the origins of Halloween

All children look forward to Halloween evening when they can go out and trick or treat their neighbours asking for sweets and if not reciprocated, a trick is in order!

Build up to the evening begins with carving scary faces into hollowed out pumpkins and placing candles or tea lights inside.  Dressing up involves being as scary as possible; white chalked faces, blackened eyes, fangs, fake blood, wrapping up in tissue paper, and so on.  All great fun. 

We love Halloween and stocked up on glow in the dark mummy pyjamas and monster onesies. 

I didn't really know the origins of Halloween so I looked it up and read that it began as the festival of Samhain. It was part of the ancient Celtic religion in Britain and other parts of Europe. At the end of summer, the Celts thought the barrier between our world and the world of ghosts and spirits got really thin. ... They believed it was the time when ghosts and spirits came out to haunt, and the Celts would appease the spirits by giving them treats.

What was Samhain?

Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from 31 October to 1 November, as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.

Where does the name Halloween come from it's actually two words smushed together. "Hallow" — or holy person — refers to the saints celebrated on All Saints' Day, which is November 1. The "een" part of the word is a contraction of "eve" — or evening before.

So basically, Halloween just an old-fashioned way of saying the night before All Saints' Day — also called Hallowmas or All Hallows' Day.

Here is a website with halloween costumes we can make at home:

https://www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/g1360/halloween-costumes-for-kids/