Версия 12:24, 5 апреля 2007

History of Halloween

Halloween is an annual celebration, but just what is it actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom originate? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it just a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual? The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year. One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living. Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess. Probably a better explanation of why the Celts extinguished their fires was not to discourage spirit possession, but so that all the Celtic tribes could relight their fires from a common source, the Druidic fire that was kept burning in the Middle of Ireland, at Usinach. Some accounts tell of how the Celts would burn someone at the stake who was thought to have already been possessed, as sort of a lesson to the spirits. Other accounts of Celtic history debunk these stories as myth. The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century AD, Samhain was assimilated into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which might explain the origin of our modern tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween. The thrust of the practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief in spirit possession waned, the practice of dressing up like hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role. The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine. At that time, the favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates.

Symbols of Halloween

All Souls Day

The Day of Death

Day of the Dead History The Day of the Dead, All Souls Day, is an official holiday of the Catholic Calendar. All Souls Day is on November 2, following All Saints Day.

The choice of November 2 is traditionally attributed to St. Odilo, the fifth abbot of Cluny (city of France famous for the Abby), because he wanted to follow the example of Cluny in offering special prayers and singing the Office of the Dead on the day following the feast of All Saints. The day was founded to honor all the faithful departed and along with the offerings and the Office of the Dead, there are three Requiem Masses that are said by the clergy to assist the souls from Purgatory to Heaven.

The Aztecs played a very important role in the development of this tradition. The Aztecs had various perceptions of their world. Perceptions as simplistic as a "flat disc" surrounded by water, to a toad floating in a water-lily filled sea. In this world were contained different directions with various associated colors and symbols to each direction and level. One of the most important of these interpretations is that of the terms of a person's death.

The Aztecs believed that after a person died, his/her soul would pass through nine levels prior to their final destination, Mictlan - the place of the dead. They also believed that a person's destiny was founded at birth and that the soul of that person was dependent on the type of death rather than the type of life lead by that person.

Two months of the Aztec calendar were devoted to the dead. The ninth month was dedicated to infants, and the tenth month included a great feast for dead adults. The Spanish Conquest of 1521 brought about the fusion of Catholic attitudes and indigenous beliefs. The Day of the Dead was revealed as a result of amalgamation of Pre-Spanish Indian ritual beliefs and the imposed ritual and dogma of the Catholic church.

Spiritual Significance The "Day of the Dead " is celebrated by many catholic countries, worldwide. This celebration originated with the Roman Catholic's, and was established in the Catholic calendar as an official holy day. The Catholic religion is based on works, and the theological idea of Purgatory has been accepted as a means of paying for sins, and buying your way into Heaven.

Those believers who died in a "state of grace" were promised "heavenly rewards", after paying for their sins in purgatorial flames, while those who did not die in a "state of grace", were to spend eternity suffering in Hell. Catholics did, however, believe that they could pray their loved ones out of Purgatory. This practice gives us an idea of the spiritual significance of honoring the deceased.

Traditions Many customs are associated with The Day of the Dead celebration. In the home an altar is made with an offering of food upon it. It is believed that the dead partake of the food in spirit and the living eat it later.

The "ofrendas"- offerings, are beautifully arranged with flowers, marigolds (zempasuchitl) which are the traditional flower of the dead. There is a candle placed for each dead soul, and they are adorned in some manner. It is also traditional in some areas to go and see the play Don Juan Tenorio. Paper mache and sugar skulls are popular, as are cardboard coffins from which a skeleton can be made to jump out. Special masks are also worn, allowing a person to achieve a facial expression for which they feel they are inadequate to achieve.

Calaveras Also popular are "calaveras," like an obituary, which are used as placards. Among the prominent people in the government or society, although they are still alive, "Calaveras"--obituaries are published in verse style in the local newspapers. These verses describe the character of the individual and the deeds he/she has done for the community. They all have a jovial or satirical tone.

Decorations A popular type of decoration used to commemorate the holiday in Mexico is the tissue banner. The most famous artisans live in the "Mestizo" village of San Salvador Huixcolotla. They have been making banners here for over 90 years. At first the banners were made using scissors, but since the 1940's they have been cut with tiny chisels, "fierritos." Today skilled artisans use more than 50 different chisels to make various cuts in up to 50 sheets of tissue paper at a time.

The traditional patterns in the rural villages included angels, birds, the chalice, and crosses, but never skeletons. The popular pattern in Mexico City represents skeletons in various activities.Traditionally, the colored banners are displayed on October 31, the day the angelitos arrive, at 3 p.m. On November 1, the angelitos depart and the animas arrive. When this occurs the colored banners are removed, and the black and white ones are displayed.

Foods Food is considered indispensable for the celebration. The foods offered in the memorial are different according to the wishes and social status of the deceased. Typical foods include: bread, fruits vegetables, and sweets.

Other delicacies available for the celebration are: sugar skulls (bought from the bakeries with the names of each on of the members of the family who are alive and of the deceased), candied fruit and pumpkins, tamales (corn meal with meat or raising wrapped in corn husk) and maize dough cakes, as well as enchiladas and chalupas (thicker corn tortillas with topings).

Beverages which are placed on the memorial include: water, coffee, beer, tequila, and atole (corn starch fruit flavored hot drink, a special drink made from corn meal.)

Depending on how elaborate the display is, it will show the status of the deadest to the neighbors. While the tradition as stayed mostly the same throughout time, the foods have changed. Today, for instances they honor the dead with beer, enchiladas and chocolate, in ancient times it would more likely have been dogs and turkeys.

One thing has remained constant, and that is the use of bread. The custom of having a loaf of bread relates to the early custom in Spain of begging for souls. Some believe that the Spanish technology of bread-baking and the identical term used in Spain highly suggests that this tradition was Spanish in introduction. It has been written that the Zapotec Indians (State of Oaxaca) listed, bread for the dead, among their death offerings for the departed souls. It is believed that this ritual dates as early as the colonial period of Mexico

Masks

Halloween Jokes

People's experience

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Halloween is a time for all sorts of Make-Up. Here you will find Make-Up from A to Z. Pay special attention to our Character Theme Kits with full color instructions. You'll find latex masks, appliances, adhesives, creme makeup, fangs, blood, gore & more!

EMS Makeup / Severe Trauma Trauma make-up is its own art form. Used for serious business such as EMS/EMT training as well as for masquerade purposes, Graftobian's vast array of blood, gore and trauma make-ups is sure to impress. Our EMS Kit makes a great Haunted House kit too!

Face Painting Graftobian's Face Painting Make-Up selection includes our world famous Disguise Stix® Face Paint as well as dishes filled with the same easy-on, easy-off, mild cosmetic soap based formulation. Here you will find our other great face painting accessories.

Color & Glitter Hairspray Festival® Color and Glitter Hair Spray is made in Holland with old world quality. The coverage is unparalleled in the industry, the fluorescent shades are day glow in regular light and brilliant under Black Light. The Glitter sprays are simply fabulous

Monsters

Jack-o-lantern

Halloween songs and poems

Five Little Pumpkins Sitting On A. Gate.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a. gate.

The first one said,

"Oh my, it's getting late."

The second one said,

"But we don't: care."

The third one said,

"I see witches in the air."

The fourth, one said.

"Let's run, and run, and run,"

The fifth one said,

"Get ready for some fun."

Then, whoosh went the wind,

and out went the lights,

And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Spooks

- by Sandra Liatsos

There's a goblin at my window,

A monster by my door.

The pumpkin at my table

Keeps on smiling more and. more.

There's a ghost who haunts my bedroom,

A witch whose face is green.

They used to be my family,

Till they dressed for Halloween.

Halloween

- by Mary Jane Can

Witches flying past on broomsticks,

Black cats leaping here and there,

White-robed spooks on even- corner,

Mournful moaning in the air

Goblins peering out of windows,

Spirit-things that rap and run-

But don't be scared-it's just October,

Helving one last hour of fun!

Haunted House

- by Jack Prelutsky

There's a house upon the hilltop

We will not go inside

For that is where the witches live,

Where ghosts and goblins hide.

Tonight they have their party,

All the lights are burning bright,

But oh we will not go inside

The haunted house tonight.

The demons there are whirling

And the spirits swirl about.

They sing their songs to Halloween.

"Come join the fun," they shout.

But we do not want to go there

So we run with all our might

And oh we will not go inside

The haunted house tonight.

The Scariest Thing

- by Mairi Tereas Gallagher

Some things are scary

Others are not,

Like ghosts and goblins,

And things that rot

Cats and dogs are not scary

At all,

All they do is play chase

And catch a ball.

But the scariest thing

Creeps around at night,

Looking for victims

To scratch and bite.

It hides its face

It's too ugly to see,

It rules all the monsters,

Both tall and wee.

Those who've seen his face,

Their eyes burst and bleed,

They beg for mercy

"Spare us, spare us," they plead.

But he's not a giver

He takes what he finds,

All sorts of people

Both sightseers and blind.

You've got the picture,

That he is the king

Of everything scary,

Every little scary thing.

So watch out at night 'cause if

By him you're seen,

He'll give you an evil grin

And say...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Pumpkin Time

Pumpkin time is here again,

Time to play trick or Treat.

Pumpkin time is here again,

Our Spooky friends we'll meet.

See the costumes we have on,

Monsters, ghosts, goblins too.

See the costumes we have on,

Hear us all shout "BOO!"

The origin of Trick or Treating

Hosting a Halloween Party

Are you thinking about hosting a Halloween party? Set the scene with some tasty and fun foods using the best of fall produce, with a spooky twist. These recipes are all delicious variations on traditional fall foods, with some Halloween flavor thrown in for fun. Of course, all of these recipes taste delicious, no matter how gross they look. I like serving appetizers as the whole meal for parties. Your guests have more choices and can sample foods they might not otherwise try. Finger foods also encourage people to mingle, laugh, and talk as they eat, making a more fluid party. To create a haunting atmosphere, light your house with candles only, set up small portable fans to gently blow around fake spider webs, and fill plastic gloves with ice, freeze, remove the plastic, and place in your punchbowl. In a darkened hallway, tape long lengths of black thread to the ceiling, hanging low enough to brush faces as people walk by. Make sure you have lots of spooky Halloween music on the CD, light a fire in the fireplace if it's cold outside (or even if it's not) and carve lots of pumpkins with your kids to display inside and out. And chaperoning parents of trick-or-treaters would appreciate a treat too. You’ll be the most popular stop on the block when you offer some great hors d’oeuvres (portable, of course), to warm up those cold bones. Use your imagination when displaying these wonderful treats. Use organic, untreated fall flowers to garnish platters, display scary masks around your dining room, and don't forget Halloween colored twinkle lights. And of course we can’t forget sweets! These homemade goodies may even have the kids forsaking their bags of treats! (yeah, right). Have a safe, happy and spooky Halloween!

Recipes

Resourses