Hallowe'en is a popular festival in many countries all over the world, and every year it seems to get bigger. It's getting dark earlier and it's starting to get cold. Christmas is still a long way away. We need something to cheer us up and take our minds off the fact that winter is nearly here. Find out some more about the traditional festival of Hallowe'en.
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The festival of Hallowe'en has its roots in Celtic and Roman traditions. Over 2,000 years ago the Celts in Britain, Ireland and parts of France celebrated Samhain to mark the beginning of winter. When the Romans invaded, they merged this with Feralia, their celebration of the passing of the dead. As Christianity spread, the Church tried to replace these pagan feasts with official Church holy days. One of these was November 1. It was called All Saints Day, or "All Hallows", and October 31 was known as "All Hallows' Eve", and then Hallowe'en.
In the past there was a tradition called "souling". Poor people went around houses asking for food. In exchange, they promised to say prayers for the dead. People no longer go souling, but the habit has been transformed into a modern Hallowe'en game for children in America, who dress up as ghosts, witches and monsters and go around people's houses, asking for sweets. This game is called “Trick or Treat’.
Hallowe'en wouldn't be fun without witches. Witches have always been part of popular folklore. Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" opens with three witches. A witch was someone - usually a woman - who had special powers and had dealings with the devil. The American town, Salem, in the state of Massachusetts, is famous for the "witchcraft trials", which took place there in 1692.
The pumpkin has become a symbol of Hallowe'en. People empty a pumpkin, cut a face into the side, and put a candle inside to make a lamp. It's known as a Jack O' Lantern, from an Irish legend about a man called Jack, who made a deal with the devil.
Black cats, frogs, mice and spiders are just some of the animals associated with Hallowe'en. Generally, the more unpleasant the animal, the stronger the Hallowe'en connection. Nocturnal animals like bats are particular favourites, and if, as is the case with vampire bats, they like drinking blood, they are high on the Hallowe'en list.
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Do you celebrate Hallowe'en where you live? Send us your opinion.
BuiDuyQuang writes “I agree with Bao Tan and Vy because my country doesn’t celebrate Halloween. I like the game called "Trick or Treat" - it's a lot of fun. My country doesn’t celebrate Halloween but some people do. In the area I live my friends and I ride our bikes to the centre or play some games. I think Halloween will grow next year and we can play the game called "Trick or Treat”. So we can impersonate mummies, witches, Zoro or monsters and make people very frightened when they see us. It will be very interesting and I will like it. The symbol of Halloween is the Pumpkin.”
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Stefania Benetti writes “We used not to celebrate Halloween in Italy until some years ago. November the 1st is All Saints day and, seeing that Italy is a very Catholic country, it is lived as a serious holy day just like Easter. In the 80s when I was a child, for example, I did not know what Halloween was! In the last few years, year by year, it has become well-known, but anyway we don't celebrate it as American people do. I have never seen children going and knocking at somebody's house and we don't play apple bobbing. We just go to Halloween parties, usually in discos, and there are not a lot of people who disguise themselves as monsters, ghosts or witches. I wonder if we are really changing our habits for October 31 but I can't answer yet ... for sure it has become a new business!”
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Natalia Boteva writes "I'm from Belgium but I have a Bulgarian backround. For Bulgaria, I agree with Ania Kowalska, because in Bulgaria it's the same as in Poland and she's right that it wouldn't be very easy to convince our society to change the way we celebrate it. So no Halloween in Bulgaria!
But what about Belgium now ... in Belgium and in France we celebrate Halloween as well. Recently the custom of "trick or treating" has gained in popularity, so bands of children roam the streets in ghoulish costumes, carrying Jack O'Lanterns. Halloween parties (usually for children) include games such as apple bobbing, where apples are either floated in water or hung by a string. The object of the game is for the players to put their hands behind their back and try to seize an apple with their teeth alone ...
I usually celebrate Halloween with my friends and this year we will go to an amusement park which has been totally decorated and arranged for Halloween with people who disguise themselves as freaky monsters and roam all over the park ... so Happy Halloween to everybody including all the witches, ghosts, spirits, bats, black cats, spiders, and other kind of freaks because it is one "Lawless night" of unpunished pranks!!!"
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Bao Tan writes “There is not Halloween in my country, Vietnam. But I have heard about it many times on TV, the Internet or my friend's stories. I know it is the day when people try to disguise themselves as ghosts, monsters, etc. and the aim is to scare other people, and the more scared they get the better. It's a traditional festival which has been existing for a long time so everybody always looks forward to its coming, especially kids. ‘Trick or Treat' is one kind of favourite game, where children in weird costumes come and knock at somebody's house asking for sweets, candy, biscuits ... If they are given them, nothing happens but if not, you will be a victim of their teasing. Don't worry because it's just like a joke, and then they will go away to another house. It's really funny. The pumpkin is the symbol of Halloween, it is pierced hollow inside and carved with many kinds of faces, with a candle put in it. In fact Halloween is the day of Saints which stands for All-hallow-eve, nowadays, not only Europeans and Americans celebrate Halloween holidays, many other countries in the world do too. So it is much better known to everybody than before and you can say that Halloween is not considered as a day of religion or the Saints, it has became a festival when people enjoy themselves, playing interesting games, getting acquainted with others or having the chance to relax after being busy. Why don't you invite your friends to a Halloween party on the night of Oct 31, it would be fun?”
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Vy writes “I agree with Bao Tan. Halloween is such a fun holiday it's a pity that we don't celebrate it here in Vietnam. But now there are some English schools that do celebrate Halloween and we can take part. I can remember last year I was invited for a trip to a ghost house. It was fantastic, when I was in there, I was trembling and a little bit nervous. That was a really scary trip, but if I had the chance to go again, I would never refuse. And I think there is one more thing that makes Halloween special is the apple bobbing game. Each person has to use their mouth, not their hands, to grab and eat the apples in a water bucket. It is fun, but not for people who haves braces on their teeth!”
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Ania Kowalska writes “In Poland we don’t celebrate Halloween like in UK or United States. The 1st of November is known as All Saints day and it’s a rather Christian festival and people are very serious about it. The cemeteries are crowded from early morning hours and whole families meet there to pray for their relatives that have passed away. We light candles on their graves and visit as many of them as possible. It wouldn’t be easy to convince our society to change the way we celebrate it and I don’t think that Halloween will ever be one of our festivals.”
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Wikipedia: HalloweenHallowe'en online
Yahoo! Directory's Hallowe'en
Just in case that's not enough, here's hundreds more links …
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