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[[Image:Halloween.gif|right|300px]]

[[Image:Halloween.gif|right|300px]]

'''Halloween''', is a tradition originating in [[Ireland]] and celebrated on the evening of October 31, before All Hallows Day (or All Saint's Day).

'''Halloween''', is a tradition originating in [[Ireland]] and celebrated on the evening of October 31, before All Hallows Day (or All Saint's Day).  Halloween continues to be related to the harvest and represents a participative ritualization not only of the timeless fears of uncertainty and death but also of the modern fears of transition from rural to urban life.

 

In the [[United States]], Halloween is marked by the activity of trick-or-treating. Trick-or-treat traditionally involves the children dressing in costumes, and going to various locations, generally houses, requesting candy at each.

In the [[United States]], Halloween is marked by the activity of trick-or-treating. Trick-or-treat traditionally involves the children dressing in costumes, and going to various locations, generally houses, requesting candy at each.

[[File:Pumpkin carved.jpg|thumb|250px|Carved pumpkin.]]

[[File:Pumpkin carved.jpg|thumb|250px|Carved pumpkin.]]

==History==

==History==

From a pagan holiday traceable to the ancient Celts, the event became known as All Saints Day during the 8th century. [[Irish Catholics]] in America in the late 19th century introduced the event as a copy of Irish traditional folklore. They substituted pumpkins for turnips and secular costumes for those of saints by the mid-19th century. By the 1920s community efforts tried to sanitize the carnival spirit and reduce vandalism.  Trick-or-treating became common 1940, further transformed Halloween into a rite of consumerism and moving the age profile to younger children. Starting in the 1960s trick-or-treating declined in some places and was closely monitored elsewhere because of (false) rumors of poisoned treats; "The Razor Blade in the Apple" was a made-up urban legend that truly frightened parents.<ref>Joel Best and Gerald T. Horiuchi, "The Razor Blade in the Apple: the Social Construction of Urban Legends," ''Social Problems'' 1985 32(5): 488-499</ref>, and in the 1990s the holiday has increasingly drawn upon the cult-horror genre for its inspiration. Halloween in America by the late 20th century was a big moneymaker for candy makers and costumers.  

From a pagan holiday traceable to the ancient Celts, the event became known as All Saints Day during the 8th century. Waning belief in ghosts, goblins, and witches toward the end of the 18th century further transformed All Saints' Day into a ripsnorting holiday in Ireland and especially in Scotland. [[Irish Catholics]] in America in the late 19th century introduced the event as a copy of Irish traditional folklore. They substituted pumpkins for turnips and secular costumes for those of saints by the mid-19th century. By the 1920s community efforts tried to sanitize the carnival spirit and reduce vandalism.  Trick-or-treating became common 1940, further transformed Halloween into a rite of consumerism and moving the age profile to younger children. Starting in the 1960s trick-or-treating declined in some places and was closely monitored elsewhere because of (false) rumors of poisoned treats; "The Razor Blade in the Apple" was a made-up urban legend that truly frightened parents.<ref>Joel Best and Gerald T. Horiuchi, "The Razor Blade in the Apple: the Social Construction of Urban Legends," ''Social Problems'' 1985 32(5): 488-499</ref>, and in the 1990s the holiday has increasingly drawn upon the cult-horror genre for its inspiration. Halloween in America by the late 20th century was a big moneymaker for candy makers and costumers.  

==Hell houses==  

==Hell houses==  

Pellegrini (2007) and Fletcher (2007) examine the rising phenomenon of hell houses, evangelical alternatives to haunted houses, in reaction to the perceived occult and pagan nature of Halloween. Religious feelings are communicated by the medium of theater presented in these hell houses. Evangelicals such as Rev. [[Pat Robertson]] have decried the celebration of Halloween as 'performing Satanic rituals' since the 1970s, but they decided to present alternative educational devices for children. Beginning with [[Jerry Falwell]]'s ScareMare in 1972, an increasing number of evangelical churches have turned to performances in order to missionize younger generations. In the 2001 documentary 'Hell House' that such evangelical tools became well known. The theater of the houses also offers an opportunity for the church members to face their fears rather than avoid them, and it offers participants the 'fun' of being evil without engaging in pagan rituals.<ref>Ann Pellegrini, "'Signaling Through the Flames': Hell House Performance and Structures of Religious Feeling,"  ''American Quarterly'' 2007 59(3): 911-935; John Fletcher, "Tasteless as Hell: Community Performance, Distinction, and Countertaste in Hell House, ''Theatre Survey'' 2007 48(2): 313-330. </ref>  

Pellegrini (2007) and Fletcher (2007) examine the rising phenomenon of hell houses, evangelical alternatives to haunted houses, in reaction to the perceived occult and pagan nature of Halloween. Religious feelings are communicated by the medium of theater presented in these hell houses. Evangelicals such as Rev. [[Pat Robertson]] have decried the celebration of Halloween as 'performing Satanic rituals' since the 1970s, but they decided to present alternative educational devices for children. Beginning with [[Jerry Falwell]]'s ScareMare in 1972, an increasing number of evangelical churches have turned to performances in order to missionize younger generations. In the 2001 documentary 'Hell House' that such evangelical tools became well known. The theater of the houses also offers an opportunity for the church members to face their fears rather than avoid them, and it offers participants the 'fun' of being evil without engaging in pagan rituals.<ref>Ann Pellegrini, "'Signaling Through the Flames': Hell House Performance and Structures of Religious Feeling,"  ''American Quarterly'' 2007 59(3): 911-935; John Fletcher, "Tasteless as Hell: Community Performance, Distinction, and Countertaste in Hell House, ''Theatre Survey'' 2007 48(2): 313-330. </ref>  

==Further reading==

==Further reading==

* Hybertsen, Karen Sue. "'The Return of Chaos': The Uses and Interpretations of Halloween in the United States from the Victorian Era to the Present", ''Dissertation Abstracts International'' PhD dissertation Drew University 1993 54(6): 2185-A. DA9331586, 286p. [[File:Halloween.jpg|200px]]

 

* Hybertsen, Karen Sue. "'The Return of Chaos': The Uses and Interpretations of Halloween in the United States from the Victorian Era to the Present", ''Dissertation Abstracts International'' PhD dissertation Drew University 1993 54(6): 2185-A. DA9331586, 286p.  

* Santino, Jack, ed. ''Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life,'' (U. of Tennessee Press, 1993). 280 pp. academic study

* Santino, Jack, ed. ''Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life,'' (U. of Tennessee Press, 1993). 280 pp. academic study