Happy Halloween

Oct 31 was celebrated as Halloween day in US. People had decorated their houses with traditional halloween stuff, pumpkins being the most sighted one. Halloween is celebrated on last day of October to frighten ghosts which are believed to rise from their graves at midnight of this day.

Children came looking for candies in the evening which is a part of traditional Halloween celebration. They go door to door with their friends or parents and you're supposed to give them candies. We had bought candies for this occasion a day in advance. Not many children came to our house against my expectation. One group was of Indians and other of Chinese/Japanese/Koreans. Anyways, It felt good to shower them with candies and see them dresses in halloween dresses ready to frighten the ghosts.

I was very much excited to see their dresses. Children here have halloween festivals in their schools wherein they dress in their spooky dresses and have fun together. Parents also take active part in these celebrations. A day before, we were in Wal-Mart shopping for candies and chocolates and there was a huge rush of parents with their children shopping for spooky dresses, baskets (used by children to collect candies) and candies, of course. Every commercial establishment as well as homes are decorated a montn in advance for Halloween.

History of Halloween

The modern Halloween festival has its origin in the ancient Gaelic festival as Samhain. It was a celebration of the end of harvest season in Gaelic culture. The ancient Gaelics believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of living and dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damage crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfire, where bones of slaughtered lifestock would be thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.

This was widely celebrated in modern day Ireland.

Arrival in USA

The Halloween festival came in USA from trasatlantic Irish immigrants following the Irish Potato femine (1845-1849).

The most famous symbol which can be connected to Halloween is jack-o-lantern which is a glowing pumpkin. The origin of this symbol is also traced to Ireland.