Posts Tagged ‘humor’
Happy Halloween
Friday, September 9th, 2011
Happy Halloween I – the Origin of Halloween
At first, let’s talking about the origin of word “Halloween”: a lot of nations on the eve of Halloween will held a celebration gathering, which also be called “All Hallow E’en”, “The Eve of All Hallows”, “Hallow e’en”, or “The eve of All Saintas’ Day “, and last evolved as a convention into “Halloween”, in Chinese we call it “the night of Halloween”.
Halloween is an annual celebration, but just what is it actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom come from? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it just a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual?
In the Medieval Ages, the central Europe had a history of demolishing heathens, but the sacrifice ceremony before the New Year’s night has never been reclined indeed, and just appeared in the form of wizard. That’s why in today’s Hallowmas, we are still familiar with witch’s brooms, black cats and curses.
Halloween is one of the oldest holidays with origins going back thousands of years. The holiday we know as Halloween has had many influences from many cultures over the centuries. From the Roman’s Pomona Day, to the Celtic festival of Samhain, to the Christian holidays of All Saints and All Souls Days.
Hundreds of years ago in what is now Great Britain and Northern France, lived the Celts. The Celts worshipped nature and had many gods, with the sun god as their favorite. It was “he” who commanded their work and their rest times, and who made the earth beautiful and the crops grow.
The word itself, “Halloween,” actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, “All Hollows Day” (or “All Saints Day”), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.
One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.
Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
Probably a better explanation of why the Celts extinguished their fires was not to discourage spirit possession, but so that all the Celtic tribes could relight their fires from a common source, the Druidic fire that was kept burning in the Middle of Ireland, at Usinach.
Some accounts tell of how the Celts would burn someone at the stake who was thought to have already been possessed, as sort of a lesson to the spirits. Other accounts of Celtic history debunk these stories as myth.
The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century AD, Samhain was assimilated into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which might explain the origin of our modern tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.
With regard to the origin of Halloween, the most referred legend viewed that Halloween was came from the ancient Western European countries before the birth of Christ, which mainly includes Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These ancient Western Europeans were also called Celtic or Druids. The date of Celtic or Druids’ New Year is on November 1, and in the New Year’s eve, young peoples in Druids were gathered in a team and worn various weird masks, carried carved radish lamps and wandered between villages.
The thrust of the practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief in spirit possession waned, the practice of dressing up like hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role.
Here is necessary to explain that the pumpkin lamp is a custom appeared lately, and there’s no pumpkin in ancient Western Europe. In fact, the Halloween is a ceremony that celebrated for the autumn’s harvest, and it also was said as a “ghost day”, there’s a legend said that the souls of people who dead in the that year will return to visit the world, so live peoples should let the souls returned see the scenery of their successful harvest and give them an abundant feast. So all needfires and lamps were used to scare sway the souls of ghosts, and the same time to illuminate the return road for the ghosts and guide them back.
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This Is Halloween
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Kissing On VJ Day (War’s End Kiss) 24×36 Poster Each poster is mounted in a frame that comes completely assembled. Solid backing. Easy to use. No glass parts. Excellent quality at economical price. Backing board of frame is made with a hard masonite composite. Two hooks are attached to the back for vertical or horizontal display…. |
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Wilton Cars Cake Pan $8.80 Novelty Cake Pan: Disney’s Cars. The leader in cake decorating tools Wilton doesn’t mess around with anything but the best! Their bake ware is the choice of serious bakers for wedding cakes and other special occasions. Features: thick durable construction, pure aluminum for consistent and professional results. Constructed of Aluminum for rust resistance and easy washing. Pan takes any two-layer ca… |
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Red Apple Salt and Pepper Shakers Tree Vine Holder $11.99 Apple Salt & Pepper Shakers on a Tree. ?This metal “tree” sprouts ceramic apple salt and pepper shakers that will brighten any table…. |
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Party Tyme Karaoke: Kids Songs $14.29 … |
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WordWorld: A Kooky Spooky Halloween $3.09 Studio: Ncircle Entertainment Release Date: 08/31/2010… |
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Fisher Price Little People: Sing Along Favorites $5.23 Our #1 best-selling album! Sing along with the whole family and help your child discover the world of music with these timeless Sing-Along Favorites…. |
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Out of the Box – Trick Or Treat [VHS] $12.98 Out of the Box is a Disney Channel children’s series that celebrates imagination and creativity. The premise of the show is that a group of children discover a bunch of empty boxes and, with some creativity and paint, create a wonderful clubhouse. Hosts Vivian and Tony join an ethnically diverse cast of children in the clubhouse and help them look at ordinary things in new and creative ways. “Tric… |
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Out of the Box – Happy Holidays [VHS] $12.99 The precious, intangible gifts of laughter, friendship, and love take center stage in this charming holiday episode from the popular Disney Channel TV series Out of the Box. Upbeat, friendly cohosts Tony and Vivian open their clubhouse doors to viewers and to a small group of cheerful kids, all eager to share their favorite holiday traditions. Popcorn necklaces, origami cranes, and family photos p… |
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Happy Haunting (Disney Sing Along Songs) [VHS] $10.00 … |
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Musical Doorbell/Door Chime $47.98 This Musical Doorbell replaces your current chime and gives you the choice of sounds to announce your visitors. Choose from the pre-programmed selections, or program in your own tune using the keyboard. Includes chimes, old favorites, patriotic, spiritual… |
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Lil Sweety’s Bowtique Happy Halloween Spider Web Puff Hair Bow/ Headband $11.29 Three layers of hair bows stack together between orange marabou feathers make this fun friendly spider web Happy Halloween hair bow with alligator clip and no slip grip from Lil Sweety’s Bowtique. Can be worn alone in the hair or on the black headband. |
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Martha Stewart ‘Happy Halloween’ Hanging Decor $6.29 Decorate for the Halloween with hanging decor designed by Martha Stewart. Hang it anywhere to add to that perfect spooky atmosphere. |
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Happy Halloween, Biscuit! $6.92 Everyone’s favorite little puppy is going trick-or-treating on his very first Halloween. Pull back the flaps as he picks out the perfect pumpkin, dresses up in costume, and collects all kinds of Halloween goodies. Full color. |
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Country Living Happy Halloween! (Paperback) $13.33 Boo! Here`s a treat, and that`s no trick: the ultimate guide to the most spine-tingling, family-friendly Halloween ever!This fun collection takes the best ideas from Country… |
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Happy Halloween, Stinky Face (Board) $6.92 A Stinky Face Halloween–now in board book!”Mama, what if Mrs. Petry doesn`t know it`s really just me at her door? What if she gets so surprised from my super-scary costume that she throws her candy bowl up and it lands on her head and cand… |
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Happy Halloween! (Paperback) $3.95 Bunny siblings Max and Ruby celebrate Halloween together, but Max spends most of his time trying to think of the perfect way to frighten his brave older sister. Will Max be able to scare Ruby before Halloween ends? This story features the popular chara… |
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Happy Halloween Trick or Treat Hair Bow & Headband $10.79 Four layers of hair bows stack together to make this sassy Halloween hair bow with alligator clip and no slip grip. Can be worn alone in the hair or on the waffle weave purple headband. Designed for all ages. |
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Happy Halloween Pumpkin Throw Pillow $29.99 Set includes: One decoratve pillow Color options: Orange Multi Cover is not removable |
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Retrofutura Men’s Happy Halloween Print T-Shirt $20.69 With a fun Happy Halloween print that showcases a black cat and haunted house, this men’s t-shirt is available in several color options. This t-shirt is handmade from 100-percent cotton. |
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Lil Sweety’s Bowtique Happy Halloween Spider Hair Bow and Headband $10.99 Four layers of hair bows stack together to make this fun friendly spider Happy Halloween hair bow with alligator clip and no slip grip. Can be worn alone in the hair or on the waffle weave black headband. |
