By: Alexi Milburn
Oh, the greatest time of the year, fall. But what’s more exciting than fall itself? Halloween. The horror, the gore, the candy, the parties, and the costumes all make for one perfect holiday. While all of this is cool, where did Halloween originate? What started all of this craziness? That’s what we’re about to find out.
According to history.com, the practices of Halloween started with Celtic paganism in the British Isles, and their feast of Samhain, the new year. They believed that October 31 was the time of year that the spirits came out to haunt, so the Celtics would try and appease them with candy. They believed that on this night the ghosts of the dead returned to earth and that the dying of the crops was because of the presents of the spirits and that the spirits could tell/predict the future.
History aside, let’s get to the fun part. People may take it upon themselves to plan their Halloween costumes, sometimes even a year in advance. According to Google, in 2017 the most common costumes were as follows, Pennywise (Clown from IT), The kids from “Stranger Things,” Belle from Beauty and the Beast, April the giraffe, Wonder Woman, characters from the Game of Thrones, a Baywatch babe, and Hippies. As we get older we feel as if we can’t go trick or treating anymore. That is NOT true. Pick out a crazy costume, and go get some free candy because that’s what Halloween is all about!
Aside from candy, Halloween has other symbols. Colors are important to Halloween as well. Black, the color of darkness and death. Orange, the vibration of life. Red, the color of blood. White, a ghastly color. Purple, a Witch’s brew. Green, the color of monsters and slime. These colors are probably the first colors to come to your head when you think of Halloween and now you know exactly why.
Halloween activities are nothing but fun – bobbing for apples, craving pumpkins, designing and buying costumes, etc. Halloween may not be for everyone, but for those who love it, this is a very exciting time of the year.
The temperatures are finally dropping and winter is coming. So, to help pass this in-between time, what’s better than cuddling up and watching some classic Halloween movies. According to Google, the highest ranking Halloween movies are, Hocus Pocus (1993), The Nightmare before Christmas (1993), Halloween (1978), The Addams Family (1991), Beetle Juice (1988), It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (1966), Corpse Bride (2005), Halloween town (1998), and Ghost busters (1984).
Take advantage of this time and have as much fun with it as possible. It only comes once a year, and it doesn’t last for long. So, eat lots of candy and embrace the weather. Get your spook on.
https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
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The Squire 