The Celebration of Halloween

A Halloween is a conventional celebration held on October 31st. As of today, Halloween is a reason for Halloween theme costume parties, and amusement with horror films, haunted houses and other activities around the popular themes of ghosts, witches, Dracula, werewolves and the supernatural. Kids love to wear up in Halloween outfits and go from door-to-door in their neighborhood following the old tradition of trick-or-treating, collecting candies and gifts, sometimes money if others are that generous. Halloween began as a primeval Celtic festival in Great Britain and Ireland, and has survived most powerfully among Irish, Scottish and Welsh communities. Settlers from these communities carried the tradition to North America where it has gained in fame. In turn, as part of American burst culture, Halloween has broaden in fame to most corners of the English speaking western world, and more and more into Western Europe in current times. At first Halloween was a pagan festival, around the idea of linking the living with the dead, when contact became feasible between the spirits and the physical world, and magical things were more likely to happen. Like the majority pagan festivals, long ago it was immersed into the festivals of the expanding Christian church, and became associated with All Saints Day, which in the end fell on November 1 under the Gregorian calendar. A vigil for this kind of festival was held on All Hallows Evening on October 31.

The celebration of Halloween festival has survived most strongly in Ireland. It was an end of summer festival, and was frequently celebrated in each community with a bonfire to ward off the evil spirits. Kids would then love to go from door to door in a costume as creatures from the underworld to collect treats, mostly fruit, nuts, candies and the like for the festivities. These were used for playing conventional games. Salt might be scattered on the visiting children to ward off evil spirits. Halloween is typically celebrated by both adults and kids. Some families commemorate by having wonderful costume parties and playing special games like dipping for apples and telling terrible stories.