Halloween is on Thursday October 31, 2024
On October 31st, children dress up in costumes and knock on their neighbors’ doors and yell, “Trick or Treat” when the door opens. Halloween is a special celebration and is not a federal holiday.
Halloween
If you are limited in your movements because of restrictions where you live you can still have fun getting yourself and house decorated this Halloween. You may or not be able to do “Trick or Treat” this year, but you can still decorate inside and outside your house, watch spooky scary movies, make halloween sweets and goodies and do some pumpkin carving.
How to have fun this Halloween?
- Trick or treating – Contain to small groups of children
- Put a big bowl out for children to help themselves!
- Don’t eat treats that are not in their original packaging.
- Sanitise and keep your hands clean.
Trick or treat tips?
- Always go in a group with a responsible adult in charge
- Only knock on doors of people you know
- Don’t play tricks that are dangerous or that could cause damage.
What are some popular costumes to dress up in for Halloween?
Children and Adults dress up as pirates and princesses, ghosts and popular heroes like Superman or Spiderman. When the door opens they hold bags up to catch the candy or other goodies that the neighbors drop in. As each child is given a treat the neighbors comment on the costumes and try to guess who is under the mask.
Halloween originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits* including witches flying on broomsticks with black cats, ghosts, goblins and skeletons. These are all popular trick-or-treat costumes and decorations for greeting cards and windows.
Black is one of the traditional Halloween colors, most likely because Halloween festivals and traditions took place at night time. In the weeks before October 31, windows of houses and schools are decorated with silhouettes of witches and black cats. Pumpkins are also a symbol of Halloween. The pumpkin is an orange-colored squash, and orange has become the other traditional Halloween color.
🕷How is Halloween Celebrated ?
Halloween is a very popular celebration. Shops dedicated to selling Halloween supplies typically open in the first week of October with a full inventory ready for sale. As Halloween approaches on October 31, the store begins to sell more and more items, ranging from costumes, make-up, fake teeth to life size moving figures.
Halloween is the perfect time to host or participate in dress up parties and trick or treating with family, friends and the community!
There are no gifts to be given, and no expectations to fulfil celebrating Halloween. Instead, most people just want to have a good time doing something silly – dressing up in a Halloween costume!
👻 Popular Halloween Costumes
Halloween costumes can be bought from the store or handmade. It will depend on the type of costume, your budget and skill level. ( I was one of those kids that had two small eyes cut out of a white sheet draped over me and then told I looked like a ghost. This was simple and cost effective!)
What are the most popular Halloween costumes for 2024?
Halloween costumes to buy ( or make if you have the skills) include characters like cannibal, Frankenstein, clown, ghoul, monster, grim reaper, Goldilocks, mummy, skeleton, vampire, werewolf, witch and zombie. Other dress up ideas are black vampires, bride of Frankenstein, devil costumes, Dracula capes, headless talking skulls and horror film costumes.
💀 Some of the most popular costumes for Halloween include the following:
For men:
- Pirate
- Superhero
- Politician
- Cartoon character
- Cowboy
- Prisoner
- Zombie
- No costume at all
For women:
What are some popular Halloween activities?
Along with the wearing of costumes, there are many other traditions and activities which go along with Halloween. They include the following:
🎃 Carving pumpkins
Typically a large, round, orange pumpkin is chosen and carved out, with one side being a face. A small candle is placed inside the jack-o-lantern in order to illuminate the outline of the face.
👹 Bobbing for apples
This is a good family party activity and great for Halloween parties.
- Find a tub and fill with cool water and float several apples in the water.
- With your hands behind your back, take it in turns to catch an apple with your teeth.
- Time each person. The quickest apple bobber wins!
🎥 Watching horror films
Anything from the classic Frankenstein film to contemporary horror films, watching movies with themes connected to Halloween is a relaxing (no effort required )way to spend with friends and families.
🏚 Visiting a haunted house
The Halloween industry has produced thousands of attractions of possessed ghosts or spirits. Buildings or homes rigged with prop /actors who surprise and scare the visitors as they walk through the haunted house.
🤡 Scary Storytelling
No Halloween party is complete without at least a few scary stories.Talking in a low voice or silly voice while everyone else crowds together on the floor or around a fire and listens can be a lot of fun!
What is the History of Halloween?
Hundreds of years ago at the end of summer festivals the name “Halloween” first appeared in 16th century Scottish literature. Recollections of events associated with modern day Halloween, like dressing up in costumes or playing pranks, are found in the 17th century history books.
Religious Implications
While some modern day observers see deep spiritual connections with the day, the history books do not seem to support this viewpoint. Most of those who celebrated the holiday in the 16th and 17th centuries were very religious anyhow and took note of the normal religious implications inherent in most festivals of this time period. For instance, the tradition of carving pumpkins in the United States dates back to people in Ireland and Scotland who carved turnips. This was done in order to remember the souls who were stuck in purgatory, a place between Heaven and Hell.
Modern day Halloween observers have made much stronger spiritual and religious connections with the holiday, creating a very polarized situation. Many fundamental Christians have created their own festivals on Halloween to encourage others to forgo the contemporary version of Halloween. Others have created “hell houses” which attempt to show the horrors associated with an afterlife of pain and suffering. On the other side, some groups who align themselves with the occult or devil worship hold special ceremonies on Halloween as a day of extreme respect for the dark spirits which they believe traverse the planet.
Have you got something to say about Halloween?
Got a Halloween opinion, story or recipe you would like to share? Please email the details and if found suitable will be shared below:
FYI..Halloween did NOT start off as a “celebration connected with evil spirits,” although the pagan festival of Samhain was celebrated about the same time.
“Halloween” is a contraction of “All Hallow’s Eve” (Hallows-evening, Hallow-eve, Hallow-e’en), and is the night before the Feast of All Saints in the Western Church. Even though the pagans at the time tried to emphasize their own practice by regularly celebrating Samhain the day (and evening) before All Saints’ Day, to mention only evil spirits and not the Christian meaning of the day seems incomplete, if not biased.
Mark
Halloween is short for All Hallows Eve
I fear your assessment of Halloween is incorrect. Perhaps check your facts. Halloween is short for All Hallows Eve. Does that sound evil to you? Have someone look it up please.Carlos
📙 Halloween Recipes
The following recipes are quick and easy to make. Great for a Halloween Party!
☠️ Spooky Halloween Eyeballs
Makes 20
Ingredients:
20 marshmallows
20 cranberries or blueberries
Red and blue icing pens
Instructions:
1. Push one cranberry into the centre of each marshmallow.
2. Draw bloodshot lines with the icing pens all over the marshmallow.
3. Set aside to dry and serve as a spooky snack.
🍿Halloween Popcorn Mix
Ingredients:
10 cups popped popcorn
1 cup raisins
14 oz salted peanuts
16 oz plain M & M’s
1 cup Reese’s Pieces
Instructions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Serve in the same bowl or package up some handfuls in clear bags and tie up with some colorful ribbon.
🥤 Vampire’s Bloody Punch
Ingredients:
48oz cranberry juice cocktail, chilled
½ liter ginger ale, chilled
1 liter lemonade, chilled
Lots of ice cubes
Instructions:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a large punch bowl and add ice-cubes to chill the punch.
A great punch for a Halloween party!
👻 Have Fun!
The most important aspect of Halloween is to have fun. Dressing up in a crazy outfit, going to a haunted house with friends, or staying home and answering the doorbell for trick or treat is the way to enjoy Halloween. Jack-o-lanterns and houses decorated with spider webs/skeletons are all things to see around the 31st of October each year.🍭
Halloween is one of the few American holidays which is not fully focused on family. Unlike Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Father’s Day, and Mother’s Day, Halloween is celebrated with parties and friends.
Upcoming Dates for Halloween
| Holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| Halloween 2024 | Thursday, October 31, 2024 |
| Halloween 2025 | Friday, October 31, 2025 |
| Halloween 2026 | Saturday, October 31, 2026 |