Halloween

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

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.

Although a secular holiday, it's date it intentionally close to the Catholic holiday of All Saints Day - a day of respect for the dead, hence the name - 'all-hallow's-eve' becomes 'halloween', over time.

Carved pumpkin.

Colors orange and black are traditionally associated with Halloween as well as costumes of witches, ghosts, famous monsters, skeletons, and devils; also seasonal foods like Caramel apples, pumpkins, pumpkin pie, caramel corn, and candies.

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. In the 1980s trick-or-treating declined in some places because of (false) rumors of poisoned treats, 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

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.

Further reading

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