...that before
the introduction of pumpkin carving from the United States,
it was common in England to carve large swedes (neeps or yellow
turnips). This is still the tradition in some areas. |
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The term Halloween
is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of "All
Hallows' Day," which is also now known as All Saints'
Day. Historically, it was a day of religious festivities in
various northern European Pagan traditions. It originated
from the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. Irish and Scottish
immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America
in the nineteenth century. |
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Scottish-American
and Irish-American societies held dinners and balls that celebrated
their heritages. Home parties would usually center on children's
activities, such as bobbing for apples. |
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The commercialization
of Halloween in the United States did not start until the
20th century. Mass-produced Halloween costumes appeared in
stores until the 1930s and trick-or-treating became a fixture
of the holiday in the 1950s. |
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In the 1990s, many manufacturers
began producing a larger variety of Halloween yard decorations.
Some of the most popular yard decorations are jack-o'-lanterns,
scarecrows, witches, orange and purple string lights and inflatable
decorations (such as spiders, pumpkins, mummies and vampires).
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Ubu Apocalypse is a presentation
of over-sized papier-mâché masks at the Village
Halloween Parade in New York City. New York City hosts the
United States' largest Halloween celebration, known as The
Village Halloween Parade. The evening parade is the largest
participatory parade in the country. |
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Halloween celebrations
in the UK were reborn in the 1980s and saw the reintroduction
of traditions such as pumpkin carvings and trick-or-treat.
Adults often dress up to attend costume parties, pub parties
and club parties on Halloween night. |
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The traditional Halloween
cake in Ireland is the barmbrack, which is a fruit bread.
Barmbrack is the center of an Irish Halloween custom. Irish
children have a week-long Halloween break from school; the
last Monday in October is a public holiday given for Halloween
even though they often do not fall on the same day. |
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In Scotland a lot of folklore,
including that of Halloween, revolves around the belief in
fairies. Children dress up in costumes and carry around a
"Neepy Candle," a devil face carved into a hollowed
out Neep, lit from inside, to frighten away the evil faeries. |
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In Scotland, children
are more likely to recite "The sky is blue, the grass
is green, may we have our Halloween" instead of "trick
or treat!" Walking in groups, the children visit neighbors
and must impress them with a song, poem, trick, joke or dance
in order to earn treats. |
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In Mexico, Halloween has
been celebrated during the last 40 years where the celebrations
have been influenced by the American traditions, such as the
costuming of children who visit the houses of their neighborhood
in search of candy. They celebrate three days of consecutive
holidays, as it is followed by All Saints' Day, which also
marks the beginning of the two day celebration of the Day
of the Dead or the Día de los Muertos. |
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In the southern hemisphere,
spring is in full swing by October 31, and the days are rapidly
growing longer and brighter. Halloween has recently gained
a large amount of recognition in Australia and to an extent
New Zealand, largely due to American media influences. |
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The main event for many
children of modern Halloween is trick-or-treating, in which
children disguise themselves in costumes and go door-to-door
in their neighborhoods, ringing each doorbell and yelling
"trick or treat!" to solicit the usual gift of candies.
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The telling of ghost stories
and viewing of horror films are common fixtures of Halloween
parties. Episodes of TV series and specials with Halloween
themes (with the specials usually aimed at children) are commonly
aired on or before the holiday while new horror films, like
the popular Saw (film series), are often released theatrically
before the holiday to take advantage of the atmosphere. |
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Because the holiday comes
in the wake of the annual apple harvest, candy apples (also
known as toffee, taffy or caramel apples) are a common Halloween
treat made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup,
and sometimes rolling them in nuts. |
