Hallowe'en

I for one enjoy halloween. Living in the UK we seem to celebrate this less and less each year. As a youngster i felt the fear in the air, i was scared!!! Times seemed to have changed nowadays though. As we are one day away i thought that we could share stories, experiences and talk about everything to do with halloween and help me rekindle those frightening nights!



1) Halloween is one of the oldest celebrations in the world, dating back over 2000 years to the time of the Celts who lived in Britain

2)Halloween is correctly spelt as Hallowe’en.

3)When Christianity came to England and the rest of Europe, 1 November became All Saints Day - a day dedicated to all those saints who didn't have a special day of their own. They performed a mass called 'All hallows mass' and the night before became known as All Hallows E'en and eventually Hallowe’en or Halloween.

4)It is thought that the colours orange and black became Halloween colours because orange is associated with harvests (Halloween marks the end of harvest) and black is associated with death.

5)Black cats were originally believed to protect witches' powers from negative forces.

6)To meet a witch, put your clothes on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night.(can't say i have tried this one)

uk.youtube.com...

uk.youtube.com...

Hey that was some cool information, I've always wondered what the history behind Halloween was, it's good to finally learn it!

I feel the same way, Halloween is losing it's feel. Than again I feel all holidays are losing it's meaning. Halloween doesn't fill the air with fear, Christmas-time doesn't jingle the way it used to. Pretty much every holiday is losing it's touch. It's quite the downer.

Absolutely the worst celebration ever. There's nothing more annoying than getting knocks on your door from a little kid that wants lollies.

I never answer the door. I'm awesome.

[edit on 30-10-2008 by Angry Potato]

when i was a kid hallowe,en was all about getting dressed up and going round your neighbours houses asking for "a penny for the guy" the lead up to guy faulx night. so at some point in history these two night must have been integrated? we went around the houses and we had to sing a song/tell a joke or something to entertain to get the money, nowadays the kids don't do anything an if you've no money to give or if you offer candy you get tricked, whats happened to the innocent world i grew up in, or who stole my rose tinted glasses, anyways happy holidays folks

to ask a question , when and why did guy faulx night and hallowe'en get rolled up into one?.

reply to post by Winchester_La

Originally posted by Winchester_La

6)To meet a witch, put your clothes on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night.(can't say i have tried this one)

Why not ? Witches are great... sounds funny

Really, this is interesting info. Thanks ! The spelling was new to me as well...
I like Hallowe’en as long as Michael Meyers stays outside

besides that, every year the shops are filled with all kind of merchandise..

I agree its nice to know the History behind such festivities. I also agree many of these are losing their "spark" and are becoming less celebrated.

The Celts believed that evil spirits came with the long hours of winter darkness. They believed that on that night the barriers between our world and the spirit world were at their weakest and therefore spirits were most likely to be seen on earth. The Celts built bonfires to frighten the spirits away, and feasted and danced around the fires. The fires brought comfort to the souls in purgatory and people prayed for them as they held burning straw up high.

In England, the day of fires became 5th November (Bonfire Night), the anniversary of the Gunpowder plot of 1605, but its closeness to Halloween is more than a coincidence. Halloween and Bonfire Night have a common origin they both originated from pagan times, when the evil spirits of darkness had to be driven away with noise and fire.

www.history.com...

Winc(-(

reply to post by Winchester_La


thanks for this
Is really interesting story
Btw nobody knocks at my door,we dont celebrated it
but I think it would be really funny
I love black cats ...but im not a witch...lol

Well, maybe the Sky tonight will make up for Hallowe’en loosing a bit of it’s spark.
Make sure and take a look the planets are going to put on a show!

see link here

Happy Hallowe’en Everyone!

Thanks for that link. Yes i think if the sky looks like that here it will rekindle some of the lost feelings at hallowe'en. Good job!!

reply to post by Winchester_La

Great image !!! Thanks for the thread
Seems we all survived

The origin of Halloween, as I learned it, and as I teach it to my children is as follows.

Halloween is the night that the barrier between our world and the spriit world is at its weakest. As such, the spirits walk the earth. The purpose of the costumes is to make the spirits believe you are on of them. The purpose of giving out the candy is to placate the spirits (or would be spirits - since you are not supposed to tell the difference between costumed children and the spirits at the door).

I belive it is South American in origin. With this understanding, the holiday makes sense - which is why I like this "origin story".