Amie
10-27-2006, 11:09 PM
I love Halloween. I have no idea why, I just do.
I like to put that fake spider web all over the front of the house and stick fake spiders in it. We had these stick on alien foot prints for a while that I put on our porch. I wish that I could find some replacements, those were cool. I also traditionally hang "Mr. Bones" (named by my children) near the web.
This year my eight year old daughter will be a vampiress :). She intends to be a beautiful walking undead. We'll hit up the neighborhood for a good quarter of a pillowcase full of candy.
My fourteen year old son 'wasn't feeling' the costumes. We went all over the city and none of them 'did it' for him.
This year I haven't decorated the house yet. I have a pain in my neck/shoulder area that I'm actually going to see the doctor over. It has been hurting off and on for quite a while.
Anyhow, we're going to head out this weekend in the hopes that there will be some stuff on sale. We have a loooong black cape with a huge hood. If we can get a deal on a fog machine or a strobe light, or ideally both, we can just disorient some folks walking to get candy from a person standing still, hidden under the cape - that may not be a person (buh-wah-ha-ha-ha!!). My son does like that idea :).
Hopefully little by little we can build a nasty theme in the front yard. Probably a grave yard with zombies, vultures in the tree.. stuff like that. I am considering doing a torture theme though.
I found some stuff online about the origin of Halloween:
The origin of Halloween dates back before Christ. The Celtics' mythology taught that with the coming of winter, a season of the dead, came a night in which the spirits of the dead could freely roam about with humans. Some of these spirits would inflict suffering and violence upon man. To appease the spirits and the gods that were worshipped, the Celtic people would put out their best food offerings on the doorstep. Celtic priests would also offer sacrifices, animal and human, to the gods to ask for a return of the sun and in hopes that the gods would chase away the evil, frightening spirits. Often, the Celtics would wear dreadful costumes, hoping to fool an evil spirit with the disguise.
I wonder if it has any historical connection with the Mexican "Days of the Dead". I'm thinking that it does at least in the Southern US where cultures combine :). Here's info on that:
Every autumn Monarch Butterflies, which have summered up north in the United States and Canada, return to Mexico for the winter protection of the oyamel fir trees. The locale inhabitants welcome back the returning butterflies, which they believe bear the spirits of their departed. The spirits to be honored during Los Dias de los Muertos.
Los Dias de los Muertos, the Days of the Dead, is a traditional Mexico holiday honoring the dead. It is celebrated every year at the same time as Halloween and the Christian holy days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day (November 1st and 2nd). Los Dias de los Muertos is not a sad time, but instead a time of remembering and rejoicing.
The townspeople dress up as ghouls, ghosts, mummies and skeletons and parade through the town carrying an open coffin. The "corpse" within smiles as it is carried through the narrow streets of town. The local vendors toss oranges inside as the procession makes its way past their markets. Lucky "corpses" can also catch flowers, fruits, and candies.
In the homes families arrange ofrenda's or "altars" with flowers, bread, fruit and candy. Pictures of the deceased family members are added. In the late afternoon special all night burning candles are lit - it is time to remember the departed - the old ones, their parents and grandparents.
The next day the families travel to the cemetery. They arrive with hoes, picks and shovels. They also carry flowers, candles, blankets, and picnic baskets. They have come to clean the graves of their loved ones. The grave sites are weeded and the dirt raked smooth. The Crypts are scrubbed and swept. Colorful flowers, bread, fruit and candles are placed on the graves. Some bring guitars and radios to listen to. The families will spend the entire night in the cemeteries.
Skeletons and skulls are found everywhere. Chocolate skulls, marzipan coffins, and white chocolate skeletons. Special loaves of bread are baked, called pan de muertos, and decorated with "bones.
Handmade skeleton figurines, called calacas, are especially popular. Calacas usually show an active and joyful afterlife. Figures of musicians, generals on horseback, even skeletal brides, in their white bridal gowns marching down the aisles with their boney grooms.
The celebration of Los Dias de los Muertos, like the customs of Halloween, evolved with the influences of the Celtics, the Romans, and the Christian holy days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. But with added influences from the Aztec people of Mexico.
The Aztecs believed in an afterlife where the spirits of their dead would return as hummingbirds and butterflies. Even images carved in the ancient Aztec monuments show this belief - the linking the spirits of the dead and the Monarch butterfly.
Anyone know any other facts that are related to Halloween or maybe about some customs pertaining to the dead or undead?
What will you be doing (if anything) this Halloween?
Oh, and Happy Halloween!
Amie
I like to put that fake spider web all over the front of the house and stick fake spiders in it. We had these stick on alien foot prints for a while that I put on our porch. I wish that I could find some replacements, those were cool. I also traditionally hang "Mr. Bones" (named by my children) near the web.
This year my eight year old daughter will be a vampiress :). She intends to be a beautiful walking undead. We'll hit up the neighborhood for a good quarter of a pillowcase full of candy.
My fourteen year old son 'wasn't feeling' the costumes. We went all over the city and none of them 'did it' for him.
This year I haven't decorated the house yet. I have a pain in my neck/shoulder area that I'm actually going to see the doctor over. It has been hurting off and on for quite a while.
Anyhow, we're going to head out this weekend in the hopes that there will be some stuff on sale. We have a loooong black cape with a huge hood. If we can get a deal on a fog machine or a strobe light, or ideally both, we can just disorient some folks walking to get candy from a person standing still, hidden under the cape - that may not be a person (buh-wah-ha-ha-ha!!). My son does like that idea :).
Hopefully little by little we can build a nasty theme in the front yard. Probably a grave yard with zombies, vultures in the tree.. stuff like that. I am considering doing a torture theme though.
I found some stuff online about the origin of Halloween:
The origin of Halloween dates back before Christ. The Celtics' mythology taught that with the coming of winter, a season of the dead, came a night in which the spirits of the dead could freely roam about with humans. Some of these spirits would inflict suffering and violence upon man. To appease the spirits and the gods that were worshipped, the Celtic people would put out their best food offerings on the doorstep. Celtic priests would also offer sacrifices, animal and human, to the gods to ask for a return of the sun and in hopes that the gods would chase away the evil, frightening spirits. Often, the Celtics would wear dreadful costumes, hoping to fool an evil spirit with the disguise.
I wonder if it has any historical connection with the Mexican "Days of the Dead". I'm thinking that it does at least in the Southern US where cultures combine :). Here's info on that:
Every autumn Monarch Butterflies, which have summered up north in the United States and Canada, return to Mexico for the winter protection of the oyamel fir trees. The locale inhabitants welcome back the returning butterflies, which they believe bear the spirits of their departed. The spirits to be honored during Los Dias de los Muertos.
Los Dias de los Muertos, the Days of the Dead, is a traditional Mexico holiday honoring the dead. It is celebrated every year at the same time as Halloween and the Christian holy days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day (November 1st and 2nd). Los Dias de los Muertos is not a sad time, but instead a time of remembering and rejoicing.
The townspeople dress up as ghouls, ghosts, mummies and skeletons and parade through the town carrying an open coffin. The "corpse" within smiles as it is carried through the narrow streets of town. The local vendors toss oranges inside as the procession makes its way past their markets. Lucky "corpses" can also catch flowers, fruits, and candies.
In the homes families arrange ofrenda's or "altars" with flowers, bread, fruit and candy. Pictures of the deceased family members are added. In the late afternoon special all night burning candles are lit - it is time to remember the departed - the old ones, their parents and grandparents.
The next day the families travel to the cemetery. They arrive with hoes, picks and shovels. They also carry flowers, candles, blankets, and picnic baskets. They have come to clean the graves of their loved ones. The grave sites are weeded and the dirt raked smooth. The Crypts are scrubbed and swept. Colorful flowers, bread, fruit and candles are placed on the graves. Some bring guitars and radios to listen to. The families will spend the entire night in the cemeteries.
Skeletons and skulls are found everywhere. Chocolate skulls, marzipan coffins, and white chocolate skeletons. Special loaves of bread are baked, called pan de muertos, and decorated with "bones.
Handmade skeleton figurines, called calacas, are especially popular. Calacas usually show an active and joyful afterlife. Figures of musicians, generals on horseback, even skeletal brides, in their white bridal gowns marching down the aisles with their boney grooms.
The celebration of Los Dias de los Muertos, like the customs of Halloween, evolved with the influences of the Celtics, the Romans, and the Christian holy days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. But with added influences from the Aztec people of Mexico.
The Aztecs believed in an afterlife where the spirits of their dead would return as hummingbirds and butterflies. Even images carved in the ancient Aztec monuments show this belief - the linking the spirits of the dead and the Monarch butterfly.
Anyone know any other facts that are related to Halloween or maybe about some customs pertaining to the dead or undead?
What will you be doing (if anything) this Halloween?
Oh, and Happy Halloween!
Amie