BOO! Happy Halloween! And a CONTEST!

Halloween is coming! Can you just feel it in the air? All the ghosts and goblins getting restless?

Of course October 31st is Halloween, but it is also the day other "holidays" are celebrated, like National Caramel Apple Day, Carve A Pumpkin Day, Reformation Day, and Samhain Day. And October 30th is National Candy Corn Day. (I don't know about you, but I LOVE candy corn!) And October is also Cookie Month, Apple Month, and Caramel Month. (Love those too!) Okay, I admit it. I have a terrible sweet tooth. That makes October a pretty sweet month, eh?

Reformation Day

What is Reformation Day? It is a religious holiday that commemorates Dr. Martin Luther's posting of his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517, a move that triggered the Protestant Reformation and break with certain traditions of the Catholic church. Luther's two main points were that Christians cannot earn God's love or forgiveness; they have only to accept God's love and forgiveness. And that every Christian has his or her own personal relationship with God, reading the Bible, and praying directly to God.

Today, Reformation is celebrated as an alternative to Halloween, which has its origins in the occult or pagan.

Samhain

Which leads us to Samhain Day. Samhain (pronounced "sow-en") means "summer's end," and marks both the end of summer and the harvest. Samhain marked both the change in the weather--from summer to winter--as well as the shift from life to death. The Celts believed that such turning points in their lives signified magical times, and that during this time of change, when people brought the livestock down from the hills and basically "hibernated" inside their houses or close to home, the world of the living was closest to the world of the dead.

The spirits of the dead and those yet to be born walked amongst the living. The dead could return to the places where they had lived and food and entertainment were provided in their honor. One story also suggests that those who had died in the preceding year were on the lookout for a new body to possess for the coming year. Not wanting to be possessed, the living turned out the fires in their hearths to make their homes cold and inhospitable. Then they dressed up in ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood to frighten away spirits.

Halloween

Which leads to our modern Halloween, or "All Hallows' Eve," which comes from the Catholic holiday "All Hallow's Day" or "Saint's Day" which honors the saints. All Hallow's Eve being the day before, or the evening before, All Hallow's Day. The Catholic Church had a long-standing tradition of incorporating pagan traditions into their own Christian holidays to bring people into Christianity.

The Days of the Dead

All Souls Day is celebrated especially in Mexico, where All Hallow's Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day are collectively celebrated as "Los Dias de los Muertos," or "The Days of the Dead." Families fondly remember the deceased, but it is also a time of festivities with parades of skeletons and ghouls.

Trick-or-treating

The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing the great potato famine. Trick-or-treating is thought to have originated not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European custom called souling.

On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes," made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars received, the more prayers they promised to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the family that gave them the cakes. At the time, people believed the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could help the soul make its way to heaven.

Jack-O-Lantern

The Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, so the devil could not climb down. Jack made a deal with the devil that, if he would never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree.

According to folktale, after Jack died, he was denied entrance to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the cold darkness. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer.

The Irish used turnips as their "Jack's lanterns" originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. So the Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember--or a candle--or today, a flashlight.

Alternative to Candy

Trick-or-treating usually means candy, but I found an interesting website, "Books for Treats," I just have to share. As an English major (MA in Eng Lit) and a writer, books are my passion--and so An Enchanted Letter (TM) is dedicated to getting kids to read. Books for Treats is an organization that gives books each year to trick-or-treaters instead of candy, and I thought this was a nifty idea for anyone to do on their own.

Since books are expensive, the organization's idea is to collect gently used books, in good condition, to distribute instead of candy. Not only is it a great way to recycle--not to mention cut down on cavities :)--it's a great way to extend the joy of the holiday. Because as much as I love candy--and I do so LOVE candy--a book lasts a lot longer than a sweet. Candy is gone in a flash, but a book lasts "forever." (i.e., a good story lasts forever.) So check out Books for Treats. (No, I'm not affiliated, but I'm always on the lookout for unusual sites.)

So, Happy Halloween everybody. Have fun, and stay safe trick-or-treating. And check out the links below for Halloween crafts, recipes, and more!

Contest

And don't forget to enter the KidZone Foliage Drawing Contest! Deadline is November 15th, so hurry!



Links:

Overview of Reformation Day

History of Reformation Day

How To Celebrate Reformation Day

Samhain

Fall Craft Ideas

History of Halloween

Halloween History

Fisher-Price Print and Color Cards for Halloween

Kid Printables--Lots Halloween printables (coloring pages, puzzles, crafts)

Family Fun--Halloween crafts, recipes, printables

Makingfriends.com --MORE Halloween kid printables, crafts

Freekidscrafts.com--kids' crafts

Activity Village--Halloween Crafts for kids

Kaboose--Halloween costumes, crafts, recipes, more

Halloween clipart at An Enchanted Letter