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Where does Halloween come from? Halloween: the history of the holiday

Halloween stories, like many old holidays, appeared a long time ago, mixing pagan rites with traditional church beliefs.

Halloween (Halloween) - this holiday is celebrated October 31(on the night of October 31 to November 1), on the day of memory of all saints. In 2014 it will be the night from Friday to Saturday! ^-^.

There is no consensus on where and when the name Halloween appeared. Many say that its origin is connected with, known as Samhain (or Shaovin). The holiday of Samhain was the celebration of the end of the harvest, and it was a time used by the ancient pagans to stockpile food and materials in order to prepare for winter in every possible way.

Samhain- it was also a time when the borders between the worlds of the living and the dead opened up. And the dead, according to legend, could return, for a while, to the earth and lead to chaos, disease, or damage to crops. To propitiate and appease evil spirits, people wore masks and costumes.

Some say that Samhain was a demon (god of the dead), and that people dressed to propitiate the demon, but unfortunately there is no archaeological or literary evidence to indicate this (Gwyn was the god of the dead among the Celts, Nudd and for the Welsh, Aron, the Irish had no "god of death" as such).

Sweets and candies for Halloween

Now that we have seen some of the stories and names, you may be wondering where the tradition of going from door to door, begging and collecting candy and sweets, came from. This tradition, which originated in England, dates back to the Middle Ages and includes the practice of poor people going from house to house asking for food in exchange for praying for dead or dying relatives. Similar methods for the souls of the dead have been found in southern Italy. Shakespeare is one of the first to mention the existence of this practice in the comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when he accuses a whimpering man of being like a beggar on Halloween.

Despite the Irish English traditions, there is no unequivocal opinion on where this tradition originated in America. Many believe that this tradition was brought to the continent by immigrants. The earliest mention of this ritual, describing people begging for money, comes from 1911 (November 1-2), when a newspaper in Ontario Township, near the New York state line, reported that it was normal practice for young children to walk the streets visiting neighbors tell them poems and sing songs. For this they were to be rewarded with nuts, candies and other sweets.

This holiday was not mentioned again until 1947, where it was again described in children's magazine"Jack and Jill". A solidification in our Halloween culture came when Walt Disney introduced the holiday in 1952's Trick or Treat.

Pumpkin lamps

Now that we have discussed, let's talk about where the tradition of carving a face from a pumpkin and making a lamp out of it came from. There are many stories and versions of how it began. One story from old Irish folklore tells that it all started with a man named Jack, who was a lazy but shrewd farmer who set a trap for the Devil. The story says that Jack tricked the Devil by placing a glowing lantern on the apple tree. As the Devil climbed the tree, Jack quickly placed crosses around the trunk and carved a cross into the bark so the Devil couldn't climb down.

According to another story, Jack was a man who could not go to heaven or hell. He wandered in eternal darkness, and one day he asked the devil to give him at least some source of light. The devil mockingly threw him an ember, straight from the flames of hell, which could never burn out. Jack cut out all the entrails from the turnip, which was his favorite food, put an ember inside it and began to endlessly roam the earth, looking for a place to rest. Since then, he has become known as Jackie O'Lantern.

Halloween costumes

Today, kids and adults alike love Halloween due to its fun costumes that can be worn on one night of the year. What sets Halloween costumes apart from other holidays or days is that they are often meant to imitate supernatural and scary creatures. Halloween costumes are various monsters: vampires, ghosts, skeletons, witches and devils. But there are no rules for Halloween, you can dress how you like. Often children dress up in costumes of pop stars, presidents, cartoon characters.

Halloween is a wonderful tradition that every day more and more confidently enters our lives.

On the night of October 31 to November 1, Halloween is celebrated. This holiday, which came to us from Europe, is still quite unusual for our country, so the attitude towards it is ambiguous. Someone considers Halloween a great occasion to have fun and go to a fun masquerade, someone simply does not recognize this holiday, considering it a tribute to fashion, and to someone it seems like outright blasphemy!

But no matter what your personal attitude to this holiday is, knowing the history of Halloween will not be superfluous for anyone - after all, Halloween is part of the Celtic culture that existed on the territory of modern Ireland, Northern France and England, and then spread to all of Europe , America and part of Asia. Thus, we can assume that Halloween is a significant part of world culture, which any educated person would not be superfluous to have an idea about.

What is the history of the origin of this holiday, what do its main attributes mean and how is it celebrated now around the world?

history of the holiday

As already mentioned, the history of Halloween originates from the tribes of the ancient Celts who lived on the territory of modern European countries - modern Great Britain and Northern France. The holiday is based on the division of the Celtic calendar into 2 parts - dark and light. The dark part of the year was associated among the Celts with winter, a lean season and began in late October and early November. The bright part of the year was sunny, warm, associated with fertility, and began in late March-early April. The change of parts of the year was associated with the onset of the full moon and was celebrated with a special holiday. In the first three days of the dark part of the year, the Celtic New Year was celebrated, and on the night of October 31 to November 1, winter came into its own, according to the Celtic calendar. The holiday celebrated on this night was not yet called Halloween - this name came later - and in the days of the ancient Celts it was called "Samhain", after the name of Saman - the lord of death, whom the Celts worshiped and whose day was November 1. Why was this holiday associated with death?

At the end of October, as a rule, the crop was already harvested, the nights (and days) became cold, and winter was approaching. And the cold, winter and lack of fertility have always been associated with death among the ancients. And this association served as the basis for Halloween. On the night of October 31 to November 1, according to the beliefs of the Celts, the doors between the worlds of the living and the dead opened - it was believed that only on this night the dead, along with various otherworldly dark forces, could enter our world and harm the living. Therefore, on the night of Samhain, the Celtic priests performed special rites to scare away evil spirits: they sacrificed animals, performed rites of worship to dark forces. The people themselves dressed in the skins and heads of animals to scare away the spirits, and also did not turn on the lights in the houses and left treats at the door to appease them.

In order to protect yourself from otherworldly forces for the whole next year, the Celts, together with the priests, gathered in the forest around the sacred fire, listened to predictions, sang and danced, and by the end of the night they took with them a piece of the sacred fire, which, it was believed, could provide protection from evil spirits to the house and the people living in it.

Samhain was considered best time for divination by the ancient Celts. For example, young girls threw two chestnuts into the sacred fire to find out how long their happiness with their beloved would last. If chestnuts burned next to each other, it means that lovers will spend their whole lives together. If the chestnuts rolled in different directions, this meant that the life paths of the lovers would also diverge.

Or, for example, another fortune-telling. On the night of Samhain, the girl lit a candle, sat down in front of a mirror and, eating an apple, began to comb her hair. After some time, the face of the betrothed must have appeared in the mirror. And if a candlestick fell on the night of Samhain, it was a bad omen, which meant that evil spirits were trying to interfere in the life and fate of the living inhabitants of the house.

This tradition of celebrating Samhain existed among the tribes of the Celts until the 1st century BC. AD, until the Romans conquered their territory and began to forcibly convert pagans to Christianity. The celebration of Samhain ceased, but the traditions of the holiday themselves continued to be passed down from generation to generation.

And only after the Christian holiday - All Saints' Day began to be celebrated in the 9th century on November 1 - Samhain began to be celebrated again, coinciding it with a new holiday. And that's when Halloween acquired its modern name. On the medieval English language"All Saints' Evening" sounds like "All Hallows Even", and in the abbreviation "Hallowe "en", and very briefly "Halloween".

Since then, pagan Halloween has been closely united in the minds of people with the Christian All Saints Day and is celebrated not only in English-speaking countries, but also in Asia, Australia and even New Zealand.

Halloween in our time and its main attributes

Starting from the 19th century, Halloween turns from a terrible holiday shrouded in mystical secrets into a fun masquerade. What are the main attributes of Halloween in our time?

In America, children often look forward to Halloween even more than Christmas or New Year, because it is on the night of October 31 to November 1 that they, dressed in costumes of various evil spirits, go from house to house demanding to treat them with sweets. By the way, according to research, Halloween in America sells great amount candies and other sweets - worth more than 2 billion dollars! This tradition, as you probably already guessed, comes from the ancient Celtic Samhain - when the owners of the houses put treats outside the door for evil spirits. Only now the “evil spirits” themselves come for a treat to the owners of the house with the words: “Trick or Treat ?!” then I'm messing up?!" Greedy owners are waiting for punishment - earlier, angry "evil spirits" threw eggs at their house, and now they use it more often toilet paper– until the roll is unwound.

Previously, such “going home” was practiced by the poor, who promised to pray for the deceased relatives of the owners in return for refreshments.

But, of course, the most important attribute Halloween is a pumpkin (the ancient Celts used turnips for this purpose), the core of which was cut out, and a candle was placed inside. Such structures are called "Jack's lamps" - in honor of the drunkard Jack, who managed to outwit the Devil himself twice, and after death he did not go to heaven (for his vicious life) or hell (because the Devil, during Jack's lifetime, swore not to take his soul ). And now Jack's soul wanders the earth with the same pumpkin lantern. By the way, the "Jack lamp" mounted on the head of a man wrapped in a white shroud makes the figure look like the same soul wandering the earth.

What does a pumpkin with a flashlight inside mean? The pumpkin means the end of the harvest, and the fire has two meanings: as a way to scare away evil spirits, and a fire that burns everything old, obsolete. By the way, for the same purpose of imitating the sacred fire on Halloween, electric bulbs and candles are lit everywhere. In the United States, candles are dyed black, purple, orange, or pink and must be flavored with cinnamon or other fragrant spices.

In many countries where Halloween is especially common, especially large varieties of pumpkins are grown especially for the holiday - after all, competitions for the best Jack O'Lantern are a very popular way to diversify the holiday. By the way, every year for the organization of such contests on Halloween at prestigious resorts and in expensive hotels huge amount of money is spent. The largest cash prize received for the best Jack O'Lantern is $25,000!

To scare away evil spirits, people dress up in costumes of evil spirits, put on scary masks and indicatively doing all sorts of "outrages". This tradition also has its origins in the traditions of the ancient Celts - when they dressed up in animal skins and gathered near the sacred fire for songs and dances.

The main colors on Halloween are black (a symbol of death and darkness) and orange (the color of a pumpkin, a symbol of the harvest). Purple, dark green, gothic combinations of black, white and red are also popular. Of the outfits for participants in masquerades, the outfits of witches, vampires, sorcerers, fairies, mermaids, ghosts, cats, bats and other nocturnal animals are especially favorite. As a musical accompaniment to parties or just Halloween masquerade processions, the sounds of howling wolves, hooting owls, sounds with a cemetery theme are very popular. Of the attributes, various aspen cola, crosses, rosaries, witches' staffs are popular.

The popularity of Halloween around the world

Halloween has found its greatest popularity in the United States and Canada - it is in these countries that the turnover of pre-holiday sales before Halloween is second in size only to the turnover of sales before Christmas. The most massive Halloween festivities are held in Los Angeles and New York, and 65% of houses, apartments and offices are decorated for the holiday.

Halloween is also celebrated massively and colorfully in Germany - on the night of October 31 to November 1, the most massive festivities take place in Frankenstein Castle in Darmstadt. Thousands of people in costumes gather here that night and believe that the ghost of the owner of the castle will appear on the roof on Halloween.

In France, the most massive festivities take place in the suburbs of Paris - at Disneyland in Limoges. The night from October 31 to November 1 usually gathers more than 30 thousand people here, and the parades of goblins, vampires and ghosts with "Jack lanterns" in their hands leave no one indifferent! By the way, all over France on Halloween in cafes and bars, everyone is offered "witch" dishes.

The Chinese celebrate Halloween as a day of remembrance of the ancestors: food, water and lanterns are placed in front of photographs of deceased relatives, designed to illuminate the path for the souls of their ancestors. The monks of Buddhist monasteries make special "boats of fate" out of paper, which are then burned so that their smoke helps the souls of their ancestors reach heaven.

In our country, Halloween is not yet celebrated on such a grand scale as in America or Germany. But even in our cities, nightclubs prepare special events for Halloween. holiday programs, decorate the halls in black and orange colors and put “Jack lamps” everywhere.

Yes, Halloween causes conflicting feelings among our compatriots: someone is its supporter, someone is viciously criticizing. Halloween is especially severely criticized by the Orthodox Church, which considers this holiday a form of paying tribute to dark forces. But still, maybe you shouldn't take Halloween so seriously, because it's just another reason to have fun and laugh at your fears of the other world!

The history of Halloween, whose roots date back to pagan times, is shrouded in mystery - more than two millennia ago on this night, people put on animal skins, gathered around fires bred by druid priests, and sacrificed animals.

Sputnik Georgia asked about the history of the holiday, its rituals and traditions, as well as how it is celebrated in 2019.

What is Halloween

How Halloween originated is not known for certain - according to one version, the holiday is based on the Celtic New Year, which was celebrated on November 1 in pre-Christian times.

According to legend, the Celtic tribes living in England, Ireland and Northern France divided the year into two parts - winter and summer. Accordingly, October 31 was considered the last day of the outgoing year, and also meant the end of the harvest and the transition to a new winter season.

According to Celtic belief, on the last night - from October 31 to November 1, the line between the worlds of the living and the dead was erased, and the inhabitants of the other world safely entered the light of God. The Celts called this night Samhain or Samhain.

And in order not to become victims of spirits and ghosts, the Celts extinguished the fire in their homes, and put on animal skins to scare away "uninvited guests". On the street near the houses, people left treats for the spirits, while they themselves gathered around the fires, bred by druid priests, and sacrificed animals.

After the sacrifice, people took the sacred fire home. The pumpkin was the symbol of the holiday. She not only meant the end of summer and harvest, but also frightened off evil spirits with a sacred fire that ignited inside her.

This tradition was passed down from generation to generation until the 1st century AD. After the Roman invasion, the Celts living on the islands of Britain and Ireland were forced to abandon most pagan rites and customs and adopt the Christian faith. However, the people remembered Samhain and passed on stories about him to their descendants.

All Saints' Day

By order of Pope Gregory III, they moved in the 9th century to November 1 - by this the Christian church wanted to eradicate pagan traditions However, the opposite happened - Samhain began to celebrate again.

In Old English, the holiday night sounded like All Hallows Even (Evening of All Saints), or abbreviated - Hallowe "en, and then even shorter - Halloween (Halloween). So the modern name of this holiday appeared - Halloween.

The church struggled for a long time with the custom of frightening and appeasing evil spirits on this day, but the pagan holiday not only survived, but also inextricably merged with church holiday in the popular mind.

Thanks to emigrants from the Old World, Halloween became famous in America in the 19th century. Over time, it began to be celebrated in European, as well as in some Asian countries. IN last years This holiday has become popular in the countries of the former Soviet Union, including Georgia and Russia.

The tradition of dressing up in costumes of various evil spirits on Halloween night has survived to this day and has become a favorite pastime - many go to special parties in clubs, dedicated to the holiday, an integral part of which are amazing and scary carnival costumes.

At the same time, people use not only masks and clothes of characters, but also completely recreate the image of the chosen hero, using makeup and accessories. On Halloween, scary characters are considered the most popular: vampires, monsters, witches, ghosts and other mystical heroes.

Halloween symbol

According to an ancient legend, a blacksmith-drunkard, nicknamed stingy Jack, went to drink in a tavern on the eve of All Saints' Day. In search of a new soul that day, the devil was there, who, having heard about the greed of the blacksmith, decided to buy his soul.

Jack, after some bargaining, agreed to sell his soul for booze, and Satan turned into a sixpence coin. But the cunning blacksmith was able to deceive the devil himself and, thereby, receive a promise from the unclean that he would never encroach on his soul.

And when Jack died, his sinful soul was not accepted, not only in hell, but also in heaven. And the blacksmith, unnecessary neither to the devil nor God, wandered in search of shelter, illuminating his way with a lantern carved from a hollow pumpkin, in which the remains of coals smoldered.

Whether this was actually unknown, but the pumpkin, with a very frightening face carved on it, which is illuminated from the inside by a burning candle, remains the main symbol of the holiday, as it was centuries ago.

According to tradition, people put pumpkin lamps on the porch and window sills - people believe that fire will drive away not only uninvited guests from another world, but also protect the house from envy, anger and negative energy.

In addition to vegetable lanterns, garden scarecrows, paper and plastic skeletons, cobwebs, candles, and compositions from dried plants and leaves are popular items for decoration. By tradition, the main colors of the holiday were all shades of orange and black.

Trick or treat?

Begging for sweets, one of the traditional entertainments of children on Halloween, became widespread in Western Europe and America at the end of the 19th century. On a holiday, children dressed as various monsters knock on the doors of houses and shout: "Trick or treat?", Which in translation means - "Trick or treat?".

Those who want to see dressed-up children on the doorstep of their house decorate the porch with Halloween symbols, and those who do not want to participate in the general fun simply put out a basket, trust filled with sweet treats.

"Zombie parade" on the eve of Halloween in Novosibirsk

The tradition of begging for food during church holidays, despite its current distribution, is rooted in the Middle Ages. In those distant times, the poor on a holiday sang prayers under the windows of the townspeople, hoping to receive food or money.

With Halloween, this tradition was first combined in the UK in 1895, when children in one of the villages changed into costumes and walked through the houses of their neighbors, begging for sweets.

Halloween Traditions

An integral part of Halloween are "ghost rides". In the USA, where such attractions are mainly spread, they are held every autumn. The first such entertainment was arranged in 1915.

At the same time, the technical equipment of these, peculiarly frightening parks, is constantly growing - thick fog, ominous sounds and rustles, mysterious music, creaks and special effects are used here for one purpose - to scare visitors.

The theme of Halloween is also widespread in Disneyland in all parks of the corporation on this holiday, thematic attractions are set up, where the scenery changes every year.

In North America today, special sweets are made for Halloween, called "candy-corn" and "candy-pumpkin". Sweets are mainly made from sweet molasses, gelatin, saxar and natural juice, in the form of pumpkin or corn cob, the recipe of which has practically not changed since the beginning of the 20th century.

In Ireland, for Halloween, they traditionally bake special bread, "barmbrek". This is a sweet bun with raisins, in which various objects are hidden - a ring, a coin, a pea, a piece of wood and a piece of matter.

According to the delivered item, you can find out your fate, so the ring means a quick wedding, a piece of wood - loneliness or divorce, a pea - celibacy, fabric - failure in money delax, and a coin is wealth.

A similar bread, cut in the form of toasts with butter, can now be found throughout the United Kingdom. In its factory versions, objects that signify the future are made of plastic or edible material.

Halloween is the second most commercially profitable holiday after Christmas and New Year's. In America alone, more than $2.5 billion is spent preparing for the holiday.

In France, the most impressive Halloween processions take place in the Disneyland suburb of Paris and in the city of Limoges, where more than 30,000 people come every year. It is there that the most memorable parades of goblins, vampires and ghosts take place, lighting their way with pumpkin lanterns.

In Germany, Halloween is celebrated no less colorfully. Frankenstein Castle in Darmstadt (Hesse) attracts thousands of people dressed in monster costumes on this night, and locals believe that on this night the ghost of the owner appears on the roof of the castle.

In China, Halloween is known as Teng Chieh, the day of remembrance of the ancestors. On this day, in front of photographs of deceased relatives, the Chinese put food and water, as well as a lantern that illuminates the path for the souls of ancestors traveling on Halloween night.

The darkest Halloween in the world is considered to be in Mexico. Mexicans at this time celebrate the Day of the Dead, go to the graves of their ancestors. There is no question of any fun.

Fortune telling on Halloween

Usually on Halloween, various fortune-telling was held for the betrothed, about the upcoming wedding, and even possible death.

In Scotland, for example, the maidens cut off the peel from apples so that it was as long as possible, and threw it over their shoulders. In the fallen peel, one could guess the name of the betrothed.

Another popular divination was that a girl in a dark house with a candle in her hand should climb the stairs with her back forward, and then hold the candle in front of a mirror. In the mirror, the girl was supposed to see her future husband, but she could also see her own death.

In addition, the girl on this night before going to bed needs to eat a piece of herring without drinking anything. Whoever brings her a cup of water in a dream will be her betrothed.

It is also believed that if you put an apple under your pillow on Halloween night and make a wish, and in the morning, when you wake up, eat this apple, then the wish will come true.

Material prepared on the basis of open sources

Story

Celtic holiday halloween or Night before All Saints Day celebrate annually on the night of October 31 to November 1 .
The tribes living on the territory of modern Ireland, Scotland and England divided the year into two seasons - winter and summer, and October 31 was the last day of the year.
According to traditions, it was on the night of October 31 to November 1 that evil spirits penetrated the earth.
In order to protect themselves from them, it was customary to dress up in scary costumes.
In the 19th century, many Irish, Scots and English emigrated to the New World.
The holiday migrated along with them and today Halloween is celebrated on the largest scale in the USA and Canada.
New York and Los Angeles became the real capitals of the holiday.

Christian Halloween Traditions

In the first century AD, the Romans conquered the Celtic territories.
During the 400 years that they spent on the lands of the Celts, not only the population, but also traditions mixed up: two Roman holidays were connected with Samhain.
The first is Feralia, celebrated at the end of October, something like the day of remembrance of the dead, and the second is in honor of the goddess of fruits and trees, Pomona. Its symbol was an apple, and hence the modern Halloween tradition of playing with apples.

Christianity supplanted the Druids in Great Britain and became the dominant religion, and in the 7th century, Pope Boniface IV approved November 1 as All Hallows Day, which was supposed to glorify saints and martyrs.
And the night before All Saints' Day became known as All Hallow's Eve. Over time, the name was reduced to Hallowe'en and eventually to Halloween.
Since then, in the celebration of this day, pagan mysticism in an incomprehensible way coexists with Christian.

In the year 1000, the church declared November 2 the Day of All Souls, on which it was supposed to commemorate not the saints, but the simple dead.
The commemoration was arranged in the likeness of Samhain - large bonfires, processions, dressing up in costumes of angels and devils.
Now all three dates are All Saints' Eve (October 31).
By the end of the 19th century, the mystical slant of Halloween was almost done away with, turning it into a public holiday.

Today, from the ancient pagan holiday, there is a set of funny and fascinating traditions.
On this night, it is customary to dress in costumes of evil spirits and arrange masquerades and processions.
Well, you can't miss a rare chance to feel like a witch or a demon!))

Halloween Attributes

Preparations for Halloween begin long before the holiday itself.

People celebrating the holiday decorate their apartments with pumpkins, artificial cobwebs, candles and dry leaves. The traditional colors of the holiday are orange and black.
Halloween paraphernalia on the eve of the holiday can be either made by hand or bought at any supermarket.
On Halloween, people also prepare baked cinnamon apples, pies, sweets and decorate them to match the holiday - paint ghosts, spiders, cobwebs, etc. with icing.

According to tradition, it is customary to distribute sweets to children who go from house to house and say the phrase “Trick or Treat” (Sweet or disgusting).

What is Halloween without a pumpkin lantern?!

You can't do without the main attribute of the holiday on Halloween - the Jack-O-Lantern, which is made from a round pumpkin and put a candle inside.

Where did the Jack O'Lantern come from?

The tradition of carving a scary face out of a pumpkin has been around for centuries. There is a legend about the greedy blacksmith and drunkard Jack, who deceived the devil three times and bargained for himself many years of carefree life, as well as a promise not to claim his soul after death. When the drunkard died, his soul did not go to heaven either.

Jack was forced to wander the earth in anticipation of Judgment Day, lighting his way with a piece of coal, which he put in an empty pumpkin head. Thus, according to the Celtic tradition, the Jack-O-Lantern was considered a lantern that helps souls find their way to purgatory.

Now it is believed that if a pumpkin lantern in the form of an evil face is placed on the threshold of your house, it will drive away evil spirits.

How to make a pumpkin lantern

You will need a beautiful and large pumpkin, a sharp knife with a thin blade, a spoon with a strong handle, a stencil and a felt-tip pen.
And, of course, a candle that we will install in a pumpkin.

Cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin. It can be round, square, large or small, as you wish.
Scoop out the seeds and pulp from the pumpkin with a spoon. Seeds can then be dried and roasted - pumpkin seeds You can eat it just like that, or you can use it to decorate dishes. The pulp will go to pies, soups, a variety of casseroles and desserts.
Draw a scary face on the pumpkin. Eyes, nose, mouth, teeth are best made larger, as they will need to be cut out, and the pumpkin usually has a very hard peel, it is not so easy to cut it.
At the bottom of the pumpkin, make a small recess for the candle so that it fits comfortably and does not fall.
Place a candle in the pumpkin and light it. Close the pumpkin with a lid.

Important! Be careful, do not forget about fire safety rules, do not place pumpkin lanterns near flammable objects.

To draw a scary face on a pumpkin, use our stencil:

You can come up with it yourself or print the finished drawing of the desired size.

If you are making a pumpkin lantern for the first time, start with a simple pattern and a medium sized pumpkin.
You can cut with an ordinary knife, and special knives for carving, and even with a drill (especially if the pumpkin has thick walls - it’s convenient to make holes with a drill along the entire contour and continue working with a knife).
If you have experience and a large, very large pumpkin is at hand, then you can make it double-sided (Pumpkin-Castle on the back side - Bat).
An interesting effect can be given to the pattern if only the skin and the top layer of pulp are cut off - the light will gently shine through the remaining thin wall.

When the drawing is cut out, you need to put a candle on the bottom and return it to its place.
You can fix it with toothpicks so that the bottom does not fall out.
How smaller pumpkin, the less it is better to take a candle (so that the pumpkin does not smoke at the top).
If the pumpkin is very small, then it is better to make several holes at the top of the handle to let hot air out.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is one of the oldest holidays the English-speaking world, second only to Christmas in popularity. And while millions of people celebrate Halloween without knowing the origins of Halloween, knowing the history of Halloween and the myths and legends associated with it makes this spooky, fun holiday even more interesting.

And this holiday is rather ambiguous: and although some people consider it a great way to have fun and have fun, some perceive it as a time of superstition and all sorts of devilry.

Halloween is celebrated on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. Initially, it was a pagan holiday - a day of honoring the dead. Halloween was called All Hallows Eve (the eve of All Saints' Day), and its roots went back centuries, no less - to the beginning of our era.

All Saints' Eve - as its name implies - the evening before All Saints Day, the day that Christians dedicated to their patron saints and on which pagans were converted - November 1st.

Origins of Halloween

According to one version, the authorship of the holiday is attributed to the Druids - the Celtic people who lived in Ireland, Britain and Northern Europe. The progenitor of Halloween was Samhain (Samhain), which was celebrated at the end of October. Samhain meant the end of summer: and this day they thanked for the harvest, burned sacred fires, seeing off old year and meeting a new one.

The Celts believed that on this day the souls of the dead roam among the living. In order for the spirits of ancestors to contribute to a good harvest next year, they tried to appease them with treats and gifts. It was this custom that transformed into trick-or-treating, "muck or sweetness" - a children's Halloween tradition of going from house to house, begging for candy.

Many also believe that Halloween is somewhat of a Christian holiday, as it is celebrated on the eve of All Saints' Day.

9 Myths Behind Halloween Symbols

1 - Witches

Witch outfit is the most popular woman suit on Halloween, and the silhouette of a witch on a broom against the background of the full moon is one of the typical symbols of the holiday. It is believed that on the night of November 1, the power of witches increases many times over. The image of an old witch (witch) in a pointed hat (pointy hat), stirring her brew in a huge cauldron (cauldron), was transformed from the pagan image of the goddess known as Mother Earth or the Crone, and symbolizing wisdom and the change of seasons.

2 - Jack-o'-Lantern, "Jack Lantern"

According to Celtic folklore, there was once a cunning Irish farmer named Jack who tried to deceive both God and the devil. As a result, he did not go to hell (hell) or paradise (paradise), and since then he was forced to wander in the darkness of purgatory (purgatory). In order not to wander in complete darkness, Jack made a lantern out of turnips, inserting into it an ember thrown to him by the devil from hell.

Thus, the jack-o'-lantern (namely, the name of a pumpkin lantern with an ominous face carved on it) was created in order to guide lost souls. The ancient Celts put the jack-o'-lantern on the threshold of their house to attract the spirits of their ancestors to their hearth.

3 - Black cats

The eternal symbol of misfortune, the black cat is the most popular image of Halloween. The reputation of black cats was tarnished during the time of the witch hunt: then the furry companions of witches were considered incarnations of demonic entities. And many believed that sometimes the image of a black cat was taken by Satan himself.

4 - Bats

According to some medieval beliefs, the bats(bats), like black cats, were the embodiment of dark forces. Many believed that if a bat flew around your house three times on the eve of All Saints' Day, death would come into it. Another chilling myth: if a bat flies into a house on Halloween, it is inhabited by ghosts (haunted).

5 - Spiders

Everyone is afraid of spiders: the most excellent symbol of the most terrible holiday of the year! According to an old belief, if a spider falls on a candle (candle) and burns in its flame (flames) - a witch is nearby. And another, sad, but romantic myth says: if a spider catches your eye on Halloween, you are guarded by the spirit (spirit) of a deceased lover or beloved ...

6 - Witch's cauldron

According to the beliefs of the pagan Celts, after death, the soul of a person fell into the cauldron (cauldron) of Mother Earth, in which the souls awaited subsequent reincarnation.

7 - "Disgusting or sweet"

According to popular beliefs, on Halloween the dead walk among the living, and if you refuse to treat anyone who knocks on your door, you can inadvertently offend the soul of the deceased (which is fraught with dire consequences). Therefore, the children's tradition of trick-or-treating is so popular: no matter what house you knock on, no one will leave you without a sweet gift.

8 - Corn cobs and sheaves of wheat

Halloween is considered the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, so ripe wheat (wheat) and corn (corn) are also symbols of this holiday (unfortunately, not scary at all).

9 - Ghosts

On Halloween night, according to legend, the spirits (ghosts) of dead ancestors roam among the living. Therefore, ghosts are one of the typical symbols of Halloween.

5 facts about Halloween

1 - Halloween generates profits for stores second only to those from Christmas sales.

A holiday that once did not require special preparation, in the modern English-speaking world is celebrated on a large scale, involving solid spending. Ornamental garlands, front lawn decorations, elaborate expensive costumes, tons of candy - it all costs a pretty penny (i.e. a penny)!

Harry Houdini died October 2-31, 1926

The famous magician died on Halloween Eve after being punched in the stomach while performing a trick a week earlier. The blow led to peritonitis, and Houdini never went to the doctor, which was the reason for such a sad end.

3 - Halloween phobia

Samhainophobia is a strong fear of Halloween that causes panic attacks in those who are prone to it. Other phobias of this season: wiccaphobia (fear of witches), phasmophobia (fear of ghosts), coimetrophobia (fear of cemeteries).

4 - The first Jack-o'-lanterns weren't made from pumpkins.

Initially, jack-o'-lanterns were made from scraped turnips, and earlier, not terrible faces were carved on turnips, but the faces of deceased relatives.

5 - A quarter of all candy sold in the US in a year is on Halloween

Despite the fact that Christmas and Thanksgiving are considered the main holidays of gluttony in the United States, Halloween confidently holds the palm in the field of all kinds of sweets, candies and chocolates. Children, be vigilant: 90% of parents admit that they eat sweets from a basket with collected sweets. And the most popular, both among adults and children, has been enjoying for many years ... the Snickers bar!

25 Halloween Idioms

Witches, ghosts and skeletons

witch-hunt - witch hunt

Harassing people for bogus reasons. The expression has its roots in the Middle Ages, when thousands of young women in Europe were killed on suspicion of witchcraft.

He was the victim of a witch-hunt and was fired because of his radical ideas for developing the company.

He was the victim of a witch hunt and was fired for his radical ideas for the development of the company.

witching hour - dead of night

“Witch hour” is the dead of night, the very hour when, it is believed, witches, ghosts and other evil spirits gather for the Sabbath.

I would never leave the house at witching hour on Halloween!

I would never leave the house in the dead of night on Halloween!

skeleton in the cupboard - a terrible secret

The expression "skeleton in the closet" has already entered the Russian language, and it means an old and terrible secret.

Mrs Mills has a skeleton in the cupboard: in 2002 she was caught stealing stationery from her employer.

Mrs. Mills has a terrible secret: in 2002, she was caught stealing office supplies from her employer.

skeleton staff - the backbone (of a company, team)

The smallest number of people needed to do the job.

My firm only has a skeleton staff at weekends.

In my company on weekends there is only the main staff.

a ghost town

An abandoned city where no one lives anymore.

All the young people have left our village and it's like a ghost town now.

All the youth have left our village and now it looks like a ghost town.

spirited away - mysteriously abducted

Letters. "Spirited away" - disappeared without a trace and inexplicably.
Example:

According to legend, she was spirited away by witches in the middle of the night.

According to legend, she was kidnapped by witches at midnight.

Blood

to chill the blood - scare

Also to make the blood run cold - scare, frighten, letters. "cool the blood"

The screams from the haunted house made my blood run cold.

in cold blood - in cold blood

Act coolly or ruthlessly.

They killed their former friend in cold blood.

They murdered their former neighbor in cold blood.

to make one's blood boil - infuriate

Letters. "to make the blood boil" - to bring to an extreme degree of rage, rage.

It makes my blood boil to think that he was promoted to Manager before I was.

When I think that he was promoted to manager before me, the blood boils in my veins.

out for one's blood / after one's blood - thirst for revenge

Letters. "thirst for blood" (often the expression is used in a humorous context).

We beat them at football, and now they are after our blood.

We defeated them in football and now they want revenge.

Weapon

to put / stick the knife in - to do something mean, unpleasant

Letters. "Plunge the knife"

He really put the knife in when he told her that nobody at work liked her.

He literally plunged a knife into her back when he told her that no one at work loved her.

to look daggers at - “look like a wolf” at someone.

Letters. "look at someone. daggers": throw evil glances, "throw lightning".

Her husband's ex-wife looked daggers at her.

Her husband's ex-wife glared at her.

to stab in the back - betray

Letters. "stab in the back"

We let him stay in our home, but he stabbed us in the back by telling lies about us to everyone.

We allowed him to stay in our house, but he stabbed us in the back, spreading false rumors about us.

Owls, rats, bats and cats

bats in the belfry - “not everyone is at home”

If someone has “bats in the bell tower”, this means that this person is eccentric or a little crazy.

I think my neighbor has bats in the belfry: his house is full of thousands of old newspapers and magazines.

I think my neighbor is a little “that”: there are thousands of old newspapers and magazines in his house.

a night owl - "owl" (temperament)

Letters. A "night owl" is a person who is more active at night than during the day.

I'm a night owl: I do my best work in the evenings and at night.

I am a night owl: I work better in the evenings and at night.

to smell a rat - smell a catch

Letters. "smell a rat": to feel a catch, to suspect deception.

Her new boyfriend said he is a doctor, but I smell a rat: I think he's lying.

Her new boyfriend said he was a doctor, but I suspect a hoax: I think he's lying.

a rat - traitor

Letters. "rat" (after all, they are the first to flee from a sinking ship).

He's a rat. He sold our plans for the new business to a rival company.

He is a traitor. He sold our plans for a new venture to a competitor.

not a cat in hell's chance - not the slightest chance

Initially, the expression sounded like this: “No more chance than a cat in hell without claws” (“No more chance than a cat without claws in hell”). Complete lack of chance, hopeless situation.

We hadn't a cat in hell's chance of rescuing our possessions from the fire.
We didn't have the slightest chance to save our property from the fire.

Fear

to be scared stiff - petrified with fear

Being scared to the point of complete immobility.

I was scared stiff when I saw the ghostly face at my window.

When I saw the ghost's face in the window, fear seized me.

to scare the pants off someone - to scare someone badly.

To scare you unconscious, to hell, to death (and literally - “until your pants drop”).

Halloween scares the pants off me!

Halloween scares the hell out of me!

Madness

a Jekyll and Hyde personality - dual personality

An expression referring to Dr. Jekyll - Mr. Hyde, a character of R. L. Stevenson (" Strange story Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"). A personality that combines opposite character traits, positive and negative.

Everybody thinks he is a lovely old man, but he can be very cruel and heartless: he has a Jeckyll and Hyde personality.

Everyone thinks he is a charming old man, but he is very cruel and heartless: a dual personality.

as mad as a hatter - out of your mind

If someone is "mad as a hatter", he is absolutely insane. The origin of this expression is believed to have been influenced by the fact that the hatters used mercury in their work and this caused them nervous breakdowns, which made them look like madmen.

Be careful when you talk to him, he's as mad as a hatter.

Be careful when talking to him, he is absolutely insane.

bedlam - complete confusion, mess

The word comes from the name Bethlem Royal Hospital (Bethlem Royal Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital of Bethlehem) - a London hospital for the mentally ill.

It's the school holidays and it's bedlam in our house.

It's school holidays and bedlam reigns in our house.

to be driven out of one's mind - "go crazy"

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