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Etymology & Meaning of the word
"Halloween"
"Hallow" is short for
"hallowed"
and it means holy.
"E'en"
is short for "evening".
Hence, "Halloween" means: "holy
evening."
If Halloween is a HOLY
evening, why do so many people think that Halloween is the night
of the Devil? I don't know. In reality, Halloween has nothing to do with the
Devil. The concept of a Devil is a Judaeo-Christian fabrication. In
the Judaeo-Christian Bible, the word "devil" is usually used in the
plural, and is very countable. "Satan" is a collective noun
representing all devils. "Lucifer" is used only once in the
Bible and was not referring to the Devil but rather to the King of Babylon.
On the
other hand, Halloween was a Celtic Holy Night, first celebrated on what are now
known as the British Isles about 2,500 years ago (or more).
History of Halloween
(my source: Encyclopedia
Britannica)
Halloween was a holiday in Ireland and other British Isles for close to a thousand years. It was a part of their culture long before Christianity came to the
British Isles. There was a group of people living on what is now known as
Ireland (and the British Isles),
called Celts. The religious leaders of the Celtics were called Druids.
On the last day of the Celtic calendar (which is October 31 by the Roman calendar), after sundown, it was believed that all the spirits of the dead came
forth from their resting places and roamed the earth.
It was believed that MOST of the spirits
of the deceased were harmless; however, some of the spirits of the
deceased were considered to be wicked. So, in order for the living to protect
themselves from the wicked spirits, the Celts made scary lanterns out of
pumpkins, and placed the 'jack-o-lanterns' in front of their houses to
scare away all wicked spirits.
Pumpkin |
is changed to
|
Jack-o-lantern |
| A
common fruit |
Just take the
seeds out and carve a scary face. Then, put a candle inside.
We still do it the same way we have done it
for thousands of years. |
Just
put it on your porch to scare away
bad spirits on the last
day of the Celtic year: called "Halloween". |
(Note: I have permission to use the clip art above, but
I have to give credit to the publisher: http://www.dtpe.com/)
Source of information: Encyclopedia Britannica
When Christianity came to the British Isles, the Catholics
tried to change such pagan practices, and they initiated "All Saints' Eve,"
or "Day of the Dead", which is celebrated on November 1st.
However, the traditions of the
people would not die. Today, Halloween is celebrated in Britain, North America,
Australia, New Zealand and probably parts of South Africa. Other countries are trying to
"get into the act" also. Korea, for example, has Halloween
celebrations in most of their bars and night clubs.
Other Halloween traditions include:
Wearing scary masks
The Celts wore scary masks
if they had to leave their houses on Halloween, to scare away would-be molesting
evil spirits.
(pic from http://www.deathstudios.com)
Trick-or-Treating
Since no one still believes
that evil spirits roam the earth, children dress up in costumes, both cute
and scary, and go from door to door soliciting tricks or treats from their
neighbors. The custom of "trick-or-treating" seems to be a
fairly modern custom. I don't know (because NOBODY KNOWS) how this tradition got
started.
But, it seems to have started in the United States in 1950's. It was probably started by parents wanting to lessen the
scariness of the "Hallowed Evening" for children.
It is very similar to the Christmas
tradition of "wassailing," where people get together in a small group
and go from house to house singing Christmas carols, and hope to get some treats
for their singing.
1. Bobbing for Apples
| Materials
|
- a big bucket full of water
- as many apples as there are contestants
(or more)
- a stop watch
- a score sheet/board
- writing implement |
| Method |
Put all the apples in the bucket. The apple
should float. If it doesn't float, get another apple.
The first contestant must try to grab the apple with his/her
teeth and stand up straight with the apple securely lodged in
his/her mouth. The contestant may not use his/her hands.
Someone should use the stop watch to time the contestant.
Then, the next contestant tries. The contestant with the
quickest time wins. |
2. Pin the Tail on the Donkey
(or Pin the Nose on the Jack-o-lantern)
| - |
for:
pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey |
for:
pin-the-nose-on-the-jack-o |
| Materials |
- a big paper donkey
w/o tail
- a paper donkey tail
- a blind fold
- a writing implement |
- a big paper
jack-o-lantern w/o nose
- a paper nose
- a blind fold
- a writing implement
|
| Method |
Make a
paper donkey with a separate
tail. Stick the
tailless donkey to the wall or board. Put the blind fold
one the first contestant. Put the donkey tail in his/her
hand. Spin the contestant three times. Send the
contestant in the direction of the tailless donkey. The
contestant must place the donkey tail as close to it's
original position as possible. Mark the chosen spot with
a pen or other writing implement. Then contestant number
two tries. The closest contestant wins.
|
Make a paper
jack-o-lantern with a separate nose. Stick the nose-less
jack-o-lantern to the wall or board. Put the blind fold
one the first contestant. Put the nose in his/her
hand. Spin the contestant three times. Send the
contestant in the direction of the nose-less jack-o-lantern. The
contestant must place the nose as close to it's
original position as possible. Mark the chosen spot with
a pen or other writing implement. Then contestant number
two tries. Repeat as many times as there are
contestants. The closest contestant wins. |
3. Scariest Mask Contest
| Materials
|
- lots of paper
- lots of coloring implements
- tape
- scissors
|
| Method |
Have all contestants draw and color the scariest
mask they can imagine. Then have them cut the eyes out.
Then have them tape the mask to their faces. When
everyone is finished. Have the contestants vote for the
scariest mask. The winner gets the most votes, of
course. |
4. Pumpkin Carving Contest
| Materials
|
- one pumpkin for each team or contestant
- one knife for each team of contestant
- lots of old newspapers
- two big pots
|
| Method |
Each contestant or team gets one pumpkin, and
one knife. Each team must spread out newspapers under
their work area. Then, they must cut open the top of the
pumpkin and take out all the seeds and put the seeds in one of
the pots. Then they must try to carve out the scariest
face they can imagine in the side of the pumpkin. The
chucks of pumpkin must be put into the other pot. Then
the contestants vote for the scariest jack-o-lantern. The seed can be cleaned, roasted and eaten.
The pumpkin
chunks can be used to make pumpkin pie or pumpkin porridge. |
Halloween Movies (for
kids)
|
Hocus Pocus |
|
Adams Family |
|
It's the Great
Pumpkin Charlie Brown |
|
Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone |
|
Nightmare Before
Christmas |
|
Halloween Funny
Photo
(Photographer: Unknown)
If you took this photo, please contact me and let me so I can
give you credit for the photo... GREAT PHOTO, by the way!!!!
A Contrast between
Halloween
and Day of the Dead, AKA: All Saints' Day
| Aspect |
Halloween |
All Saints' Day |
| Date: |
October 31 |
November 1 |
| Who started it? |
Celts |
Catholics |
| When was it started? |
around 500 B.C. |
Around 500 A.D. |
| Purpose: |
Protection from evil spirits |
Memorial of dead "saints" |
| Who celebrates it and where? |
All people of English-speaking countries. |
All Catholics around the world |
Leon's Other Links
Pictures of REAL
Ghosts
Exorcism (How
to get rid of ghosts)
How
to know if it is a good ghost or a bad ghost
| |
|
