Halloween
How did everything start?
Halloween is a holyday that we celebrate on 31st October. We started to celebrate Halloween in beginning of 20th century. Actually we start celebrating Halloween much before it was called Samhain. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts (its weird I know). In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Samhain was celebrated 2000 years ago mostly in area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
What do we do on Halloween?
Halloween is usually celebrated by both adults and kids. Some families celebrate by having costume parties and playing special games. Halloween is an excuse for Halloween theme costume parties, and entertainment with horror films, haunted houses and other activities round the popular themes of ghosts, witches, Dracula, werewolves, and the supernatural. Children love to dress up in Halloween costumes and go from door-to-door in their neighborhood following the old tradition of trick-or-treating, collecting sweets and gifts, sometimes money.
Interesting facts about Halloween:
1. Halloween is the second highest grossing commercial holiday after Christmas.
2. Fifty percent of kids prefer to receive chocolate candy for Halloween, compared with 24% who prefer non-chocolate candy and 10% who preferred gum.
3. Ireland is typically believed to be the birthplace of Halloween.
4. The first known mention of trick-or-treating in print in North America occurred in 1927 in Blackie, Alberta, Canada.
5. In Alabama, it is illegal to dress up as a priest or as a nun on Halloween.