have and always will.

In the past I use to dress up my dogs in costumes and take them to my friend's store in the downtown shopping district of town. The businesses would do Trick-or-Treating for the kids in a safe, well-lit environment. They close off the streets and everything. I would take the dogs to her store so the kids could see them. (I'll look for a picture to post and edit my response if I find it.) They are both big dogs (90-100 lbs) so most of the time the kids were much smaller than they were and they, both the kids and dogs, loved it. The dogs got attention and the kids got a kick out of seeing them in costumes.

After that I would take them, the dogs, trick or treating to my co-workers house. All my co-workers...being vet med people...would have treats for the dogs. Boxes of dog biscuits. My boss was the odd man out and gave them doggie vitamins. I told him he was the house that gave out raisins, you know, the healthy treats to the kids. LOL

Since my health is no longer that great I stay at home and answer the door for all the neighborhood...and out of neighborhood kids...who show up during the night. Pretty much I put on my panda hoodie and hand out candy. We always give double to anime character costumes. I also don't hand out those nasty cheap candies either. Now all the co-workers I use to visit with my dogs bring their kids to my house and I load them up with the good stuff. Hey, they aren't my kids who are going to be pumped up on sugar!

So pretty much the new tradition in my household is handing out candy to all the kids and trying not to catch a cold while standing in an open doorway all night. In my neck of the woods it isn't unusual to have snow on Halloween. Brrrr!!

[Horendithas]

Ah, Halloween, one of my favorite days of the year for so many reasons. I have always loved this holiday. Not only is it my Birthday but the idea, even if it?s not the original reason why it?s a holiday, of the dead coming back to life is kind of creepy and fun at the same time.

Where my parents live back home the entire town is totally into Halloween. You can?t drive anywhere in town with out seeing decorations all over the place. It kind of reminds me of the movie Hocus Pocus as they really go all out. They are so into it that once evening hits pretty much everyone is dressed up and either out trick-or-treating or at a Halloween dance or party. It may be a small town, but its just lots of fun.

It really is magical as seeing someone in regular clothes in the evening is rare. So you feel like you?re in another world altogether. I?m always sorry when it?s over and I?m even more sorry that I?m in another state attending College, as they don?t do very much here.

The only definite tradition my family has is that if possible we all get together to visit a haunted house or explore a corn maze together.

[visualkei]

I am so jealous at all the fun you guys have on Halloween. I used to go trick-or-treatin with my buddies when we were around 16, but that's a while back. =/ I haven't been home for Halloween since I've been in college. Even living in these apartments... Nobody comes knocking for candy.

I think it's so cute when families go all out with decorations and theme up their house for Halloween. :cool:

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.

I've always loved Halloween , there's just something immensely fun about the night that burns itself into people's memories and nostalgia throughout their lifetime. There's no real tradition to my family when it comes to Halloween, my siblings and I used to go Trick-or-Treating in the local village about a mile up the road as we live in the countryside and then just come home and enjoy the spoils of the night. Most Halloweens though there'd also be a party for the kids in one of the people's houses, where the kids could gather and exchange sweets if certain ones weren't liked.

Bobbing for apples was definitely the highlight of the night, because I used win most of the time where as others would constantly go at the apples like a shark on a seal. When I was part of the Cub Scouts, one year for Halloween we all went camping and late in the night they got everyone up to do a Ghost Train, which basically involved everyone holding into a very long rope and going down the road until you were eventually taken by one of the older people dressed as monsters, or you made it to the end and won a prize. I simply can't describe the excitement in the air when we did that, it was electric and so much fun.

I was caught by a neighbour of mine, though I didn't realise it at the time and kicked him in the shin, he yelped and I ran back to the rope and kept on running until I got to the end of it with the others, it was terrifying for me because I was only about twelve at the time. It's just the fear and excitement mixed at Halloween that I love, and the sweets only sweeten, pardon the pun, the deal.[/SIZE]

[celestialcharm]

[QUOTE=Panda]
My boss was the odd man out and gave them doggie vitamins. I told him he was the house that gave out raisins, you know, the healthy treats to the kids. LOL

I also don't hand out those nasty cheap candies either. Now all the co-workers I use to visit with my dogs bring their kids to my house and I load them up with the good stuff[/QUOTE]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid]I never liked those houses with bootleg candy:grumble:. I think, if you don't want your house egged(I don't egg houses though), don't give candy at all or give the good stuff! My mom is the one who usually asks my siblings or I what she should buy, so we make sure she buys good candy. Also, because we want some of that candy for ourselves!!! :rotflmao:

I used to go out for Halloween. But recently, I've went to school retreats or a friend's house. This year, I have to start helping my sister give out candy. Maybe, I'll just sneak off and go trick-or-treating or ask one of those kids for a trick :smirk: . My other sister, is having a 'Harvest Party' at her house on the Saturday before. Hopefully, I'll get to go.

Random Halloween comment: I remember, my mom used to hate for us to go out for halloween! She used to say it's devilish and stuff. But, my rebutal was that then why are we giving out candy. :laugh:[/COLOR]

[Kei]

[color=darkblue]I've always been fond of Halloween as well. It's just a time wen you can really let your imagination loose and dress however you want and no one can say a thing. It's great that way.

The candy's not a bad thing, either, lol.

I always used to go out on Beggar's Night with some kids from around my neighborhood. We used to go up and down a few streets around our neighborhood and we a;ways picked up some nice swag. I remember one year an older woman gave out two Toblerones to everyone that came to her house. That was an awesome year, heh.

I plan on trying to dress up again this year for Halloween on campus, but I still haven't decided what I want to be yet. If I can find the things I want, I'll probably go as a cat like I've always wanted, but if not, I'll just go as a broke college student. It seems to be a popular thing, though...[/color]

[SunfallE]

I love Halloween; it has always been one of my favorite holidays.

When I was a kid my Dad would take me and my siblings trick-or-treating and my Mom would stay home a dress up as a witch and answer the door. She would decorate the house and play creepy music for the kids coming by. It was a lot of fun.

When I attended elementary school my Mom and other parents would get together and create a school wide party in the evening. And if Halloween was on Saturday or Sunday we still got a Halloween party at school on Friday. They would turn the gym into a haunted house and you got to go trick-or-treating to all the different teachers. It was a blast and I loved every minute of it.

My birthday is on October 1st so I also had Halloween themed birthday parties growing up. Between the parties and how my Mom did things at school, from the moment we woke up on Halloween till we went to bed we were dressed up in costumes and either at school, a party or out trick-or-treating. It?s one of my few regrets about being an adult now as I really miss all the fun I had back then.

Now that I?m an adult I get together with my friends and we have our own party, with games, scary movies and such. And I still dress up for the day just cause it?s fun to do so.

I think the only tradition my family has is that no matter where we are, we always celebrate Halloween in some way.

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]*grins manically* Thank you, Aaryanna for telling us about Samhain. I love you for it! ^_^ *huggles*

[url=http://www.celticspirit.org/samhain.htm]This[/url] website will tell you all you need to know about Samhain. Basically, there's just all these festivals running from Oct. 31 - Nov. 6th. I learned about Samhain when I was reading "A Year Like None Other" - a Harry Potter fanfic. And something happens to Harry on Samhain, and then I went and read about it and stuff, and the holiday sounds interesting (BTW, if you like Harry Potter, READ THE FANFIC. It's REAALLY good).

I don't know if anyone else covered this (if they did, I'm apparently blind, so please forgive me), but I just wanted to point out to you, that it is not pronounced as "Sam-hayne." As Gavin can probably attest to this, there isn't a whole lot in Irish Gaelic that's pronounced in English as it's spelled. Samhain, in this case, is pronounced "Sow-ehn." Sow, as in like... a female pig. Other variants in pronunciation include "Sow-eeh" and "Sah-vehn." =)


I don't really have Halloween Traditions, but I love trick-or-treating. It's really a LOT of fun, and I'm hoping my friends will go trick-or-treating this year, 'cause I REALLY want to go. ^_^; I don't even particularly like candy (it takes me until February to get rid of the stuff I usually get), but I love being with my friends, and walking around. It's great fun!

I wanted to be a mermaid this year, but that isn't going to happen. *sobs* ;_; I think I'm going to go in my cosplay costume from AnimeNext, 'cause I just can't think of anything else. >_>;;

One year we went to these houses behind Lumi's house. She lives right on the border of the town next door, with richy rich people, so we trick-or-treated at their houses. They gave out really good candy. Some of it was they typical stuff, but then you'd get people giving you full and king sized hershey bars or kit kat bars. And we got like... GIFTS, at this one house. And that was cool.

Yay for walking around with friends on Halloween![/color]

[Ikillion]

[SIZE=2][COLOR=DarkSlateGray][FONT=Times New Roman]I dont know why I think this might just be me but I Havent been as intrested in Halloween as basicly most of my friends. I have always thought and wondered why exactly I dont really like To go Trick-o-Treating. It was never that I was afraid of other people in their other constumes when I was young. I just never really got into it.

However getting back on topic What I really like to do for some reason every year is scare people. I'm not evil enough to scare a little 5 year old with his sister or anything like that. I always scare like. 12-16 year olds. You would really be suprised on what I have done. What I love the most about it is that my mom supports it.

Last year for example we had one of our windows right infront of our front door broken...Because of an incident involving a metal ball. This window wasnt really large like just about less than 2 1/2 feet. We desguised the window to make it look like a fern was growing there.

So we made it so that I could jump out of it and scare people...I made an 18 year old scream and almost cry in fear. It was hilarious to me most people however I told the next day however told me, "How could you be so heartless, that was so evil how could you!?" I dont know why..I find it fun when I scare people. I dont mean to be evil or whatnot. Its just the only tradition that my Mother and I really Practice. And I still love every moment of it.[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Skye]

Oh, yay, a topic bout my favorite holiday!

I adore Halloween. I adore trick-or-treating, dressing up - and I will continue to do both until I'm too old to walk, because, after all, who wants to pass up the chance to get free candy?

Anyway, I love Samhain, too, and I have actually meditated on that night. 0.0; I got some pretty disturbing dreams that night, let me tell ya what. But, as the veil is thin, it was pretty much obvious what was going to happen.

But perhaps, although Samhain, trick-or-treating, and all that jazz, is fun, I have to say that the Dia De Los Muertos is my favorite of them all. At church, we decorate the sanctuary in gold and browns, black and orange. We set up tables with photos of deceased loved ones, and we bring things that were dear to them - their favorite foods, things that represented what they enjoyed in life. And my favorite part of all of it is seeing the windows, the tables, the altar, covered in marigolds. I love walking through the doors, greeted by the spicy scent, the warm, comforting colors. And the story-telling - that is something I can never forget. Our elders tell stories of the beloved dead, stories of the Day of the Dead. And then we feast. We set out places, and extra places, inviting our ghost friends in to feast with us. And sometimes, you can even feel them there, smiling, laughing, being alive again, for as long as it lasts. It is an amazing experience.[/size]

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]*jaw drops* Fiacha - You celebrate el dia de los muertos?!? That is SO SO SO SO COOL!!!!! I've always wanted to celebrate it and what not. I've learned about it in Spanish classes for the last two years (one year I had to make an alter - heh), and I think it's a great holiday, and a great way to remember the dead.

That is really really cool. On a side note - do you speak Spanish, then, or not really?[/color]

[Skye]

*chuckles* Roxie apparently doesn't remember Skye. Ah, well.

*grins* Si, se habla espanol porquito mui buen. (IOW, I speak a little spanish very well. Atleast, that's the best I can do.) Most of the Spanish I know I got from my mother because she spoke it to me when I was little. I'm not even due ot take Spanish till next semester. I know a few phrases, words, and whatnot, although I'm horrible at writing it. V_V *wracks her brain* Let me see... te amo la cabesa rojo mui buen! *hopes she got this right, although she's just guessing* ^_^ I also tend to piece together words I know and make them into sentences - although my sentence structure is also horrible. PM me, si? Methinks we're straying off-subject.

Yeah, it's a great way to celebrate the dead, and it's fun. It takes a lot of the fear out of the holiday, and out of the idea of greeting spirits.

[Sage Kaley]

[QUOTE=Fiacha]*chuckles* Roxie apparently doesn't remember Skye. Ah, well.

*grins* Si, se habla espanol porquito mui buen. (IOW, I speak a little spanish very well. Atleast, that's the best I can do.) Most of the Spanish I know I got from my mother because she spoke it to me when I was little. I'm not even due ot take Spanish till next semester. I know a few phrases, words, and whatnot, although I'm horrible at writing it. V_V *wracks her brain* Let me see... te amo la cabesa rojo mui buen! *hopes she got this right, although she's just guessing* ^_^ I also tend to piece together words I know and make them into sentences - although my sentence structure is also horrible. PM me, si? Methinks we're straying off-subject.

Yeah, it's a great way to celebrate the dead, and it's fun. It takes a lot of the fear out of the holiday, and out of the idea of greeting spirits.[/QUOTE]

Ahhh I love you for knowing this. I've always thought it was really interesting and even used it for an rp character.

But as for my Halloween traditions, they involve running around with my friends, scaring the daylights out of ourselves with the scariest stories we know...

We dress up, get our candy, talk about spooky things then go home and divide the goods between all of us, trading for candy we like and stuff.

When I was younger we'd go to Halloween parties and do all the fun stuff like haunted houses and scary movies and bobbing for apples...

I might not be able to do anything this year because of college (sighs) But I will at least wear my damn kitty ears all day and pass out candy to random people. -_- LONG LIVE THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEEN!

[SunfallE]

[QUOTE=sand dragon 19][SIZE=2][COLOR=DarkSlateGray][FONT=Times New Roman]However getting back on topic What I really like to do for some reason every year is scare people. I'm not evil enough to scare a little 5 year old with his sister or anything like that. I always scare like. 12-16 year olds. You would really be suprised on what I have done. What I love the most about it is that my mom supports it.

Last year for example we had one of our windows right infront of our front door broken...Because of an incident involving a metal ball. This window wasnt really large like just about less than 2 1/2 feet. We desguised the window to make it look like a fern was growing there.

So we made it so that I could jump out of it and scare people...I made an 18 year old scream and almost cry in fear. It was hilarious to me most people however I told the next day however told me, "How could you be so heartless, that was so evil how could you!?" I dont know why..I find it fun when I scare people. I dont mean to be evil or whatnot. Its just the only tradition that my Mother and I really Practice. And I still love every moment of it.[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

Interesting that you should mention scaring people. ^_^ It?s not a tradition, but for a while my family lived in an older home that the townspeople were convinced was haunted and had a torture chamber in the attic. Course how one could fit all the devices for torture and such in an attic that was at the most three feet tall was beyond me.

Anyway, as a result when we moved in every Halloween we would get tons of people who would ring the doorbell and just run away. So after a couple of years I decided to scare the heck out of some of them. So I dressed as a witch with a huge long wig and hat and then put gloves on and stuffed straw in my sleeves and pants so when I sat in a chair by the front porch I looked like a stuffed decoration. We left the porch light off to help with the illusion.

Surprisingly, it worked. People would even come up and look a bit closer to see if I was real or not. For the first part of the evening I sat very still and did my best to not laugh at the people who would look closer at me. It was so funny cause none of them realized I was real. Well like the previous years the people who would ring the doorbell and run away showed up. By now they were brazen enough that they would do it more than just once. I would leave them alone the first time, but if they came back a second time I would let out an evil Mwhahahaha laugh just as they were about to ring the doorbell.

I worked really hard on getting the laugh right and it worked really well. It worked so well that the people who I scared the heck out of went around telling people the next day that they heard evil ghosts in our attic laughing at them! They were so busy running away as fast as they could that not one of them realized that the laughter was coming from me!

That was beyond fun! ^_^ Since my family moved to another town I've often wondered if the new people living in that house have had problems with people thinking it was haunted.

[Al-araaf]

I have always loved Halloween. It has interesting legends and this year since I think i'm to old to trick or treat i'll do one of 3 things. 1 work on a haunted hayride with my gf. Help her take her younger siblings trick or treating. Or 3 spend the night alone and take candy from little kids.

As for family tradition we dont do anything. My mom decorates the house a little but we mostly sit around. When Halloween gets closer I start reading more about witches and Halloween myths but thats my only tradiction.

[Retribution]

[size=1]For those looking for a good ol' Halloween chuckle, go [url=http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1053/1053_01.asp][b]here[/b][/url]. It's hilarious, yet sad at the same time.

Anyway, I love(d) Halloween, at least when I was young enough to go trick or treating. Now, I'm sort of indifferent towards it. Another time for me to steal candy from my brothers, and give away precious Reese's Cups to undeserving brats. Another holiday down, until Christmas.[/size]

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]Retri - I read the link you had. I wish I hadn't. That's so.... Beh. *_____* Really. Really really. X_______x; You're right, it is sort of sad. :/ But I guess if I say anymore about it, I'll have someone breathing down my neck, so... jah. :X[/color]

[Horendithas]

Well Retribution, I checked the link and now I feel the need to wash my brain somehow. Blech! It?s funny and yet so sad as the whole basis of its argument is based on something that is a myth and not an actual fact. But then people have always been good at turning someone else?s traditions into something that they really aren?t.

All I can really say is it really makes me glad I don?t go to church. Blech! Boy I really do need to go and somehow get the brainwashing info from that link out of my mind.

It is laughable in the sense that it?s not likely to sway my opinion on Halloween. I have always loved it and will continue to love it. Now I just need to figure out where they actually do anything fun for Halloween here in Utah. I am so going to miss being at home this year.

[Retribution]

[quote name='MistressRoxie][color=#9933ff']Retri - I read the link you had. I wish I hadn't. That's so.... Beh. *_____* Really. Really really. X_______x; You're right, it is sort of sad. :/ But I guess if I say anymore about it, I'll have someone breathing down my neck, so... jah. :X[/color][/quote]
[size=1]Oh, come now, Roxie! I wanna hear some link bashin'. Besides, we'd all fight back the flamer if they dared to show their ugly Halloween hating face on the Boards.

Yeah, I thought it was more funny than sad, because I like to look on the brighter side of things. Anyway - what is everyone dressing up as this Halloween? I think once I dressed up as a Ninja. Boy, was that fun.[/size]

[SunfallE]

Retribution, I have just one thing to say about that link. EWWWWW!!!!! Seriously, that is sick. It is funny and sad, but totally sick! >_< Not only is it based on a misconception but it?s making Halloween out to be something that it?s not. For many religions Halloween is actually a day to remember the dead, so it?s disrespectful towards them as well. I mean?.. EWWWW!!!! >_< I think I?ll go watch a good Halloween movie to get those images out of my mind.

[Aaryanna]

Oh my! I just read the link you provided Retribution. >_< I thought it was a joke, but they were serious! I think SunfallE is right! EWWWWWW!!! Talk about a true horror! That?s total propaganda! What SunfallE said is right! Not only is what they saying a myth, but for many religions it?s a day to remember the dead. :animesigh That?s kind of sad. It?s funny but really sad. I feel like indifference, I need to wash my brain to get rid of those brainwashing images. >_<

It certainly won?t change my opinion; if nothing else I like Halloween even more. Especially since I know it?s a good holiday. :animesmil I think I?ll run off to watch a good Halloween movie too. ^_^