The Memorabilia Shop: <center>Halloween</center>

Halloween traditionally on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints' Day, but is today largely a secular celebration.

The name Halloween was first used in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even (evening), the night before All Hallows Day. Up through the early twentieth century, the spelling "Hallowe'en" was frequently used, omitting the v and shortening the word. Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English, the feast of all saints, All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556.

In those days Halloween was thought to have a more sinister side where the border between the Otherside and this world was thinner and both good and evil spirits could pass through it easier. People used to dress up as evil spirits to avoid being hurt by the passing evil spirits.

Today Halloween is largely a fun day where people decorate their houses and gardens and have Halloween parties and dress up in fancy dress as ghosts and witches, characters from horror films or even just general fancy dress and some think they have made an effort by just putting on a black bin bag. Once dressed up the children usually with an adult go from door to door playing trick-or-treat. This is is where they knock on the door and when the unsuspecting householder opens it they shout Trick or Treat. Usually the householder gives them sweets or apples but if he they don't who knows what may happen, eggs and fruit normally get thrown at the windows and doors. My daughter has been known to come away with a haul of sweets so big she has enough to last her until Christmas.

People wrongly think that Trick or Treating is an American tradition but it actually originates from Britain and Ireland. This is presumably because up until recent years it as only really been observed in America but like most things these days it is slowly coming across the Atlantic with retailers realising they can make some money out of it.

Another Halloween tradition is carving pumpkins with scary faces and putting candles inside to make jack o'lanterns.

Today Halloween has led to many films being made about the subject, especially the very succsesful Halloween Franchise of 10 films starring Michael Myers as the main murderous character and along with other scary films are watched by people on Halloween.

Thanks to Wikipedia for help with some of the info in this Blog.

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