Why do we celebrate Halloween?

Website design By BotEap.comUntil the 19th century, Halloween was celebrated as nothing more than the eve of a major church party. All Saints’ Day was also called “All Saints’ Night”, since hallow was another word for saints. The day is also the celebration of the Celtic New Year, the end of summer and the beginning of a long season of sadness and darkness. This was also believed to be the time when ghosts were most likely to cross over from the spirit world. People sought safety by disguising themselves as ghosts and demons to trick the spirits into passivity. Much of the tradition of Halloween has been lost in the United States, where the holiday is considered simply a costume party involving celebrities or uniformed workers. However, whichever side of the Atlantic you find yourself on, Halloween is the most fun and naughty holiday of the year.

Website design By BotEap.comThe October semester break provides the perfect opportunity to have some Halloween fun with your family. Here are some ideas to get started.

Website design By BotEap.comGet your yard out! Thrift stores offer many raw materials to create a terrifying landscape in front of your home. Buy second-hand rubber masks, pants, and long-sleeved shirts. Stuff their “bodies” with newspaper and use safety pins or sewing thread to join the pieces together. Hang your new carcasses from a tree for visual impact.

Website design By BotEap.comFor truly ghoulish fun, each member of the family can create a zombie in their own image using their own clothing. Form the heads out of white or gray fabric stuffed with newspaper and cover them with hats. Tuck the ends of the fabric into the collars of the shirts. The faces can be painted or drawn with markers. Stab zombies with stakes or old cutlery and liberally apply fake blood.

Website design By BotEap.comA game of Skin the Cat is another fun Halloween tradition. It is played in the dark and is best played around the kitchen table because it can get dirty. The leader begins by describing that he has a dead cat for a witch spell and everyone around the table must pass their limbs, organs, and various body parts into the cauldron. The leader then passes around a piece of artificial fur and tells everyone, “I have skinned the cat and here is his fur.” The leader then continues passing other pieces of the cat, including peeled grapes, cold spaghetti, and raw meat (or eyeballs, intestines, and the heart).

Website design By BotEap.comSpooky Halloween food is fun to serve. Try shaping the meatballs into little mice with round carrot slices for ears and capers for eyes. Serve with spaghetti dipped in tomato sauce. Serve this with a blood-colored punch mixing cranberry and grape juice. Frozen water inside an inflated latex glove floating inside your punch bowl gives it a nice ghostly touch. For dessert, you can make traditional witch’s finger cookies by coloring the sugar cookie dough with green food coloring. Shape the dough into knobby fingers and use almond slices for the nails.

Website design By BotEap.comYoung children will enjoy jumping through the apples; however, this year, instead of floating in a bowl of water, tie strings around the stems and hang them from a door frame. This wiggling method is just as fun, but your hair and makeup will stay dry.

Website design By BotEap.comComplete your Halloween preparations by carving and styling pumpkins. Gather the family around the kitchen table (preferably already decorated) and carve dozens of small pumpkins. Light them with tea lights, place them outside, and these ominous, flickering lanterns can be used to lure Halloween visitors to your spooky front door.