Halloween 2023: Origins, facts, and traditions

Throughout the world, Halloween Day 2023 is celebrated on October 31, where it is known as All halloween. Christians celebrate All Saints Day on November 1, honouring relatives who have passed on as a part of the tradition of honouring people who are in Heaven. Having children dress up in costumes and go door-to-door like little beggars demanding treats is kind of ghastly. Modern-day Halloween is deep-rooted in the traditions and occult. It is believed that the doors of Heaven open to our world on this day, and hence people all across the world celebrate these festivals for the gone ones.

The Halloween activities include

• Trick-or-treating

• Guising and souling

• Halloween costume parties

• Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns

• Lighting bonfires

• Apple bobbing

• Divination games

• Playing pranks

• Visiting haunted attractions

• Telling scary stories

• Watching horror films.

Christian traditions historically have refrained from meat on All Hallows’ Eve, which manifests itself in certain vegetarian foods served on this post-Thanksgiving feast day, such as apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes. While some people still attend church services on All Hallows’ Eve, or light candles at gravesites, the Christian religious observances remain popular. For others, however, it is a secular celebration.

Origin

In ancient Britain and Ireland, the festival of Samhain was the origin of Halloween. The new year began on the day that corresponds to November 1 on contemporary calendars. Herds were returned from pasture, and land tenures were renewed at that time, which marked the beginning of the winter season.

Facts

Here are some of the interesting facts that you should know about Halloween.

• Halloween is a cultural mashup.

• It was once common to dress up in costumes to hide from ghosts.

• Jack-o’-lanterns were initially carved into turnips.

• In England, trick-or-treating might have evolved from the medieval custom of “souling.”

• Candy corn was called initially Chicken Feed.

• “Jack o’lantern” comes from the Irish legend of Stingy Jack.

• The most lit jack o’lanterns on display is 30,581

• Halloween folklore is full of fortune-telling and magic.

• Michael Myers’ mask is a William Shatner mask.

• Halloween has been associated with cats for centuries.

• Historically, Halloween has been associated with romance.

• It makes complete sense to decorate for Halloween in black and orange.

Traditions around the world

While in Brittany, the people celebrate Halloween in their way. As this is a global festival, there seems to be a variance in the celebration across the globe. Starting with the Scottish and Irish styles, the children usually dress up guising in a weird fashion. Regarding the Irish style, they love to gather around the bonfire and watch fireworks. After the fire died down, each person’s ashes were covered with stones. The person represented by each stone would not live out the year if it were misplaced in the morning. In some parts of the world, people tell ghost stories, listen to Halloween-themed songs and watch horror films are standard fixtures of Halloween parties. Halloween-themed episodes of television series and specials (usually aimed at children) are common around Halloween. To capitalize on the Halloween season, new horror films are often released before the big day.

Let us know about your plans on Halloween!