Halloween

Halloween elisandra:



Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of its original title "All Hallows'Evening"),[5] also known as All Hallows' Eve,[6] is a yearly holiday observed around theworld on October 31, the eve before the Western Christian feast of All Hallows. According to some scholars, All Hallows' Eve initially incorporated traditions from pagan harvest festivals and festivalshonoring the dead, particularly the Celtic Samhain;[6][7][8] other scholars maintain that the feast originated entirely independently of Samhain.[9]

Typical festive Halloween activitiesinclude trick-or-treating (also known as "guising"), attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scarystories, and watching horror films.





The word Halloween was first used in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows'-Even("evening"), that is, the nightbefore All Hallows' Day.

Games and other activities


[pic]
In this Halloween greeting card from 1904, divination is depicted: the young woman looking into a mirror in a darkened room hopes tocatch a glimpse of the face of her future husband.

There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween parties. One common game is dunking or apple bobbing, which may be called"dooking" in Scotland[45] in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin.

he telling of ghost stories and viewing ofhorror films are common fixtures of Halloween parties. Episodes of television series and Halloween-themed specials (with the specials usually aimed at children) are commonly aired on or before theholiday, while new horror films are often released theatrically before the holiday to take advantage of the atmosphere.

Haunted attractions

Main article: Haunted attraction


[pic]...