Halloween
DATE
Annually on October 31
HOLIDAY TYPE
Secular holiday with religious roots (Christian & Celtic)
OBSERVED BY
Not only does the U.S. know how to have a hauntingly good time, Halloween is celebrated in other countries (Australia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Phillipines, Poland, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden & United States)
HOLIDAY CUSTOMS & TRADITIONS
Fall ushers in the annual ritual of decorating for Halloween and Autumn. Pumpkins, scarecrows, dried corn stalks, and straw hay bales adorn homes and yards. Many of the old symbols embraced by the ancients, such as black cats, bats, witches, skeletons, ghosts, and goblins, are popular Halloween customs today.
Classic Halloween colors are black and orange. Purple and green have become popular colors of the holiday. Traditions include trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, bobbing for apples, and visiting pumpkin patches, corn mazes and haunted houses. Another is dressing up in Halloween costumes to go to parties.
TRADITIONAL FOOD & DRINKS
Food: Pumpkin, candy and caramel apples, candy corn, caramel corn, apple and pumpkin breads, and all types of individually wrapped candy.
Drinks: Hot apple cider, mulled/spiced wine, and spooktacular cocktails and mocktails.
HOLIDAY HISTORY
Halloween is a holiday full of mischief and superstition. The word Halloween or Hallowe’en is of Christian origin dating back to 1745. “Hallowe’en” means “Saints’ evening;” it comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows’ Eve (the evening before All Hallows’ Day) also known as All Saints’ Eve or Allhalloween.
Halloween was introduced in the U.S. by Irish immigrants, who came to America due to the Irish potato famine in 1845. They brought with them Irish customs including the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. At this end of summer festival, people lit bonfires and wore spooky costumes to ward off ghosts. They even dressed up as saints and went door to door, which is the origin of wearing Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating as we know it today.
