It’s spooky season—a time for fun, scares, and a bit of darkness. During this time of year, we expect to see creepy decorations everywhere. It’s not yet time for the cheerful holiday season.
However, just because Halloween is near doesn’t mean we can’t show kindness. One Halloween fan shared this message in a TikTok video that has since gone viral.
Salena Webb loves Halloween. She is a mother of four from South Carolina, and like many others, she celebrates by decorating her yard with Halloween items. Salena created a whole graveyard scene in her front yard, complete with ghosts, spiderwebs, pumpkins, a witch, tombstones, and skeletons carrying a casket. It took a lot of time to set up the display. But when her neighbor came to ask her to take it down, she agreed.
Halloween, celebrated on October 31st, has a rich history that dates back over 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts, who lived in what is now Ireland, the UK, and northern France, believed that on the night of October 31st, the boundary between the living and the dead was blurred. They held festivities to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, a time often associated with human death.
During Samhain, people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. They believed that the spirits of the dead would return to Earth, and offerings were made to appease them. As the centuries passed, the celebration of Samhain blended with other traditions, particularly with the Christian holiday of All Hallows’ Eve, which is the night before All Saints’ Day on November 1st.
By the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1st as a time to honor all saints, and the evening before became known as All Hallows’ Eve, which eventually morphed into Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a more community-centered holiday, characterized by activities like trick-or-treating, costume parties, and haunted houses.
Today, Halloween is celebrated in various ways around the world, with traditions that include carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, telling scary stories, and decorating homes with spooky themes. It’s a time for fun, creativity, and a little bit of fright!
Some popular Halloween traditions include:
- Trick-or-Treating: Children dress up in costumes and go door-to-door asking for candy and treats. The phrase “trick or treat” implies that if no treat is given, a trick may be played.
- Costume Parties: Many people celebrate Halloween by hosting or attending costume parties where they dress up as various characters, ranging from spooky to funny.
- Pumpkin Carving: Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns is a common tradition. People scoop out the insides of pumpkins and carve faces or designs into the outer shell, often placing a candle inside to light them up.
- Haunted Houses: Many communities create haunted houses or attractions that are designed to scare visitors with spooky decorations, actors in costumes, and eerie sound effects.
- Ghost Stories: Sharing ghost stories or watching horror movies is a popular way to get into the Halloween spirit, often done around a campfire or during gatherings.
- Decorating: People often decorate their homes with Halloween-themed decorations, such as cobwebs, skeletons, ghosts, and other spooky items.
- Apple Bobbing: This traditional game involves filling a tub with water and floating apples. Participants try to grab an apple using only their mouths, with their hands behind their backs.
These traditions vary by region and culture, but they all contribute to the festive and spooky atmosphere of Halloween!
The origin of pumpkin carving can be traced back to an ancient Celtic tradition associated with the festival of Samhain. The Celts believed that during Samhain, spirits of the dead would return to Earth, and they used to carve faces into turnips or other root vegetables to ward off these wandering spirits.
When Irish immigrants came to America in the 19th century, they found that pumpkins, which were native to North America, were larger and easier to carve than turnips. This led to the tradition of carving pumpkins into what we now know as jack-o’-lanterns. The carved pumpkins were often illuminated with candles inside, creating a spooky glow that was believed to scare away evil spirits.
Today, pumpkin carving has become a popular Halloween activity, with people creating all sorts of intricate designs and faces, making it a fun and creative way to celebrate the holiday!