Halloween: traditions and customs, costumes, masks. history of the holiday

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

In this article we will tell you about the popular Halloween holiday, the traditions of which are rooted in the distant past.

Samhain

Celtic tribes, who lived in Europe more than two thousand years ago, divided the year into two parts - winter and summer. When they finished harvesting, and it was at the end of November, it was time to celebrate the end of the summer season. On the holiday of Samhain, the Druids made bonfires to ward off the inhabitants of the other world from the human settlements. On this day, housewives cooked treats for their ancestors and left them on the doorsteps of their homes. Men put on animal skins to scare away evil spirits from the village. Adults and children gathered around the fire, made sacrifices, and then took the sacred fire to warm their homes with it.

Halloween Story

This scary and mysterious holiday eventually turned into a frivolous and fun Halloween. This happened after Christianity firmly took positions throughout the world, and the Catholic Church began an active struggle against the remnants of paganism. The easiest way to do this was to replace traditional festivities with official Christian ones. So All Hallows Even (the mass of all saints) turned into Hallowe'en, and then intoHalloween. On the eve of All Saints' Day, the Irish and some other peoples continued to honor the old traditions, but gradually forgot what they really symbolized. When the inhabitants of the Old World began active migration to the American continent, they brought their holidays with them. So Halloween took root in the United States and Canada, and then gained immense popularity there. At the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, the tradition of celebrating the eve of All Saints' Day returned to Europe, and at the same time spread to Russia and Asian countries.

Who is Jack?

The most famous symbol of this holiday is the pumpkin, which was first gutted and then cut into a scary grinning face. Halloween, whose traditions originate in ancient Samhain, has not always been the way we are used to seeing it. Once upon a time, Europeans carved lanterns from turnips and rutabaga, put candles in them and put unusual lamps outside the doors of houses to scare away evil spirits on a terrible day. Later there was a legend about the Irishman Jack, a famous drunkard and scoundrel. It was he who circled Satan himself several times, which greatly angered the impure one. When the time came to die, they refused to let Jack into heaven. The owner of the underworld also did not want to see the cheerful Irishman in his possessions and drove him out. Since then, the unfortunate one has been forced to wander along the roads until Judgment Day, lighting his way with a piece of devilish coal. In the 19th century, the tradition of carving Jack-o'-lanterns from pumpkins appeared in the United States, since this vegetable crop was very common. And in our timeorange has even become a symbol of the holiday, and pumpkin-shaped decorations can be seen everywhere in autumn.

Halloween and popular culture

Since the tradition of celebrating Halloween returned to Europe, the film industry has been flooded with a huge wave of Halloween-themed projects. So, since the 80s of the last century, many horror films have been shot, the main characters of which met during the festive night with maniacs and murderers. A number of comedy films for family viewing were also released, where children fight ancient evil and eventually celebrate victory over it. The producers of such popular animated series as "The Simpsons" or "South Park" could not leave aside a popular topic. Therefore, almost every season included episodes in which supernatural events took place, the main characters turned into zombies and were involved in amazing adventures. The atmosphere of Halloween was surprisingly accurately conveyed in Tim Burton's full-length cartoon The Nightmare Before Christmas. In the music business, the theme of the sinister holiday also did not go unnoticed. As an example, we can cite the work of the German band Helloween and the parody Italian metal band Trick or Treat.

Halloween hallmarks

This fun holiday is easy to recognize from others by the following signs:

• The interiors and exteriors are being adorned in bright orange and black, and fall symbols such as rustic scarecrows and pumpkin lanterns are everywhere.
• Adultsand kids dress up as popular horror movie characters. For example, girls love to pretend to be witches in pointed hats, while boys prefer to appear as a mummy or a ghost.
• The main themes of this holiday are the occult, evil in all its manifestations, monsters and monsters of all stripes.

It is for this fun pastime that kids and adults love Halloween so much. We will describe the traditions of this holiday in detail below.

Costumes

This favorite element of the festive action appeared not so long ago - at the beginning of the 20th century. At first, the children only wore masks, but they looked pretty creepy in them. However, over a hundred years, the costumes have evolved, acquired bright colors and helped turn the holiday into a real show. Modern American children dress up not only in costumes of monsters, but also with pleasure try on the role of pop culture stars. You can also meet girls dressed as princesses, queens or fairy tales. Let's take a closer look at the most popular carnival looks:

• Vampire Halloween - This costume includes trousers, a white shirt and a long black cape with red lining. The owner of such an image necessarily complements it with false fangs, which he gladly demonstrates to everyone. The Halloween vampire is not only elegantly dressed, but also has a stylish hairstyle and makeup in pale colors.
• Witch - This lady usually wears a wide skirt, high striped knee socks and a pointed hat. Complement the image will allowa shaggy wig, bright makeup, and accessories such as a broom and a witch's cauldron. In the latter, by the way, it is very convenient to put donated sweets.
• Maniac Doctor is the simplest and therefore very popular costume. For him, it is enough just to take a white robe and a hat, and then pour plenty of red paint on the clothes. A toy ax in the hands and a stethoscope around the neck will complete the look.

Halloween Grimm

The right costume will make you stand out from the crowd, and well-applied makeup will make you the star of the party.

• Zombie face for Halloween - to perform this makeup, you will need not only ordinary cosmetics, but also face painting. The essence of the image is that white is applied to one half of the face, shadows are drawn that emphasize the cheekbone, and a colored lens is inserted into the eye, which visually enlarges the iris. A bright and spectacular make-up is applied to the second half of the face, highlighting the eyes and lips.
• Vampire - This Halloween makeup is the easiest to do at home. For him, you will need a set of ordinary cosmetics, red paint, burgundy lipstick and false fangs. Emphasize the eyes and cheekbones with shadows, make up the lips, and draw drops of blood under them. Put on fangs and stick on long eyelashes.
• Lightning Face - Halloween makeup can be very intimidating. To do this, you just need to glue an open flesh-colored zipper on your face, and paint your nose and chin with red paint that imitates the color of blood.
• Halloween doll face - this image can be created thanks toproperly applied makeup. So, you should apply a uniform pale tone on the forehead, cheeks, lips and eyebrows, and then draw new unnatural facial features with bright makeup. False eyelashes glued to the upper and lower eyelids will complete the look.

Halloween makeup at home everyone can do, but it's better to practice doing it in advance. In this case, at a crucial moment, you will be sure that you will be on top. Don't forget to come up with original hairstyles for Halloween, as they will help you complete the intended image.

Holiday party menu

Properly prepared Halloween dishes can scare even the most persistent of your guests. Simple snacks are placed on the table in the form of severed limbs, torn teeth and eyes, as well as depicting insects, spiders and worms. We offer you some recipes for simple dishes that will decorate the most terrifying party:

• Thread grapes of the same size onto a wooden skewer so that the whole structure resembles a caterpillar. Make eyes for her out of peppercorns or dry cloves, then arrange the fruit skewers on a plate and set it on the table.
• Witch fingers are one of the most popular Halloween treats. To get started, make shortcrust pastry according to your favorite recipe and peel almonds or peanuts. Melt some chocolate in a water bath. Blind dough blanks resembling long fingers, press half a nut into place of the nail, and then with a brushdraw thin strips of chocolate on the folds. Bake cookies until done.
• Ghosts - Decorate the finished cupcakes with whipped cream, then draw the eyes and mouth with melted chocolate.

Entertainment

It is necessary to carefully develop a cultural program so that guests will remember the Halloween party for a long time. The traditions of this holiday involve not only dancing and a buffet table, but also more active activities. For example, play the famous game "Trick or Treat" by walking around the neighbors and demanding candy from them. You can also play with themed Mafia, arrange a costume contest and prepare creative numbers.

Party Room Decoration

Where is the best place to celebrate Halloween? Some people prefer to attend events organized by clubs and various organizations, but we recommend that you take this important matter into your own hands. To do this, you need to prepare an entertainment program, invite guests, prepare a festive buffet and dress up in a fancy dress. However, the picture will not be complete if you do not decorate the venue in the right style. To do this, use the following ideas:

• Inflate white balloons, draw big eyes on them, and then hang them from the ceiling, throwing a white transparent fabric over them. Cute ghosts are ready.
• Get a couple of dozen tennis balls at your local sports store, and buy the same number of toy eyes at the craft store. Connect these objects and decorate with scarypeepers your interior.
• Pumpkin is an irreplaceable symbol of Halloween, so cut out lanterns and masks from it.
• Cut out bats from black cardboard, and cover the candles with red paraffin to make the smudges look like trickles of blood.

Halloween in Russia

In our country, the tradition of celebrating the eve of All Saints' Day is not as popular as in the West. However, many shops, clubs, shopping centers decorate their premises in ominous black and orange colors. This holiday is also loved by schoolchildren who are happy to prepare scary costumes and treats. Not surprisingly, Halloween for teenagers provides an opportunity for self-expression. Older young people prefer to celebrate the holiday in clubs or arrange themed parties. Thus, Halloween in Russia has just begun to gain popularity, but many of our compatriots have already become its ardent fans.