{"id":790,"date":"2011-10-31T13:49:38","date_gmt":"2011-10-31T17:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/?p=790"},"modified":"2015-06-11T05:26:19","modified_gmt":"2015-06-11T09:26:19","slug":"halloween-traditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/halloween-traditions","title":{"rendered":"Halloween Traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picnicking graveside, hanging out in a casket and begging for treats door to door\u2026 It\u2019s all part of Halloween traditions around world. Contrary to how it appears, Halloween isn\u2019t just for kids. A matter of fact \u201cTrick or Treating\u201d wasn\u2019t the main event once upon a time. The name Halloween<\/em> came from the 16th century Scottish<\/a> shortening of All-Hallows-Even<\/em>, the night before All Hallows Day.<\/em> Beyond dressing up and collecting candy, Halloween is about recognizing life, death, superstition\u2014oh, and having a little fun. Second only to Christmas, Halloween is one of the most celebrated holidays. How do celebrations differ from country to country? Some welcome back spirits, some plead for the souls to stay away and others lighten it up by playing games.<\/p>\n

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So what\u2019s all this business about going door to door dressed up in costumes? Trick or Treating dates back to the practice of \u201csouling\u201d in the Middles Ages. That\u2019s when the poor would go door to door on Hallowmas<\/em> (November 1st<\/sup>) and on All Soul\u2019s Day<\/em> (November 2nd<\/sup>) receiving food in return for prayers for the dead. And, during \u201cSamhain\u201d, the ancient Celtic festival in Ireland<\/a>, people would light bonfires and wear costumes to keep ghosts away. This practice was found as far south as Italy<\/a>. The point of wearing costumes? To copy evil spirits.<\/p>\n

Ireland<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Emerald Isle is actually the birthplace of Halloween. The Irish call their tradition, O\u00edche Shamhna<\/em> pronounced ee-hah how-nah (<\/em>say that three times fast). Like in the U.S., on \u201cSamhain Night\u201d children dress up and spend the night trick or treating. After visiting, some head to parties and play games where revelers try to take a bite out of a dangling apple, or try their hand (or mouth) at bobbing for them. It\u2019s also common to go on treasure hunts searching for sweets as booty. Ever heard of a future-telling fruitcake? Take enough bites out of \u201cBarnbrack\u201d (a traditional cake eaten on the holiday) and you may find a special prize waiting inside. Superstition has it, find a ring, and you\u2019ll be married soon. A straw? A successful year is ahead. What would you cross your fingers for?<\/p>\n

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China & Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keeping the spirits at bay during their night of revenge is all part of \u201cTeng Chieh\u201d in China<\/a>. The annual celebration is a sort of freeing of the spirits for those who weren\u2019t buried properly. Bonfires and lanterns light the way for souls as they travel the earth. In Japan<\/a>, red lanterns, candles and fires are lit during a similar festival called \u201cObon\u201d when the dead are believed to return to their birthplaces. Food and water are placed in front of photographs of family members who have passed away. After hours of chanting, burning and ceremony offerings the ghosts are sent packing. Reformed souls go to the \u201cPure Land\u201d while the unreformed are sent back to the underworld. The Chinese are too scared to leave their homes for fear of bumping into these ghosts. They believe if a person visits the beach, he or she may be lured into the water and drowned by those lost at sea.<\/p>\n

Mexico, Spain & Latin America<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, back to a fun<\/em> celebration\u2026\u201cEl Dia de los Muertos\u201d is a happy holiday in Spanish<\/a> speaking nations. It\u2019s a time to remember friends and family. Officially celebrated on November 2nd<\/sup> (All Souls\u2019 Day), the three-day celebration begins on the evening of October 31st<\/sup>. People believe that the dead return to their homes on Halloween. Many families build alters in their homes decorated with candy, flowers, photos, fresh water and favorite foods of the deceased. Candles and incense are burned so spirits can find their way home. Often a live person is placed inside a coffin that is then paraded through the streets while folks toss fruit, flowers and candies in the casket. On November 2nd<\/sup>, relatives have a picnic at the gravesite to reminisce. Some gatherings even include a mariachi band. Dance party in a graveyard? Now we\u2019re talkin\u2019.<\/p>\n

Whether you believe in spirits visiting once a year, like to wear a costume, or want to show off your annual jack-o-lantern art, Halloween has deep roots and was even controversial in some parts of the world. Celebrate with a few new facts under your belt. (You may be thinking twice about how you dress up this year.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picnicking graveside, hanging out in a casket and begging for treats door to door\u2026 It\u2019s all part of Halloween traditions around world. Contrary to how it appears, Halloween isn\u2019t just for kids. A matter of fact \u201cTrick or Treating\u201d wasn\u2019t the main event once upon a time. The name Halloween came from the 16th century Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173,63,172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-parents","category-students","category-teachers","post_format-post-format-aside"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5702,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790\/revisions\/5702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}