Today, Halloween is an excuse for costume parties, horror films, haunted
houses and other activities around the popular themes of ghosts, witches,
Dracula, werewolves and the supernatural. Children love to dress up in Halloween
costumes and go from door-to-door trick-or-treating, collecting sweets and
gifts, sometimes money. But why? What are the origins of Halloween as we know it
today?
Halloween began as an ancient Celtic festival in Great Britain and Ireland, and
has survived most strongly among Irish, Scottish and Welsh communities.
Immigrants from these communities carried the tradition to North America where
it has gained in popularity. In turn, as part of American pop culture, Halloween
has spread in popularity to most corners of the English speaking western world,
and increasingly into Western Europe in recent times.
Originally Halloween was a pagan festival, around the idea of linking the living
with the dead, when contact became possible between the spirits and the physical
world, and magical things were more likely to happen. Like most pagan festivals,
long ago it was absorbed into the festivals of the expanding Christian church,
and became associated with All Hallows Day, or All Saints Day, which eventually
fell on November 1 under the Gregorian calendar. A vigil for the festival was
held on All Hallows Evening on October 31. In the vernacular of the times, All
Hallows Evening became Hallowe'en and later the Halloween we know today.
The celebration of Halloween survived most strongly in Ireland. It was an end of
summer festival, and was often celebrated in each community with a bonfire to
ward off the evil spirits. Children would go from door to door in disguise as
creatures from the underworld to collect treats, mainly fruit, nuts and the like
for the festivities. These were used for playing traditional games like eating
an apple on a string or bobbing for apples and other gifts in a basin of water,
without using your hands. Salt might be sprinkled on the visiting children to
ward off evil spirits. Carving turnips as ghoulish faces to hold candles became
a popular part of the festival, which has been adapted to carving pumpkins in
America.
The trick aspect to trick or treating as it emerged in North America seems to
have more obscure origins. It may be a merging of the collection of treats with
another separate old tradition, especially in Ireland, where children would
sometimes engage in secretive mischief at Halloween. The original intention was
for the activities of mischievous Halloween spirits to be blamed. Usually the
mischief consisted of playing some minor or witty tricks on some adults - often
the less popular ones - things like moving or hiding everyday items during
Halloween night.
In times past a refusal to give something when requested during trick or
treating may have resulted in some prank, which was not always carried out in a
spirit of good fun. Tossing eggs or flour at the house, or soaping windows, were
common pranks. In most places today the trick aspect of trick or treating now
survives more as a ritual than any real threat.
In Scotland and England the tradition of singing or other entertainment in
return for the gifts collected was more common than the threat of a trick if
nothing was given.
Ideas For Sharing Stories
With Children
This two-part article discusses the ways in which stories and
storytelling play an important role in children's lives. Techniques are
offered for using stories to help develop children's verbal skills and
imaginations. This is part one.
Parenting Discipline - Teaching
Children Self Respect, Self Control and Empathy
For many parents, the words parenting discipline have very negative
connotations. There is the association with their own childhood and the
often unpleasant memories that thinking of discipline raises. Then there
is the association of the word discipline with ideas around corporal
punishment, with spanking, hitting and hurting children.
Who Owns The Problem; Parent or Child?
It is tempting for parents to assume ownership and responsibility for everything that goes on in the life of their child. However, when the parent jumps in too soon to solve the problem or give the answer, the child never learns to trust his own judgment and become a critical thinker.
Parenting - Making A Schedule This article on the benefits of scheduling your day as a parent
really struck home with me. It took me a while to work this out for
myself when I had young children at home, and I wish I had done so - and
benefited from the much calmer household that was the result - sooner!
Being Left Is The Definition Of A Mother
To be a successful mother you must be left. Not left handed, nor to the
left politically, but just left. This necessary abandonment comes in
gradual stages and the steps toward this goal are painful to be sure.
The Uneducated Palate
When did you learn to really enjoy food? How about experiencing taste
and textures? I think children develop a taste for food a lot sooner
than we think.
Ways of Dealing With
Separation Anxiety
All parents will remember how difficult it was to leave their children
when they were young, and some of us had to deal with unhappy children
suffering from separation anxiety, again and again and again! Veronica
shares some tips on how to make the partings easier.
Math Games
for the Active Child
To put it in a nice way, my son is rather squirmy. He doesn't like to
sit still for very long unless he's playing a video game, then it's just
amazing. So instead of constantly telling him to sit down and do his
math, we take it outside or up the stairs, literally...
