Monday, October 31, 2016

Halloween Fun Facts [Through My Lens Nr.66]

It's Halloween and as every year we celebrate the dark times. Halloween is the spookiest night of the year, where some people say spirits can wander the earth freely, and others say their children can wander the neighborhood unattended, trick-or-treating or causing havoc. Celts believed Samhain was a time when the wall between our world and the paranormal world was porous and spirits could get through. Because of this belief, it was common for the Celts to wear costumes and masks during the festival to ward off or befuddle any evil spirits.

Hallowmas is a three-day Catholic holiday where saints are honored and people pray for the recently deceased. At the start of the 11th century, it was decreed by the pope that it would last from Oct. 31 (All Hallow's Eve) until Nov. 2, most likely because that was when Samhain was celebrated and the church was trying to convert the pagans.

Though a common trope in horror movies and Halloween decorations with witches flying across the full moon, the next full moon on Halloween won't occur until 2020. The most recent Halloween full moon was back in 2001, and before that it was in 1955.

Halloween originates from a Celtic tradition called Samhain, a festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They believed it was a time that spirits or fairies could enter our world, and the Celts would put out treats and food to placate the spirits — sometimes, a place at the table was even set for the souls of the dead.

Versions of trick-or-treating have existed since medieval times. In the past, it was known as "guising" where children and poor adults went around in costumes during Hallowmas begging for food and money in exchange for songs or prayers. It was also called "souling." Trick-or-treating was brought to America by the Irish and became popular during the early 20th century, but died out during WWII when sugar was rationed. By 1952, trick-or-treating was hugely popular again.


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22 comments:

  1. Hi Mersad
    I enjoyed reading your descriptions of what we call Halloween in the Us throughout time and different nations. The Irish brought the tradition to the US when they immigrated here. It is a big holiday now with lots of commercialism.

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  2. Good morning, Mersad
    Beautiful shots, as always!
    I wish you an exciting week
    Many greetings, Gabi
    http://stich-schlinge.de

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  3. These are great shots, both in color and b&w!

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  4. Guten Morgen Mersad. Interessant und ganz toll "bebildert" ist dein heutiger Post. In Luxemburg wird "Halloween" mit Verkleiden und dem ganzen Brimborium erst seit ein paar Jahren gefeiert. Als ich Kind war, hat noch keiner daran gedacht, sich am 30. November zu verkleiden und von Haus zu Haus zu ziehen, um Süßigkeiten zu erbetteln. Meine Kids mögen das "Gegrusel" aber sehr.
    Herzliche Grüsse,
    Claudine

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  5. i really enjoyed all these halloween facts along with the great pictures! happy halloween mersad!

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  6. Thanks for hosting and happy Halloween!

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  7. Very interesting, with beautiful photographs interspersed with the information provided.

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  8. Super fotografije! Za Halloween mogu reći da je sve previše skomercializano. Djeca znaju šta je Halloween i uskoro neznaju zašto idu 1. novembra na groblje. Ali šta ćemo?

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  9. Beautiful night shots and interesting facts about Halloween which, I must say, as long as I have been around, I had never heard. The history of Halloween in the US is changing as it has become tainted with incidents of vandalism and even injury to the children who seek to enjoy it. But there are those who revel in the opportunity to pretend they are other than themselves and the adult parties are sometimes even more fun than the children's activities. It is a tradition that I hope stays or comes back in it's truest form.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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  10. Interesting Halloween facts. Hope you are enjoying your trip in the US!

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  11. you have several spooky photos, perfect for today. the only thing I knew until now, is what I knew when I was a child. we dress up, knock on doors and get candy and go home and eat it. that was what it meant to me

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  12. Great photographs and info Mersad and thanks for hosting.

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  13. Halloween is a favorite day for me! Enjoyed reading your narrative today.

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  14. Beautiful post and pics.
    Greetings :)

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  15. I loved Halloween in Canada, but over here I have no feeling for it. So no decoration and costumes for me ;-)

    Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

    Greetings

    N☼va

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  16. Halloween is not traditional in Australia, although it is now very common place amongst some. I've never gone along with it, but thank you so much for this insight to the background of Halloween.
    And have a wonderful week.

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  17. We are in Rome and I just saw a few window displays for Halloween, but my FB feed tells me that it continues to be a major holiday for adults and kids to dress up back in the States!

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  18. I don't celebrate the Darkside of things but these are very good photographs. Thanks for hosting.

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  19. Halloween is out of control here in the U.S. Billions of dollars are spent on decorations and costumes!

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  20. Hi Mersad,interesting Halloween facts. I wonder how many people notice that there is rarely a full moon on Halloween?

    Thank you for hosting.

    xx

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  21. I'm excited to participating in my first link party here with you. I'll be back later today to check out all the other linky participants! :-)

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