Carved pumkin, scary costumes and themed parties, Halloween is much more than just these celebrations. The spooky festical is actually observed to remember the dead and is celebrated on October 31 every year. Some parts of the world where Halloween is most hyped are UD, England, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Canada. Halloween is also known as Hallowe’en or Allhalloween which stands for All Hallow’s Eve. In some places this festival is also called All Saints’ Eve.
'Halloween' means holy evening or All Saints Day. The festival is being celebrated since 2,000 years and in some European countries it is celebrated on the last day of harvest. Usually the celebration includes, carving pumkins, watching horror movies, dressing up in spooky costumes etc.
History
In some places, people pray for the dead by visiting church and lighting candles. There are different believes on Halloween’s origin. Many historians think that it is linked with Samhain, which is the harvest festival. The meaning of Samhain is Summer’s End. Many people also believe that it is celebrated as dead comes back to life and may destroy the crops. Therefore, in order to save the crops for winters, people please the holy spirits, by lighting bonfires and they also wear masks.
Halloween costume and celebrations
The common ritual of knocking people’s door and saying ‘trick or treat’ started in 16th century in some European countries. There, it was believed that people who were dressed in various costumes were saving themselves from the holy spirits by looking like them. Many people went to every house asking for something to eat in exchange for a song. However, things changed for little children over the years as they started going door-to-door for asking candies.
