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Happy Halloween 2017


Description of Halloween is from Halloween – October 31 | National Day Calendar

"Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related “guising”), attending costume parties, decorating, carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted house attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories and watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows’ Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular. Although, in other locations, these solemn customs are less pronounced in favor of a more commercialized and secularized celebration. Because many Western Christian denominations encourage, although no longer require, abstinence from meat on All Hallows’ Eve, the tradition of eating certain vegetarian foods for this vigil day developed, including the consumption of apples, colcannon, cider, potato pancakes, and soul cakes."

HISTORY
"Dating back to an ancient pagan harvest festival marking the end of summer and beckoning the beginning of winter, seasons overlapped during Samhain (pronounced sah-win) and revelers believed the worlds of the living and the dead crossed. To interact with the spirits, the living would wear costumes and light bright bonfires to help protect them.
Similar celebrations honoring the dead took place in Roman traditions which were gradually blended and soon replaced the Celtic ceremonies.  All Martyrs Day established by Pope Boniface IV in 609 A.D. was eventually moved by Pope Gregory III to November 1 which later became known as All Saint’s Day. The eve of this celebration became known as All Hallows Eve or Halloween.
Through the Colonial era in America, Halloween celebrations were considered taboo due to religious beliefs. By the Victorian era, though, Halloween traditions featured fall festivals, parties and foods involving communities and neighborhoods."           Halloween – October 31 | National Day Calendar
I like Halloween but no children visit houses for candy in my area.  Maybe times are too dangerous.  I don't know. When we visited our grandson in New York we all got dressed up in costumes and went to the local park. It was still enjoyable.  This year we can't go so it will just be Lynette and I watching horror shows on TV.

Comments

  1. I am sad at the gradual decline of trick or treat. I miss dressing up and passing out candy.

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  2. I'm not a fan of the scary and gory, but I like Halloween for the little kids being excited and dressing up. Happy Halloween, John!

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  3. Have fun with your horrors!!! We're doing the same later on! Happy Halloween! :)

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  4. Sorry but Halloween means nothing to me.

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  5. Interesting read.
    Hope you enjoyed your time at home with your wife watching horror movies which I don't mind if they are not too far fetched, they have to make sense to me :)

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