Halloween, or Hallowe'en, is a tradition celebrated on the night of
October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going
door-to-door collecting sweets, fruit, and other gifts, called most
commonly trick-or-treating. Some other traditional activities include
costume parties, watching horror films, going to "haunted" houses,
and traditional autumn activities such as hayrides, some of which may
even be "haunted".

Halloween originated under a different name ("Samhain") as a Pagan
festival among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain with mainly
Irish and Scots and other immigrants transporting versions of the
tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Many other
Western countries have embraced Halloween as a part of American pop
culture in the late twentieth century.

Halloween is now celebrated in many parts of the western world, most
commonly in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland, the
United Kingdom and sometimes in Australia and New Zealand. In recent
years, Halloween has also been celebrated in some parts of Western
Europe.

The term Halloween, and its older rendering Hallowe'en, is shortened
from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening of/before "All Hallows'
Day"[1] (also known as "All Saints' Day"). The holiday was a day of
religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions
[citation needed], until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the
old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 to November 1. In
the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset,
in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although we now consider
All Saints' (or Hallows') day to be on the day after Halloween, they
were, at that time, considered to be the same day. Liturgically, the
Church traditionally celebrated this day as the Vigil of All Saints,
and, until 1970, a day of fasting. Like other vigils, it was
celebrated on the previous day if it fell on Sunday, although the
secular aspects of the holiday remained on the 31st. The Vigil was
suppressed in 1955, although somewhat restored in the post-Vatican II
calendar.

In Ireland, the name was All Hallows' Eve (often shortened to Hallow
Eve), and though seldom used today, it is still a well-accepted
label, albeit somewhat esoteric. The festival is also known as
Samhain or Oíche Shamhna to the Irish, Samhuin in Scottish Gaelic,
Calan Gaeaf to the Welsh, Allantide to the Cornish and Hop-tu-Naa to
the Manx. Halloween is also called Pooky Night in some parts of
Ireland, presumably named after the púca, a mischievous spirit.

Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of the
liminal times of the year when spirits can make contact with the
physical world and when magic is most potent (e.g. Catalan mythology
about witches, Irish tales of the Sídhe).

Contents [hide]
1 Halloween around the world
1.1 Ireland
1.2 Scotland
1.3 England and Wales
1.4 United States and Canada
1.5 Mexico
1.6 Australia and New Zealand
1.7 The Caribbean
1.8 Malta
1.9 People's Republic of China
1.10 Other regions
2 Symbols
3 Trick-or-treating and guising
3.1 U.S.
3.2 Ireland
3.3 United Kingdom
3.4 Popular Costumes
3.5 UNICEF
3.6 Sales
3.7 Growing out of trick-or-treating
4 Games and other activities
4.1 Foods
5 Cultural history
5.1 Origin: Celtic observation of Samhain
5.1.1 Samhain possibly mistaken as New Year
5.2 Norse Elven Blót
6 Religious perspectives and controversies
7 Fiction
8 See also
9 References
10 Books
11 External links



[edit] Halloween around the world

Snap-Apple Night by Daniel Maclise portrays a Halloween party in
Blarney, Ireland, in 1832. The young people on the left play various
divination games about future romance, while children on the right
bob for apples. A couple in the center play snap-apple with an apple
skewered on tongs hanging from a string.
Halloween in Dublin 2003
[edit] Ireland
Halloween is popular in Ireland, where it is said to have originated,
and is known in Irish as "Oíche Shamhna" or "Samhain Night". Pre-
Christian Celts had an autumn festival, Samhain
(pronounced /ˈsˠaunʲ/from the Old Irish samain), "End of Summer",
a
pastoral and agricultural "fire festival" or feast, when the dead
revisited the mortal world, and large communal bonfires would be lit
to ward off evil spirits. (See Origin: Celtic observation of Samhain
below.) It is alleged that in Ireland they continued to practice
their deep-rooted, ancient pagan rites well after the arrival of
Christianity in the middle of the sixth century[citation needed].
Pope Gregory IV standardized the date of All Saints' Day, or All
Hallows' Day, on November 1 to the entire Western Church in 835.
Since the day was reckoned to start at sunset, this coincided exactly
with Samhain. Although there is no documentation that Gregory was
aware of or reacting to Samhain among the Celts in the selection of
this date, it could be theoretically considered consistent with the
practice of leaving pagan festivals and buildings intact (e.g. the
Pantheon) and overlaying a Christian meaning.[2] While Celts might
have been happy to move their All Saints' Day from its earlier date
of the 20th of April, ("...the Fe-lire of Oengus and the Martyrology
of Tallaght prove that the early medieval churches celebrated the
feast of All Saints upon 20 April.")[3] they were unwilling to give
up their existing festival of the dead and continued to celebrate
Samhain[citation needed].

Unfortunately, there is frustratingly little primary documentation of
how Halloween was celebrated in pre-industrial Ireland. Historian
Nicholas Rogers has written,

It is not always easy to track the development of Halloween in
Ireland and Scotland from the mid-seventeenth century, largely
because one has to trace ritual practices from [modern] folkloric
evidence that do not necessarily reflect how the holiday might have
changed; these rituals may not be "authentic" or "timeless" examples
of pre-industrial times.[4]

On Halloween night in present-day Ireland, adults and children dress
up as creatures from the underworld (ghosts, ghouls, zombies,
witches, goblins), light bonfires, and enjoy spectacular fireworks
displays (despite the fact that such displays are usually illegal).
The children walk around knocking on the doors of neighbours, in
order to gather fruit, nuts, and sweets for the Halloween festival.
Salt was once sprinkled in the hair of the children to protect
against evil spirits.

The houses are decorated by carving pumpkins or turnips into scary
faces and other decorations. Lights are then placed inside the carved
head to help light and decorate. The traditional Halloween cake in
Ireland is the barmbrack which is a fruit bread. Each member of the
family gets a slice. Great interest is taken in the outcome as there
is a piece of rag, a coin and a ring in each cake. If you get the rag
then your financial future is doubtful. If you get the coin then you
can look forward to a prosperous year. Getting the ring is a sure
sign of impending romance or continued happiness. Usually these days
only the ring is included in commercially made barn bracs.

Games are played, such as ducking/bobbing for apples, where apples,
monkey nuts (peanuts) and other nuts and fruit and some small coins
are put into a basin of water. The apples and monkey nuts float.
Coins are harder to catch as they sink. Everyone takes turns catching
as much can be caught using only the mouth and no hands. In some
households the coins are pushed into the fruit for the children
to "earn" as they catch each apple. The Scottish and English have
taken this tradition into their customs with a game named ducking,
after the fast movement of a person's head under the water to try to
get something without having the head under the water for too long.
Another game involves trying to eat an apple, hung from the ceiling
on a string, without using the hands.

Children also have a week-long break from school for Halloween, and
the last Monday in October is a public holiday given for Halloween
even though they quite often don't fall on the same day. See Public
holidays in the Republic of Ireland.

As of 2006, several County and City Councils around Ireland have
imposed bans on bonfires, citing apparent health and safety issues.


[edit] Scotland
Scotland, having a shared Gaelic culture and language with Ireland,
has celebrated the festival of Samhain robustly for centuries. Robert
Burns portrayed the varied customs in his poem "Hallowe'en" (1785).

Halloween, known in Scottish Gaelic as "Oidhche Shamhna", consists
chiefly of children going door to door "guising", dressed in a
disguise (often as a witch or ghost) and offering entertainment of
various sorts. If the entertainment is enjoyed, the children are
rewarded with gifts of sweets, fruits, or money. There is no
Scottish 'trick or treat' tradition; on the contrary, 'trick or
treat' may have its origins in the guising customs.

In Scotland a lot of folklore, including that of Halloween, revolves
around the belief in faeries. Children dress up in costume and carry
around a "Neepy Candle" a devil face carved into a hollowed out Neep,
lit from inside, to frighten away the evil faeries.

Popular children's games played on this evening include "dookin" for
apples (retrieving an apple from a bucket of water using only one's
mouth). In many places, this has been replaced (because of fears of
contracting illness by transfer of saliva in water) by standing over
the bowl holding a fork in your mouth, and releasing it aiming to
skewer an apple using only gravity. Another favourite here is trying
to eat, while blindfolded, a treacle-coated scone hanging from the
ceiling on a piece of string.


[edit] England and Wales
The Anglo-Saxon invasions of the 5th and 6th centuries AD pushed the
native Celts north and westward in Britain, to present-day Wales,
Cornwall and northern England, taking the festival of All Hallows Eve
with them. All Saints Day (All Hallows Day) became fixed on the 1st
of November in 835, and All Souls Day on the 2nd of November circa
998. On All Souls Eve, families sat up, and little "soul cakes" were
eaten by everyone. At the stroke of midnight there was silence with
candles burning in every room to guide the souls back to visit their
earthly homes and a glass of wine on the table to refresh them. The
tradition continued in some areas of northern England as late as the
1930s, with children going from door to door "souling" for cakes or
money, by singing a song. The English Reformation in the 16th century
de-emphasised holidays like All Hallows Day and its associated eve.
With the rise of Guy Fawkes Night celebrations in 17th century
England, many Halloween practices, especially the building of
bonfires, were transferred to 5 November. Halloween celebrations in
the UK were repopularised in the 1980s with influence from America,
and saw the reintroduction of traditions such as pumpkin faces and
trick-or-treat.[citation needed] In the five years between 2001 and
2006 spending in the UK for Halloween rose tenfold from £12m to
£120m, according to Bryan Roberts from industry analysts Planet
Retail, making Halloween the third most profitable holiday for
supermarkets.[5]

Today, adults often dress up to attend fancy dress parties, pubs and
clubs on Halloween night.

In various parts of England there is a similar festival called holy
day which falls on the 4 November. Children play tricks on adults
which range from the minor to more serious such as taking garden
gates off their hinges on this night. The gates were also often
thrown into ponds, or taken a long way away. In recent years these
tricks have, in some cases, turned into severe acts of vandalism and
criminal damage including street fires and destruction of private
property.[6]

Throughout England, as is common in much of the British Isles,
children carve faces or designs into hollowed-out pumpkins.[7]
Usually illuminated from within, the lanterns are then displayed in
windows in keeping with the night's theme of fright and horror. (See
article Jack-o'-lantern.) Before the introduction of pumpkin carving
from the USA, it was usual to carve large swedes (aka neeps or yellow
turnips) and this is still done in some areas.

Bobbing for apples is a well-established custom on Halloween,
synonymous with the Scottish "dukin". Apples were put into a barrel
that had been filled to the brim with water and an individual would
have to catch an apple by catching them in their mouth without using
their hands. Once an apple had been caught, it was traditional to
peel the apple and toss it over one's shoulder in the hope that the
strips would fall into the shape of a letter. Whatever letter the
peelings arranged into would be the first initial of the
participant's true love. According to another superstition, the
longer the peel, the longer the peeler's life would be. Some say that
the first to get an apple would be the first to marry.

Other festivities include fireworks, recounting of ghost stories, and
playing children's games such as hide and seek. Apple tarts may be
baked with a coin hidden inside, and nuts of all types are
traditional Halloween fare. Bolder children may play a game
called "thunder and lightning", which involves knocking (like
thunder) on a neighbour's door, then running away (like lightning).
This game is known as "knock-door-run", "knock-and-run", "knock-knock-
zoom-zoom", "ding-dong-ditch", or "postman's knock" in other parts of
the country, and is also played on Mischief Night[citation needed]

Tradition is slowly changing, however. The majority of children today
will arrive at a door and intone "trick or treat" for money and
sweets to be given out. In Northern Ireland bonfires are becoming
less commonly lit for Halloween.

There has been increasing concern about the potential for anti-social
behaviour caused at Halloween, particularly as caused by older teens.
Cases of houses being attacked by "egg-bombing" (especially when the
occupants do not give children money or gifts) have been reported,
and the BBC reports that for Halloween 2006 police forces have
stepped up patrols to respond to such trouble making.[8]


[edit] United States and Canada
Halloween did not become a holiday in America until the 19th century,
where lingering Puritan tradition meant even Christmas was scarcely
observed before the 1800s. American almanacs of the late 18th and
early 19th centuries make no mention of Halloween in their lists of
holidays.[9] The transatlantic migration of nearly two million Irish
following the Irish Potato Famine (1845–1849) brought the holiday and
its customs to America. Scottish emigration from the British Isles,
primarily to Canada before 1870 and to the United States thereafter,
brought that country's own version of the holiday to each country.

When the holiday was observed in 19th-century America, it was
generally in three ways. Scottish-American and Irish-American
societies held dinners and balls that celebrated their heritages,
with perhaps a recitation of Robert Burns' poem "Halloween" or a
telling of Irish legends, much as Columbus Day celebrations were more
about Italian-American heritage than Columbus. Home parties would
center around children's activities, such as bobbing for apples and
various divination games, particularly about future romance. And
finally, pranks and mischief were common on Halloween.

The commercialization of Halloween in America did not begin until the
20th century, beginning perhaps with Halloween postcards, which were
most popular between 1905 and 1915, and featured hundreds of
different designs.[10] Dennison Manufacturing Company, which
published its first Hallowe'en catalog in 1909, and the Beistle
Company were pioneers in commercially made Halloween decorations,
particularly die-cut paper items.[11][12] German manufacturers
specialised in Halloween figurines that were exported to America in
the period between the two world wars.


Halloween party at a Canadian law schoolThere is little primary
documentation of masking or costuming on Halloween in America, or
elsewhere, before 1900.[13] Mass-produced Halloween costumes did not
appear in stores until the 1930s, and trick-or-treating did not
become a fixture of the holiday until the 1950s.

In the United States, Halloween has become the sixth most profitable
holiday (after Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentines Day, Easter, and
Father's Day).[14] In the 1990s many manufacturers began producing a
larger variety of Halloween yard decorations; prior to this a
majority of decorations were homemade. Some of the most popular yard
decorations are jack-o'-lanterns, scarecrows, witches, orange and
purple string lights, inflatable decorations such as spiders,
pumpkins, mummies, vampires and other monstrous creatures, and
animatronic window and door decorations. Other popular decoration are
foam tombstones and gargoyles, making Halloween the second-most
popular holiday for decorating (after Christmas). The sale of candy
and costumes are also extremely important during this time period.
Halloween is marketed not just to children but also to adults.
According to the National Retail Federation, the most popular
Halloween costumes for adults are, in order: witch, pirate, vampire,
cat, and clown.[15] On many college campuses, Halloween is a major
celebration, with the Friday and Saturday nearest October 31 hosting
many costume parties.

The National Confectioners Association reported, in 2005, that 80
percent of adults planned to give out candy to trick-or-treaters,[16]
and that 93 percent of children planned to go trick-or-treating.[17]

Anoka, Minnesota, the self-proclaimed "Halloween Capital of the
World," celebrates with a large civic parade and several other city-
wide events. Salem, Massachusetts, also has laid claim to
the "Halloween Capital" title, though Salem has tried to separate
itself from its history of persecuting witchcraft. Despite that, the
city does see a great deal of tourism surrounding the Salem witch
trials, especially around Halloween. In the 1990s, the city added an
official "Haunted Happenings" celebration during the October tourist
season.. Nearby Keene, New Hampshire, hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest
each October which previously held the record for most lit jack-o'-
lanterns at one time and place (Boston, Massachusetts holds the
record as of October 2006).

Rutland, Vermont has hosted the annual Rutland Halloween Parade since
1960. Tom Fagan, a local comic book fan, is credited with having a
hand in the parade's early development and superhero theme. In the
early 1970s, the Rutland Halloween Parade achieved a degree of fame
when it was used as the setting of a number of superhero comic books,
including Batman #237, Justice League of America #103, Amazing
Adventures #16 and The Mighty Thor #207.


Ubu Apocalypse, a presentation of over-sized papier-mâché masks at
the Village Halloween Parade in New York City.New York City hosts the
United States' largest Halloween celebration, The Village Halloween
Parade. Started by Greenwich Village mask maker Ralph Lee in 1973,
the parade now attracts over two million spectators and participants
as well as roughly four million television viewers each year. It is
the largest participatory parade in the country if not the world,
encouraging spectators to march in the parade as well. It is also the
largest annual parade held at night.

In many towns and cities, trick-or-treaters are welcomed by lighted
porch lights and jack-o'-lanterns. In some large or crime-ridden
cities, however, trick-or-treating is discouraged, or refocused to
staged trick-or-treating events within one or more of the cities'
shopping malls, in order to prevent potential acts of violence
against trick-or-treaters. Even where crime is not an issue, many
towns in the US have established specific hours for trick-or-
treating, e.g. 5-7 pm or 5-8 pm, to discourage late-night trick-or-
treating.

Those living in the country may hold Halloween parties, often with a
bonfire or, in some years, the older Irish custom of building two
bonfires, with the celebrants passing between them. These parties
usually involve games (often traditional games like bobbing for
apples, searching for candy in a similar manner to Easter egg
hunting, or a snipe hunt), a haunted hayride (often accompanied by a
scary story and one or more masked and costumed people hiding in the
dark to jump out and scare the riders), and treats (usually a bag of
candy and/or homemade treats). Scary movies may also be watched.
Normally, the children are picked up by their parents at pre-
determined times. However, it is not uncommon for these parties to
include sleepovers.

Trick-or-treating may end early at night, but the nightlife thrives
in many urban areas on Halloween. Halloween costume parties are also
an opportunity for young adults to get together and share a keg and a
good time. The local bars are also frequented by people wearing
Halloween masks and risqué costumes. Many bars and restaurants hold
Costume Contests to attract customers to their establishment.

In areas with a large Mexican population, Halloween has often merged
with celebrations of "Dia De Los Muertos", the Day of the Dead.


[edit] Mexico
Further south, in Mexico, Halloween is primarily a 21st century
phenomenon and also mostly confined to its largest urban areas. These
celebrations have obviously been influenced by the American style and
traditions which include children disguising themselves and visiting
the houses of their neighbourhood in search primarily for candy.
Though the "Trick or Treat" motif is also used, tricks are not
generally played on those houses not giving away candy. Older crowds
of teenagers and adults will sometimes organise Halloween themed
parties though the observance of the Halloween party on the night of
the 31st is sometimes changed for the nearest available weekend.

Halloween in Mexico also starts off three days of consecutive
holidays, as it is followed by All Saint's Day and then the Day of
the Dead or the "Día de los Muertos". This might explain why some of
the first explanations given to children on the holiday followed a
more traditional, Catholic & Mexican theme. The explanation (which is
also sometimes used by groups opposed to Halloween to discredit the
holiday) is that during October 31 all of the evil spirits are
welcomed into this world. Meanwhile, on November 1 all of
the "saintly" spirits make a visit to this world and then on November
2 all of the spirits of those who have passed away. It is rare to
find someone in Mexico that will be able to identify Halloween's
primarily pagan roots.


[edit] Australia and New Zealand
In the southern hemisphere, spring is in full force at the end of
October, and the days are rapidly growing longer and brighter. This
does not mesh well with the traditional Celtic spirit of Halloween,
which relies on the atmosphere of the encroaching darkness of winter.
However, Halloween has recently gained a large amount of recognition
in Australia and to an extent New Zealand, largely due to American
cultural media influences. In 2006, costume shops reported a rise in
sales on Halloween themed costumes, on October 31st, 2006. On
Halloween night, horror films and horror themed episodes of certain
TV series are aired for the tradition.

A visitor from overseas expecting to enjoy an Australian or New
Zealand Halloween would need to prepare in advance, since most events
are private parties. Trick-or-treaters usually are supervised by
adults and stay in their own neighbourhoods for safety reasons to
trick or treat. It is generally a practise carried out by pre-
arrangement with nearby neighbours. "Tricks" are not played in
Australia and "treats" of wrapped / sealed lollies (for safety and
hygiene purposes) may be given usually only by known neighbours and
friends. Giving of treats to children beyond this may be greeted with
suspicion or even hostility by parents and is actively discouraged by
Australian law enforcement.

If trick or treaters do go beyond these culturally accepted norms, it
is mainly in the form of anti-social behaviours by small groups to
cause mindless destruction, similar to issues in the US on Halloween,
and recently in the United Kingdom. These destructive behaviours have
little to do with community building Halloween practices associated
with Europe and the USA. Such destruction perhaps reflects broader
and more unpleasant societal issues such as unemployment, boredom or
a lack of preparedness to accept social responsibility. In Australia,
such anti-social actions, when associated with Halloween, are widely
frowned upon and have led to a sense of hostility in some quarters
to "trick or treating" as little more than an excuse for mindless
aping of American customs with little relevance in Australian society.

Vandalism on Halloween has also been known to target school and
community buildings, cemeteries or places of worship. Such actions
have routinely lead to police investigation as little more than petty
(often juvenile based) crimes.

Some residents of Australia that have not began celebrating
Halloween, feel Halloween is a distinctly American custom and
reflects a cultural neo-imperialism of the United States through the
influence of highly popular media. Some emphasise that their
hostility to Halloween reflects a wider refusal to have anything to
do with what they feel is senseless or commercial Americanisms.[18]


The children of the largest town in Bonaire all gather together on
Halloween day.
[edit] The Caribbean
Halloween is largely uncelebrated in the Caribbean. However, like
Australia and New Zealand, the event is not unheard of in the
Caribbean and is seeing some increase in popularity.

In some parts of the British West Indies, there are celebrations in
commemoration of Guy Fawkes Night that occur during and around the
time of Halloween. These celebrations include using firecrackers,
blowing bamboo joints and performing other fiery activities.

On the island of Bonaire, all the children of a town gather together
in a group, and unlike most places, instead of trick-or-treating at
people's houses, they trick-or-treat for sweets in the town shops.


[edit] Malta
Halloween had never been celebrated in Malta until recently, with its
popularity increasing thanks to dozens of costume parties being
organized on Halloween night, mostly for teenagers and young adults.
Trick-or-treating is still virtually unheard of.[citations needed]


[edit] People's Republic of China
Please help improve this article by expanding this section.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests
for expansion. Please remove this message once the section has been
expanded.
This article has been tagged since March 2007.

There is no Halloween in Chinese tradition, however, there is a
similar holiday observed in China that is much more spiritual and is
a much more serious in China than Halloween, see Ghost Festival.


[edit] Other regions
In other regions, Halloween has become popular in the context of US-
American pop culture. Both Catholic and Protestant Christians see the
loss of the celebration of the All Hallows and Reformation Day,
respectively, or regional festivals at the same time (St Martin's
Day; however, media and commerce try to boost some parts of the
festival, like pumpkins, posters and costumes.


[edit] Symbols

Jack-o'-lanterns are often carved into silly or scary faces.The
carved pumpkin, lit by a candle inside, is one of Halloween's most
prominent symbols. Although there is a tradition in the British Isles
of carving a lantern from a rutabaga, mangelwurzel, or turnip, the
practice was first named and associated with Halloween in North
America,[19] where the pumpkin was available, and much larger and
easier to carve. Many families that celebrate Halloween carve a
pumpkin into a frightening or comical face and place it on their
home's doorstep after dark.

The jack-o'-lantern can be traced back to the Irish story of Stingy
Jack, a greedy, gambling, hard drinking old farmer who tricked the
devil into climbing a tree and trapped him by carving a cross into
the trunk of the tree. In revenge, the devil places a curse on old
Jack which dooms him to wander the earth at night for eternity. For
centuries, this bed time parable was told by Irish parents to their
children. At Halloween time, the children carved out turnips, placing
a candle inside to symbolise Jack's curse.[citation needed] But in
America the tradition of carving pumpkins is known to have preceded
the Great Famine period of Irish immigration,[20] and the tradition
of carving vegetable lanterns may also have been brought over by the
Scottish or English; documentation is unavailable to establish when
or by whom. The carved pumpkin was associated generally with harvest
time in America, and did not become specifically associated with
Halloween until the mid to late 19th century.

The imagery surrounding Halloween is largely an amalgamation of the
Halloween season itself, nearly a century of work from American
filmmakers and graphic artists, and a rather commercialised take on
the dark and mysterious. This art generally involves death, magic, or
mythical monsters. Commonly-associated Hallowe'en characters include
ghosts, ghouls, witches, vampires, bats, owls, crows, vultures,
haunted houses, pumpkinmen, black cats, spiders, goblins, zombies,
mummies, skeletons, werewolves, and demons. Particularly in America,
symbolism is inspired by classic horror films, which contain
fictional figures like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, The Wolf Man,
and The Mummy. Homes are often decorated with these symbols around
Halloween.

Black and orange are the traditional colors of Halloween. In modern
Halloween images and products, purple, green, and red are also
prominent.

The use of these colors is largely a result of advertising for the
holiday that dates back for over a century. They tend to be
associated with various parts of Halloween's imagery.

COLOR ASSOCIATIONS Color Symbolism
Black death, night, witches, black cats, bats, vampires
Orange pumpkins, jack o' lanterns, Autumn, the turning leaves, fire
Purple night, the supernatural, mysticism
Green goblins, monsters
Red blood, fire, demons, Satan

Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins and scarecrows, are
also reflected in symbols of Halloween.


[edit] Trick-or-treating and guising
Main article: Trick-or-treating

[edit] U.S.

A "trick-or-treater"The main event of modern Halloween in the United
States is trick-or-treating, in which children dress up in costume
disguises and go door-to-door in their neighborhood, ringing each
doorbell and yelling "trick or treat!" Although this resembles the
older tradition of guising in Ireland and Scotland, ritual begging on
Halloween does not appear in English-speaking America until the 20th
century, and may have developed independently. The occupants of the
house (who might themselves dress in a scary costume) will then hand
out small candies, miniature chocolate bars, and sometimes even soda
pop. Some American homes will use sound effects and fog machines to
help set a spooky mood. Other house decoration themes (that are less
scary) are used to entertain younger visitors. Children can often
accumulate many treats on Halloween night, filling up entire pillow
cases or shopping bags.


[edit] Ireland
In Ireland, great bonfires were lit throughout the land. Young
children in their guises were gladly received by the neighbors with
some "fruit, apples and nuts and of course sweets" for the "Halloween
Party", whilst older male siblings played innocent pranks on
bewildered victims.


[edit] United Kingdom
In Scotland, children or guisers are more likely to recite "The sky
is blue, the grass is green, may we have our Halloween" instead
of "trick or treat!". They visit neighbours in groups and must
impress the members of the houses they visit with a song, poem,
trick, joke or dance in order to earn their treats. Traditionally,
nuts, oranges, apples and dried fruit were offered, though sometimes
children would also earn a small amount of cash, usually a sixpence.
Very small children often take part, for whom the experience of
performing can be more terrifying than the ghosts outside.

In England, trick or treating does take place, particularly in
working class neighbourhoods. On the whole, however, it is frowned
upon as at best a nuisance and at worst a menacing form of begging.
[21] In some areas households have started to put decorations on the
front door to indicate 'trick-or-treaters' are welcome, the idea
being that 'trick-or-treaters' don't approach a house that
isn't 'participating'. Tricks play less of a role in modern
Halloween, though Halloween night is often marked by vandalism such
as soaping windows, egging houses or stringing toilet paper through
trees. Before indoor plumbing was so widespread, tipping over or
displacing outhouses was a popular form of intimidation. Casting
flour into the faces of feared neighbors was also done once upon a
time.


[edit] Popular Costumes
Typical Halloween costumes have traditionally been monsters such as
vampires, ghosts, witches, and devils. In recent years, it has become
common for costumes to be based on themes other than traditional
horror, such as dressing up as a character from a TV show or movie,
or choosing a recognizable face from the public sphere, such as a
politician (in 2004, for example, George W. Bush and John Kerry were
both popular costumes in America). In 2001, after the September 11
attacks, for example, costumes of, firefighters, police officers, and
United States military personnel became popular. In 2004, an
estimated 2.15 million children in the United States were expected to
dress up as Spider-Man, the year's most popular costume.[22]


[edit] UNICEF
"'Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" has become a common sight during
Halloween in North America. Started as a local event in a
Philadelphia suburb in 1950, and expanded nationally in 1952, the
program involves the distribution of small boxes by schools to trick-
or-treaters, in which they can solicit small change donations from
the houses they visit. It is estimated that children have collected
more than $119 million (US) for UNICEF since its inception. In 2006
UNICEF discontinued their Halloween collection boxes in parts of the
world, citing safety and administrative concerns.[23]


[edit] Sales
BIGresearch conducted a survey for the National Retail Federation in
the USA and found that 53.3% of consumers planned to buy a costume
for Halloween 2005, spending $38.11 on average (up 10 dollars from
the year before). They were also expected to spend $4.96 billion in
2006, up significantly from just $3.29 billion the previous year.[24]


[edit] Growing out of trick-or-treating
A child usually "grows out of" trick-or-treating by his or her
teenage years. Trick-or-treating by teenagers is accepted, but
generally discouraged by those handing out candy. Teenagers and
adults instead often celebrate Halloween with costume parties,
bonfire parties, staying home to give out candy, listening to
Halloween music, watching horror movies or scaring people.


[edit] Games and other activities

In this Halloween greeting card from 1904, divination is depicted:
the young woman looking into a mirror in a darkened room hopes to
catch a glimpse of the face of her future husband.There are several
games traditionally associated with Halloween parties. The most
common is dooking or bobbing for apples, in which apples float in a
tub or a large basin of water; the participants must use their teeth
to remove an apple from the basin. A variant involves kneeling on a
chair, holding a fork between the teeth and trying to drop the fork
into an apple. Another common game involves hanging up treacle or
syrup-coated scones by strings; these must be eaten without using
hands while they remain attached to the string, an activity which
inevitably leads to a very sticky face.

Some games traditionally played at Halloween are forms of divination.
In Puicíní (pronounced "poocheeny"), a game played in Ireland, a
blindfolded person is seated in front of a table on which several
saucers are placed. The saucers are shuffled and the seated person
then chooses one by touch. The contents of the saucer determine the
person's life for the following year. A saucer containing earth means
someone known to the player will die during the next year, a saucer
containing water foretells emigration, a ring shows marriage, a set
of Rosary beads means the person will take Holy Orders (becoming a
nun or a priest). a coin means new wealth, a bean means poverty, etc.
In 19th-century Ireland, young women placed slugs in saucers
sprinkled with flour. The wriggling of the slugs and the patterns
subsequently left behind on the saucers were believed to portray the
faces of the women's future spouses.[citation needed] An Irish and
Scottish form of divining one's future spouse is to carve an apple in
one long strip, then toss the peel over one's shoulder. The peel is
believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future
spouse's name. This tradition has also survived among Irish and
Scottish immigrants in the rural United States.

In North America, unmarried women were frequently told that if they
sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night,
the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror. However,
if they were destined to die before they married, a skull would
appear. The custom was widespread enough to be commemorated on
greeting cards from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The telling of ghost stories and viewing of horror films are common
fixtures of Halloween parties. Television specials with a Halloween
theme, usually aimed at children, are commonly aired on or before the
holiday while new horror films are often released theatrically before
the holiday to take advantage of the atmosphere.

Visiting a haunted house or a dark attraction are other Halloween
practices. Notwithstanding the name, such events are not necessarily
held in houses, nor are the edifices themselves necessarily regarded
to possess actual ghosts. A variant of this is the "haunted trail",
where the public encounters supernatural-themed characters or
presentations of scenes from horror films while following a trail
through a heavily wooded area or field. One of the largest Halloween
attractions in the U.S.A. is Knott's Scary Farm in California, which
features re-themed amusement park rides and a dozen different
walkthrough mazes, plus hundreds of costumed roving
performers. "Haunted hayrides" are another common Halloween activity
in the northern and midwestern U.S.


[edit] Foods

Candy appleBecause the holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple
harvest, candy apples (also known as toffee, taffy or caramel apples)
are a common treat at Halloween. They are made by rolling whole
apples in a sticky sugar syrup, and sometimes then rolling them in
nuts. At one time candy apples were a common treat given to children,
but this practice rapidly waned after widespread rumors that some
individuals were embedding items like pins and razor blades in the
apples that they would pass out to children. While there is evidence
of such incidents occurring,[25] they are very rare and have never
resulted in any serious injuries. Nonetheless, many parents were
under the assumption that the practice was common. At the peak of
this hysteria, some hospitals were offering to x-ray children's
Halloween haul at no cost in order to look for such items. Almost all
of the very few Halloween candy poisoning incidents on record
involved parents who poisoned their own children's candy, while there
are occasional reports of children sticking needles in their own
candy (and that of other children) more in an effort to get attention
than cause any harm.

A Halloween custom which has survived to this day in Ireland is the
baking (or more often nowadays the purchase) of a barmbrack
(Irish "báirín breac"). This is a light fruit cake into which a plain
ring is placed before baking. It is said that whoever finds this ring
will find his or her true love during the following year. See also
king cake.

Other foods associated with the holiday:

candy corn
Báirín Breac (Ireland)
Colcannon (Ireland)
bonfire toffee (in the UK)
Toffee Apple (Australia when celebrated, England, Wales and Scotland,
instead of "Candy Apples")
hot apple cider
donuts
roasted sweetcorn
popcorn
roasted pumpkin seeds