Customs Jack O'Lanterns Trick Or Treating Costumes Movies Stories
Customs ———————————————————————————————————————
Halloween is a holiday which takes place on October 31.
Several countries of the Western world celebrate Halloween.
Halloween is a festive occasion for both young and old people.
In terms of money spent, Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday in America.
Halloween as we now know it is a cross of many different cultural folk traditions.
Halloween stems from a celebration of the Celtic New Year, on November 1; this date marked the beginning of winter and was associated with human death.
On the eve of the Celtic New Year it was believed that the boundary between the living and the dead was blurred and the dead walked the earth.
As time passed, Halloween began to focus on bringing communities together.
Games, treats and costumes helped change the emphasis from superstition to fun.
Halloween imagery centers around death, magic and mythical creatures.
Popular Halloween characters include: ghosts; ghouls; witches; owls; crows; black cats; spiders; goblins; zombies; mummies; skeletons.
Common Halloween customs include: parties; wearing costumes; trick-or-treating; themed decorations.
Common Halloween decorations are pumpkins, scarecrows, spiders and webs, witches, straw bales and corn shucks.
Decorations are best placed on front porches, walkways and windows.
Fancy dress parties are a common occurrence on October 31st; both adults and children get involved.
Bonfires are not uncommon at Halloween; they are often used as gathering points for communities.
Halloween is a great opportunity for children to sleep over at each others houses.
A popular game on Halloween, bobbing for apples, is played by trying to pick up apples from a tub of water with your teeth.
Candy apples, also known as toffee apples, are a popular Halloween treat; they’re made by rolling apples in a sticky sugar syrup and placing them on a stick.
Jack O'Lanterns ——————————————————————————————————–
A Jack o’ Lantern is a pumpkin that has a spooky or funny face carved into it; it's often also lit up from the inside.
Jack o’ Lanterns are for decoration only, not for eating.
Choose a large pumpkin with a lighter color; these are the easiest to carve.
Avoid pumpkins with bruises or moldy stems; these are damaged and will spoil quicker than normal.
Cut off the top part of the pumpkin to create a lid; this should be done at a 45 degree angle.
Use a large, metal serving spoon to scoop out the seeds and the pulp.
Soak the hollowed-out pumpkin in a solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach to 1 gallon of water; doing so will extend the pumpkin’s life.
Rub the inside of the pumpkin, and all cut edges, with petroleum jelly or vegetable oil; this will make the Jack o' Lantern last longer.
Draw a scary or funny face on a piece of paper and then attach the piece of paper to the pumpkin.
If you're not good at drawing by hand you could instead use a computer program to create a face for your pumpkin.
Use a serrated knife to cut through the paper and into the pumpkin; children should not be allowed to do this unsupervised.
Sprinkling the inside of your pumpkin with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg or cloves will cause it to give off a festive aroma.
Place a candle inside the pumpkin to light it up; make sure to leave the lid off when doing this
Don’t leave a burning Jack o' Lantern unattended for long periods of time.
Small, battery-powered lights are a safe alternative to using candles inside your pumpkin.
When it's not in use, storing your Jack o’ Lantern in a plastic bag in the refrigerator; doing so will extend it's life.
Trick Or Treating ——————————————————————————————————-
Trick or treating involves children knocking on neighbors doors and asking for a treat; if they aren't given one they will play a trick on the house owner.
The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated in the ninth century, where early Christians would go house to house and ask for cakes.
Young children should trick-or-treat in daylight hours unless accompanied by an adult.
If going trick-or-treating without an adult, make sure children know to stick together as a group.
If children are old enough to trick-or-treat on their own, make sure their cells phones are charged, there’s a definite route planned out, and a deadline to make it home.
Children should only go trick-or-treating on a safe route that they are familiar with.
Rules regarding strangers and cars should be reinforced i.e. under no circumstances should a child get into a stranger’s car or go into a stranger’s house.
Don't go trick-or-treating past 9pm as some people will be preparing for bed then and won't want to be disturbed.
Remember that not everyone celebrates Halloween; tell children not to expect something from every house they approach.
Remind children to only play very minor 'tricks' at most; anything more could be classed as illegal.
Instruct children not to eat anything until they get home and you can examine it.
Feed children a healthy meal before trick-or treating to reduce the temptation of eating candy before a final inspection.
A flashlight or a glow stick is a necessity when trick-or-treating to ensure that children remain visible at all times.
Kids should wear comfortable shoes, such as sneakers, as there’s a lot of walking to be done.
Costumes should not drag on the ground; this could trip up little feet and cause an accident.
Pick a costume that is bathroom friendly, and plan a bathroom break of some kind halfway through the trick-or-treating.
Make sure the costume is big enough to accommodate warmer clothing underneath in case the weather turns for the worst.
Keep children hydrated and take along bottled water.
Costumes ——————————————————————————————————————-
Dressing up in costumes for Halloween was originally used as a way of scaring the spirits away.
Common Halloween costumes include: ghosts; witches; pirates; ballerinas; cowboys; princesses.
Be a ghost by cutting eye holes out of an old sheet; dress it up with fake eyelashes and jewelry. More Information
A pirate costume can be fashioned with a hoop earring, bandana, eye patch, and a black beard; add a plastic sword and black out a tooth and you have a swashbuckling hero. More Information
Become a gypsy with the addition of multiple skirts or scarves, bangle bracelets, dangling earrings, a scarf around your head and eye makeup. More Information
Hobos can be created with old clothes, a ragged hat, and a stick with a bundle at the end. More Information
Cowboys require boots, jeans, and a Stetson; you can also tie a bandanna around the neck, and carry a couple of plastic six-shooters. More Information
A simple cat costume can be made from a headband with ears, creative makeup, and a little tail. More Information
Become a witch by wearing a black dress and pointed hat, and by carrying a broomstick. More Information
A Geisha requires a white face, red lips, a flowery bathrobe, and thong sandals worn with white socks. More Information
An old prom dress, a sash, and a tiara will turn you into a princess. More Information
A tie-dyed t-shirt, a long wig, sunglasses and a headband will transform you into a hippie of the 60’s. More Information
To dress as a nerd wear slicked back hair, a pocket protector, a white shirt and tie, and taped up glasses. More Information
Go as a mummy by wrapping yourself in toilet paper and using clear sellotape to secure it at the top and bottom of each limb. More Information
Put your head on a platter by cutting a hole in a big box, covering it with a tablecloth and gluing on plates and cutler. More Information
Become a Rubik's Cube by cutting a hole in a box and covering it in squares of colored construction paper. More Information
Movies ———————————————————————————————————————–
Watching scary movies is a common and popular pastime on Halloween.
Frankenstein (1931) - An obsessed scientist assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses. More Information
Dracula (1931) - A vampire arrives in England and preys upon a virtuous young girl. More Information
Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - A scientist if forced to create a new monster; this time it's a woman. More Information
The Wolf Man (1941) - When a man is bitten by a werewolf he becomes one himself. More Information
It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) - The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin. More Information
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - A newly engaged couple are forced to visit an isolated castle with a bizarre household. More Information
Halloween (1978) - A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood escapes and goes on a mindless rampage. More Information
The Witches of Eastwick (1987) - A trio of witches match wits with Lucifer himself. More Information
The Lost Boys (1987) - Two brothers fight a coven of vampires in Santa Cruz. More Information
Beetlejuice (1988) - A couple of recently deceased ghosts enlist the aid of a bio-exorcist in order to scare off the obnoxious new owners of their house. More Information
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) - Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, this version of the legendary Count is filled with intrigue and romance. More Information
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - The King of Halloween is plagued by an identity crisis. More Information
Hocus Pocus (1993) - A trio of witch-sisters are accidentally resurrected by an unsuspecting virgin. More Information
The Craft (1996) - Four outcast high school girls take to practicing witchcraft in order to get revenge on those who rejected them. More Information
Stories ———————————————————————————————————————–
In addition to scary movies, there are some great scary stories to tell on Halloween too.
Halloween stories are best read in the dark with the storyteller holding a torch.
In 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' a schoolmaster vies for the hand of the daughter of a wealthy farmer but runs into supernatural trouble. More Information
Edgar Allen Poe wrote a chilling story, 'The Premature Burial'; it's sure to raise more than a few hackles. More Information
'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' by Robert Louis Stevenson tells the story of a man whose personality is split in two with disastrous results. More Information
Shirley Jackson’s novel, 'The Haunting of Hill House' is considered a classic ghost story and has been adapted twice for the screen. More Information
'Audrey Rose' written by Frank DeFelitta, explores the theory of reincarnation and what may happen after death. More Information
Stephen King has written many short stories and novels in the horror genre; 'Needful Things' documents the visit of the devil to a small, northeastern town. More Information
Oscar Wilde examined wishes gone bad in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'' It has been adapted many itimes for the television and movie screen. More Information
'Rosemary’s Baby', by Ira Levin, tells the story of a young wife in New York City, impregnated by the devil as part of a deal with her husband. More Information
William Peter Blatty scared millions of people with his novel, 'The Exorcist'; it tells the story a priest trying to remove a demon from inside a young boy. More Information
Bram Stoker’s 'Dracula' was the first to use the well known Halloween character and set the bar for all subsequent vampire novels. More Information
'The Body Snatchers', by Jack Finney, tells of strange spores from space proliferating and replacing humans. More Information
Ray Bradbury examines the battle between good and evil in his classic story, 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'. More Information
Edgar Allen Poe was the master of horror and madness, as exemplified in his story, 'The Fall of the House of Usher'. More Information
'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley teaches a moral lesson in the masterful story of a monster and those who created him. More Information
Pick up a copy of Stephen King’s 'Salem’s Lot' if you’re looking for a story guaranteed to keep you awake late at night with the night light on. More Information
Customs Jack O'Lanterns Trick Or Treating Costumes Movies Stories