Since when do we celebrate Halloween?
The holiday, which is based on playing with evil spirits and dressing up as witches, monsters and vampires, is naturally not to the liking of the church and citizens who profess Orthodoxy. This moment has a negative impact on the pace of expansion of quite interesting traditions. Nevertheless, young people enthusiastically celebrate the “overseas” holiday, because its theatricality allows them to realize their creative impulses.
The holiday began to gradually “penetrate” into Russia after the collapse of the Union, along with a wave of new cultural values that washed over us. The development of Halloween traditions was directly influenced by cinema, which showed Russians how to celebrate this interesting night.
Halloween began to be celebrated on a large scale around the beginning of the 2000s, when the trend of holding themed parties began to emerge in entertainment establishments. Young people really liked the idea of a masquerade, and the holiday became firmly entrenched in the culture.
history of the holiday
The traditions that form the basis of Halloween have a rich history. It all started when the Celtic tribes began to conquer Europe. Gradually, the traditions of the northerners assimilated with English and French culture. At the end of October, European peasants completed field work and prepared the land for spring; during this period it was also customary to remember deceased ancestors. The Celts believed that on the night of November 1, doors to the other world open, from where the dead come to earth to look at us, and evil spirits break out to harm people as much as possible and even gain a foothold in the real world.
All these beliefs gradually formed into an interesting holiday filled with combined traditions. So, the Celts, in order to scare away evil spirits, dressed up as terrible animals, and only walked the streets in this form. In addition, the pagans sought to “pay off” guests from the other world by displaying harvests and treats on the street.
It was also believed that evil spirits were not able to pass through fire, so fires were lit everywhere, torches and lamps burned. After walking through the streets, the Celts, dressed as animals, gathered in the square and staged noisy celebrations. The pagans jumped over the fires to cleanse themselves and prove to their fellow tribesmen that they were free from otherworldly forces.
How Halloween is celebrated in different countries
Halloween is most widely celebrated in the United States of America and Canada. Just think about the numbers - about 2.5 billion dollars are spent annually on various paraphernalia for this holiday! Perhaps, we will begin our short story about the celebration of “All Saints’ Evening” from these countries.
USA
Most residents of the country prepare for the holiday in advance - they think through the image of their mystical character. In addition, you need to think carefully about how to decorate not only yourself, but also your home. Therefore, I would like to dwell on the main points of Halloween celebrations in the USA:
- A jack-o'-lantern or lamp that helps drive away evil spirits. In the original it is made directly from pumpkin, but many people buy its artificial “counterfeits”;
- Children in themed costumes who walk the streets, enter the homes of ordinary Americans and ask for all sorts of goodies for themselves;
- The Halloween Parade is an amazing spectacle where you can see everyone. There is no point in describing this action - you need to see it with your own eyes;
- Houses decorated with appropriate attributes. Many of them in the evening, surrounded by “Jack-o-lanterns”, look truly terrifying.
In the United States of America, Halloween has become an integral part of all pop culture. In terms of size, it is second only to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Naturally, various Halloween promotions from stores have become a mandatory part of the holiday.
Canada
Canadians also prepare in advance for one of the main holidays of the year. If you decide to postpone preparing for Halloween until the last day, you may simply be left without an outfit. Literally everything that is in any way related to the holiday will be swept away in stores. Stores are also on the alert, offering Halloween discounts. It’s good for everyone – both sellers and buyers.
In general, the traditions are similar to American ones. There are also a lot of themed decorations and clothes around, and children walk around the neighbors in mystical costumes. Canadians also love to play everyone’s favorite game on Halloween – bobforapples. This is when you need to use your teeth (without using your hands) to get an apple out of a bowl of water. Everyone is having fun, everyone is laughing - what else do you need for a great time?
Europe
Halloween is most popular in Europe in England, Ireland and Scotland. Moreover, in the last two, many still call it in the old manner - Samhain.
Literally the whole of Britain is plunging into mysticism these days. Spiritualistic seances are held, thousands of daredevils chase ghosts in ancient castles, and fortune telling by fire is carried out everywhere. By the way, in these countries, scary faces are often carved not on pumpkins, but on turnips.
In Austria and the Czech Republic these days, local residents honor the memory of the deceased, so you can see thousands of lit candles everywhere. The Germans, with their characteristic pedantry, also prepare for the holiday in advance - they decorate their houses and lawns, and a scarecrow takes its place of honor near each entrance door. The main festivities in Germany take place in Darmstad. This is not surprising - this is where the famous Frankenstein's castle is located.
Asia
In Asia, the idea of Halloween has also taken root, so the holiday is celebrated widely and actively. China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and especially Thailand - these countries host themed parties, and cheerful companies in chic mystical costumes walk on the streets.
Local stores also actively support the idea of the holiday, so these days they prefer to use Halloween themes in the design of their establishments. Of course, this is done mostly for marketing purposes - buyers are more likely to go to themed stores, which also offer various Halloween discounts and sales.
Traditions and customs
If in the West Halloween has become a traditional street holiday, in Russia it is held in the format of closed home or club parties. To create the right atmosphere, all participants should prepare appropriate costumes and make-up, as well as decorate the room:
- hang a “web” of gauze in the corners and walls;
- arrange lighted candles;
- decorate the walls with spiders and bats cut out of black paper;
- decorate the room with pumpkins.
When preparing for Halloween, it would be good to think about the design of the treats: everything should correspond to the overall style. The drink can be tomato juice, reminiscent of blood, as well as cocktails based on it.
Snacks should also be reminiscent of the holiday: they can be made in the shape of spiders, bats, ghosts and jaws. You can run a horror movie in the background.
Halloween symbol
The main symbol of the holiday is Jack's lantern. It is an empty pumpkin with cut out eye sockets, a nose and a mouth. Candles are installed inside the natural lamp, which seem to serve as a guide for lost souls. This traditional pumpkin decoration combines several beliefs: the fire is supposed to scare away evil spirits and at the same time show the way to the souls who return to earth that night to visit us. The pumpkin itself serves as a kind of “alms,” and the scary face is supposed to scare away evil spirits.
Today, few people use Jack's lantern for its intended purpose; it has become not a mystical decoration, but a decorative element without which we cannot imagine Halloween.
Halloween in the Christian era
In the ninth century, the church, tired of fighting the unkillable pagan holiday, proclaimed the first of November All Saints' Day, ordering on this day to honor the saints who did not have a separate holiday on the calendar. However, the reaction of the people turned out to be unpredictable - Samhain began to be celebrated again according to the usual scenario. Only the name of the holiday has changed. All Saints' Day - All Hallows Even, began to be called Halloween for short.
In the year 1000, the church made another attempt to take control of the pagan holiday and established All Souls Day on November 2, calling on Christians to remember all the dead. So Samhain received its second legal birth in Christianity, but the main traditions - frightening costumes, bonfires and mass gatherings remained unchanged.
In the 19th century, emigrants brought the tradition of celebrating the night of the dead with them to America. On the land of the Indians, the holiday was enriched with new, even more terrifying colors and turned into a mass celebration. Americans began to dress up in ghost costumes, scare each other with chilling stories, tell fortunes, organize mass dances around bonfires and walk from house to house, symbolizing the wandering dead.
The pumpkin with eyes acquired its own legend - in America it was believed that this was the head of Jack, a good-for-nothing drunkard who had no place in either hell or heaven. His damned soul found refuge in a pumpkin, and now it wanders around the world in such a terrifying form.
Towards the beginning of the 20th century, the state decided to take control of Halloween. Gradually, all superstitious fears and rituals became a thing of the past. Only good things remain from the holiday: fun, fancy dress, a glowing pumpkin, the custom of visiting guests, collecting treats and gifts.
Where to go for Halloween in 2020
Halloween celebrations in Russia are currently taking place in a closed format: at themed parties in clubs, cafes and disco bars.
Events are always announced on the official pages of the establishments, where the time of the event, the recommended dress code are indicated, and the program of the night is also prescribed. To decide where and when to celebrate Halloween in 2020 in Russia, you should visit these online sites and study the offers of clubs and cafes.
Halloween in Russia
In Russia, Halloween has been known for no more than ten years, but the number of its fans, despite the disapproval of the Christian church, is growing every year. On the eve of October 31, pumpkin becomes the most popular vegetable in stores and markets. Frightening and funny heads are cut out of it. Candles and safe battery-powered lamps are inserted into the resulting lanterns.
The terrible night is especially loved by young people. Young people dress up in carnival costumes, throw parties, have fun at discos and clubs, and organize competitions for the most original costume and the most beautiful pumpkin head.
In houses on the night from October 31 to November 1, it is necessary to turn off the lights, scaring away the evil spirits wandering the earth. Fans of the holiday decorate the house with all sorts of horrors: juices that imitate blood, fresh liver, bones, ghosts made from white sheets. Of course, all this is nothing more than a game that allows everyone to return to childhood and feel like they are in a fairy tale.
