Halloween is no longer for kids.
Adults are getting in the act with spending in the United States topping almost $7 billion a year, making it the second-largest commercial holiday after Christmas.
To celebrate a safe Halloween with the young ones, check out these excellent easy-to-follow safety tips compiled by Natasha Ganes.
Many people forget that pets need to be cared for during this spooky time. Loud noises and constant door-knocking will cause anxiety, so help calm your four-legged little ones.
And remember that chocolates and other sweets are poisonous for dogs.
I’m not a huge fan of the horror side of Halloween.
So when I saw this high-tech twist on a Halloween magic show, I was hooked.
This video is from a Simon Pierro, a magician from Munich, Germany who cleaverly uses an iPad to enhance his magic.
Most of us know about what do to have fun on Halloween, but most don’t know the history or meaning behind them. Here is your Halloween primer:
Costumes: Dressing in costumes has its roots in the Pagan Celtic roots of Samhain. One theory is they dressed as ghouls to fool evil spirits let loose on October 31, so they would not be possessed by these spirits. Another theory is they dressed in costume just for fun, and to make mischief. Yet another theory is that faeries would dress as beggars asking for food, which would also be the origins of the “trick or treat” practice. After the Catholic Church replaced Samhain with All Saints Day, people would dress as dead Saints and devils for their festivities.
Trick or Treat: This practice might have had it’s start in the legend from Celtic days that faeries would dress as beggars going from door to door asking for food, and those that did not show hospitality would be harshly dealt with by these magical faeries. On All Souls Day, the poor would beg for “Soul Cakes” (sweet pastries) in exchange for prayers for their departed loved ones, expediting their passage to heaven. Sometimes costumed groups would sing and perform in exchange for food, ale, or money. In the United Kingdom, Guy Fawkes effigies to be burned were prepared by children, going door to door, asking for a penny for Guy, on Guy Fawkes Day.
Bonfires: These have two origins. The first is the sacred ritual of extinguishing home fires, and one sacred bonfire is lit in each town for the end of the New Year. Some say the reason home fires were extinguished is to scare away evil spirits from homes, while others say that home fires were supposed to be lit from embers from the sacred bonfire to start the New Year. The second origin was from Guy Fawkes Day in the United Kingdom to burn effigies of the Catholic pope, and later of Guy Fawkes himself.
Apples: A seasonal fruit, and also the symbol of the Roman goddess Pomona, commonly thought at the time to possess qualities of knowledge, resurrection, and immortality. Bobbing for apples, peeling a long apple peel, and other manipulations of the fruit were thought to foretell the future, on this night of Samhain.
Jack o’lanterns: From the Irish folk tale of Jack, who tricked the devil, but was not allowed in heaven or in hell. The devil, taking pity of Jack, gave him an ember to light his way on his eternal walks on Earth, carried in a hollowed out turnip. Because of their size and availability, pumpkins were substituted for turnips in the United States. The Celtics did use a hollowed out rutabaga to carry an ember from the sacred Samhain bonfire home to light their home fires, but the significance and relation to the Irish tale of Jack is unknown.
Ghost Stories: Ghost stories probably have their roots in the original Celtic belief that the spirits of the dead (both good and bad) wandered the Earth on October 31 (Samhain). Later, when the church replaced Samhain with All Saints Day and All Souls Day, the dead were remembered, and spoken about. In the United States today, they are used to amuse and scare children (and some adults) to get them in the “spirit” of Halloween.
I’d love to hear about any other symbolism of Halloween. And what’s your favorite Halloween activity?
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