TODAY'S HALLOWEEN CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
Halloween has a long and colorful history. In most countries, the tone of the holiday has shifted gradually from religious and sometimes frightening to lightheartedly spooky and generally happy. Halloween is most widely celebrated in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, but some European countries also have Halloween traditions. The celebration of Halloween is even beginning to spread to Asian countries.
COSTUMES:
Dressing in costume on Halloween began long ago. Wearing a mask or disguising yourself was thought to be an effective way to keep ghosts and spirits away. Today, costumes are worn for fun, to a party or for trick or treating. The costumes range from cute to funny to scary.TRICK OR TREATING:
This practice also began long ago as a way of forcing people to give money or food to those who came to their door on the eve of All Saint's Day. Today trick or treating is a benign practice where children go door-to-door and ask for candy. Until recent years children might have been expected to do a trick or perform in some way to get a treat. Now, all it takes is a simple cry of "Trick or Treat!" One recent trend is trick-or-treating in a controlled environment, such as a shopping mall. Many parents are choosing this option as a safer alternative to the streets. Children in the U. S. can also "trick or treat for UNICEF", with monetary donations collected going to the U. S. Fund for UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund). JACK-O-LANTERNS: This is also an ancient practice brought to the United States from the United Kingdom. Americans carve a native pumpkin, instead of a turnip, but the concept remains the same. The jack-o-lantern represents the spirit of Jack, an Irishman who can't be admitted to heaven or hell and is wandering forever.PARTIES: Parties, especially for kids, are a popular way to celebrate Halloween, but adults hold costume parties, too. Bobbing for apples is a popular party game and has an interesting history; it's a form of fortune-telling! PRANKS, TRICKS AND MISCHIEF: These can be connected to trick or treating. If one does not receive a treat at a house, the homeowner can expect a trick, such as eggs thrown at the house or soaping of the windows. In some communities, the night before Halloween is known as "mischief night", "cabbage night" or "gate night". Mischief-makers roam their communities playing (usually) harmless tricks on unsuspecting homeowners. HAUNTED ATTRACTIONS: Many commercial variations on the haunted house have become extremely popular in recent years. Haunted hayrides, trains and amusement parks are some of the more recnt developments in the "haunted business". The development of corn mazes, haunted and not, has also exploded in the last ten years. All of these offer new and different ways to celebrate the holiday and are another way for parents to allow their children to celebrate Halloween in a more controlled environment than traditional outdoor trick-or-treating. -
DECORATIONS: For some people, decorating for Halloween has become almost as big as Christmas decorating. Besides the traditional Jack-o-lantern, people display flags, strings of lights, corn stalks, scarecrows, blow-up figurines and much more.
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