HALLOWEEN

HALLOWEEN – 31st of October

HALLOWEEN is an ancient pagan festival. People used to believe that it was the night that witches flew and that horrible beasts and monsters walked around. Lanterns would be lit all night to keep evil spirits away. Good spirits were kept happy with food and warmth.
Halloween used to be known as the “Festival of the Dead”. Christians changed the name to Halloween, meaning “All Hallows´ Eve”. It comes just before “All Saints´ Day” (1st November) and “All Souls´ Day” (2nd November). This period marks the beginning of winter.

The pagan roots to the festival are reflected in the images of Halloween seen today: witches, skeletons, ghosts, and lanterns. Halloween night is a night for mischief, which became “trick-or-treating” in the USA – many of the traditions now associated with Halloween are American in origin.
Trick-or-treating is perhaps the most well-known of the present day rituals associated with Halloween and is now common in the UK as well as the US. Children dress up as witches and ghosts and carry lanterns made out of pumpkins with a ghoul´s face cut into it. They knock on their neighbors´ doors and ask for a treat (usually sweets or biscuits) or threaten to trick their neighbors if no treat is given. A classic trick is to smear a door handle with butter. Needless to say, the practice of trick-or-treating is not universally popular.
There are also Halloween parties. Apples have long been associated with Halloween, probably because of the time of year that the festival is celebrated, and many apple games are played at Halloween parties.