The Traditions Of Halloween

To you, Halloween is the same each year. Maybe you go trick or-treating, maybe you go to a halloween party, maybe you just stay home. Maybe you carve pumpkins, maybe you decorate your house. Maybe you spend hours making a costume, maybe you just buy something simple, maybe you do a fun group idea. Hearing about all of these ways of celebrating, you may be wondering, what are different halloween traditions that exist out there? Where do they come from? In this article, we will go through how different people celebrate this fun, spooky holiday, and some fun things for you to do this year.

Where did Halloween traditions originate?

Halloween is a holiday with long, complex roots going back many years. It originated as a holiday called Samhain. Samhain was an ancient Celtic festival where they wore costumes and lit bonfires to guide ghosts into the afterlife. For the Celtics, the winter was a time of death. On their calendar, summer ended on October 31st. The Celtic New Year and the beginning of winter was then on November first. They believed that the barrier between the spirit and human worlds was the thinnest on October 31st, and on that day spirits could make mischief like damaging crops on their way to the afterlife. To prevent this, they wore costumes and lit bonfires. They also did many religious rituals because they thought this to be the best time for their priests to predict the future. 

Eventually, the Celtics became part of the Roman Empire. The Romans had their own festivals involving the dead and the afterlife, known as Feralia and Lemuria. Their traditions and that of the Celtics intertwined.

However, eventually the Roman Empire fell as well, and Christianity began to spread. One of the Christian missionaries’ strategies was to hold their holidays near or on the days of “pagan” holidays to ease their religious transition. To Christianize Samhain, the Christians celebrated All Saint’s Day on November 1st and All Soul’s day on November 2nd. All Saint’s day eventually became known as All Hallow’s Day, which led to October 31st being called All Hallow’s Eve and eventually, Halloween. Despite the Christian’s best efforts, many of the Celtic traditions of Samhain persisted and became part of Halloween.

Halloween Traditions Today

We have gone through the past with this holiday. But what about the present? All of these different traditions and festivals joined together to create the festival we know today, and now, this holiday is a fun, silly one. However, it is still full of many unique customs & ideas.

Costumes

From scary, to funny, to creative, one of the most iconic parts of halloween is costumes. These were originally a Samhain tradition to scare off spirits, and costumes were just roughly made of animal skin. Today, they are a fun tradition with a huge range. Little kids, teens, parents, and all other ages alike all dress up on this holiday. Today, costumes are a fun tradition that people do in lots of different ways.Whether you are lacking inspiration or just curious, here are some different ways that people dress up for this holiday!

Group Costumes

What could be more fun than dressing up with your favorite people? One of the most popular ways to dress up is in a group. People will dress up with their families, with groups of friends, or with anyone else important to them! There are lots of great group costumes out there. Many people dress up as a group of characters from a story they all like.Some popular examples are The Minions, Alice In Wonderland, and The Addams Family, but you can do any fairy tale, book, movie, show, or even game you want. Group costumes don’t just have to be characters either- really, one of the most fun parts of group costumes is that you can do almost any group of things with them! People will do simple things, like animals, emojis, or apps, or crazy things like Gatorade bottles.

DIY Costumes

For all of the crafty people out there, or just anyone who wants to try something new and different, making your own costume is a super-fun way to get creative. SOme popular DIY costumes include a Cereal Killer, headless person costumes, and dressing up as a character with clothes you already own. Not only are these fun to make, they cost a lot less and so are a popular costume option with many people.

Spooky Costumes

Today, costumes can be almost anything you can think of, but traditional Halloween costumes are usually scary things. These costumes can be made or bought, and can be a huge range of things. Some commonly found costumes include witches, skeletons, and monsters.

Jack-o’-Lanterns

Jack-o’ lanterns are a fun, spooky Halloween tradition that light the night up with faces. This is believed to have originated as another Samhian tradition, where the faces were also meant to ward off spirits. These early jack- o’ lanterns were originally made from radishes. Today, some are silly, some are scary, but they are all super fun! Like a lot of Halloween traditions, they can range hugely and can be very creative! Most people carve pumpkins now, but some still will paint other veggies, usually other types of squash. Some jack-o’-lanterns are also painted instead of carved, as a cleaner, easier, and usually longer-lasting alternative. People now even carve or paint  other pictures or abstract designs on their pumpkins in addition to just faces. Here are some fun jack-o’-lantern ideas:

Faces 

As mentioned above, carving a face on a pumpkin is the traditional jack-o’-lantern- but that doesn’t mean you can’t get super creative with your spooky face. Some simpler faces include a basic smiling face, Jack Skellington, or a cat. You can get much more creative too. Some people carve away only the orange part, leaving the white part underneath. This can be used for a cool, zombie-like effect. Some people also use a thick thread and make it look like their pumpkin had stitches. Finally, some people use the stem of their pumpkins as a nose or tail on what they want to make. You can use all of these ideas and more to make a fun face on your pumpkin this year.

Other Ideas

These days, pumpkins can be so many crazy things. Some people will carve simple patterns on their pumpkins, for a pretty effect once it has a candle inside. Others might carve a thing like a house, a fall leaf or an animal. Still other pumpkins have an animal or creature carved into it. Finally, for a simple pumpkin, you can even just carve a word, like “boo!” or “eek!”. All of these are just as fun as a face, and can spice up your front steps a little.

Decorations

We have gone through costumes and jack-o’-lanterns, but one part of halloween that we can’t forget is decorations. Many people decorate thor houses, with everything from signs to skeletons. Some people make their own decorations, such as painted “gravestones”. Some people will use huge inflatables and crazy lights. And some love to have funny decorations, like a “monster” bush or a skeleton tea party. Some houses have really unique/interactive decorations, especially in popular trick-or-treating ares. These can be things like smoke, decorations that move when touched, or even real people who dress up for their trick-or-treaters! However you choose to decorate, it’s always fun to show a little Halloween spirit for this well-loved holiday.

Trick-or-Treating

Everyone knows this super-common and well-loved Halloween activity, that makes it one of kid’s favorite holidays: Trick-or-Treating. You get to go around and be given free candy, what could be better? This tradition is most commonly seen as being for kids, but anyone technically can, and you should if you want to! 

Safety

There is a little bit of risk involved with being out and about at night and getting food from strangers, so there are several safety precautions that people take. Many parents like to have glowstick/reflectors/light-up costumes for their kids to make them easier for them and passing cars to see. Most people don’t like to drive around too much during Halloween because of the amount of kids, and the ones who do usually dive slowly and  carefully to prevent accidents.Kids also usually like to go through their hauls after trick-or-treating is over, and this is a good time to make sure to get rid of any strange/suspicious, opened, or expired candies. 

Goodies

Generally, on Halloween, people give out candies or chocolates. They can buy “halloween packs” from stores that are great for using. However, this is yet another Halloween tradition where people love to get creative, and people will hand out plenty of other crazy things. This can include other edibles like chips or juice, small trinkets like rubber ducks, vampire teeth, or glowsticks, or just fun candy combinations like special bags or full-size bars. Some houses even have special games like beanbag tosses or catch to win your candy! Some people also just leave bowls out for trick-or-treaters if they are out themselves. 

Bobbing for Apples

On Halloween or around Halloween time, many people will bob for apples. This is where you have apples floating in a tub of water. With their hands behind their back, people attempt to pick an apple up with their mouth, usually kneeling. This tradition can actually be traced back to the goddess Pomona from Roman beliefs.

Costume Contests

We already talked about how people will dress up for Halloween, but many people also enter their costumes in contests. These contests can be big things at fairs, small town traditions, or even just something small, at a party or with your friends/family. Our school has its own costume contest each year, so be sure to wear your costume on Oct 31st to win best in your grade!

Pranks

This Halloween trend, while fun for some, can get a little extreme/annoying for others and so is less popular and definitely not recommended. However, it is true that on or before Halloween, some people would toilet paper or egg houses or soap windows. This was even sometimes done on the day before, and known as “Mischief Night”.

Parties

Throwing a Halloween party is becoming increasingly popular and is now one of the most common ways to spend Halloween. At these parties, people will do a lot of the activities mentioned above, watch Halloween movies like Hocus Pocus or The Nightmare Before Christmas, and will just spend the night having fun with their friends or family.

Donating!

For many holidays, such as Christmas, there are many charities around the world that try to give access to children who are less fortunate and may not get to celebrate holidays the way we do. Halloween is no different, and in the days following Halloween, many people will donate some of their candy that they got to charities/candy drives. Another very  special Halloween charity is UNICEF’s Trick or Treat For Unicef program. Participating children will carry small, orange-and-black boxes with them and “trick-or-treat” for small donations from people as well as candy. 

Halloween Around The World

Halloween is a really fun holiday here-but how is it celebrated everywhere else? Halloween is actually not as widely celebrated in the rest of the world as it is in America. Some people see it as conflicting with their beliefs, and in other places it just isn’t really done as much. However, it is starting to gain more popularity, especially with younger people. In a lot of countries, trick-or-treating & decorations is less common, but many people go to parties & festivals, or find other ways to embrace this spooky holiday. In some countries in Europe, Halloween is blended with the Samhain festivals that it originally came from. In other countries, it is less recognized and instead All Saints’ Day is celebrated. In Spain, Halloween celebrations can sometimes appear, but mostly they celebrate Dia De Los Muertos, which happens at a similar time.