Simply mentioning the word ‘Halloween’ is enough to make us feel spooky, isn’t it? It is nothing surprising given the fact that Halloween is a festival associated with mystery, horror, and terror. Well, there is also the famous movie franchise “Halloween”, but that is a topic for another day.

What exactly is Halloween? Where & how did it originate?

For those who don’t know, Halloween (which used to be known as “All Hallows Eve” back in the day) is celebrated every year on the 31st of October, which is one day before All Saints’ Day (formerly known as All Hallows’ Day), celebrated on the 1st of November.

All Saints’ Day is all about paying respect, honouring and remembering both known and unknown saints of the Catholic church who have attained spiritual maturity as well as Christian martyrs, whereas Halloween is more about commemorating the dead. However, with time, Halloween became less of a religious festival and more of a traditional festivity.

The origin of Halloween seems to be interesting. Although it is made a big deal in the US, with the festival only being second to Christmas, its origin dates back to the Celtic festival of ‘Samhain’.

Samhain was a festival that included lighting sacred bonfires, making sacrifices to the Celtic deities in the form of crops and animals, and also, wearing costumes consisting of animal heads and skin to ward off evil spirits and ghosts.

The Celts were known to inhabit present-day Ireland and, with Romanization and, later on, Christianity being spread to Western Europe, Samhain made its way into Halloween, with many of its components assimilated with Roman festivals and also with a tinge of religiosity coming from Christianity. Therefore, I would not be surprised if the Irish came forward and claimed that this festival was their idea.

Enough about the history. Let us move on to the exciting bits, like, what are some fun activities for Halloween?

There is trick or treat to start with. I mean, that is everyone’s favourite, unless, of course, you aren’t a sweet tooth. There is also the Halloween dress-up, where people of all ages dress up to depress others rather than impress. Just kidding. Well, people with terrible fashion sense could fall into the latter category, but most folks try their best to think outside the box and dress up creatively yet spookily.

What else comes to your mind when you think of Halloween? Oh! right. The angry-looking pumpkins! Did you know those carved pumpkins were called Jack-o’-lanterns? I bet you didn’t. The backstory of this weird but cool form of art is pretty crazy if you ask me. There is a legend that there was an Irish blacksmith who, after passing away, found himself being rejected from both heaven and hell, the latter due to a deal he made with the devil. However, the devil took pity on him and offered him hot coal to light up his turnip lantern so that he could wander off the earth in search of a resting place.

Come to think of it, almost every item included in Halloween has some sort of connection with Samhain or, for that matter, the Irish.

If not for them, Halloween would have been less interesting, right?

Another important thing that cannot be missed when it comes to Halloween is movies. Halloween movies have been and will always be a part and parcel of this festivity. If you are not a fan of both or either one of the thriller or horror genres, then this is one to skip. So many Halloween movies have been released so far, with most of them being in the form of franchises, but the franchise “Halloween” remains at the top. It is like the Godfather of all Halloween movies. Some other movies/movie franchises to look out for are: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and even Coraline.

There is more, but it is the dear reader’s duty to find out which. Anyway, if you’re free this coming 31st but too lazy to dress up & party or even try out those decorative ideas, why not ask your friends to come over and watch one of those Halloween movies with popcorn and soda by the side? You can make memories of a lifetime with little effort, but it is all going to be worth it in the end.

We may not know how to celebrate Halloween in and out, but we will make the best out of it in the best way possible.

Written by: Rtr. Inuri Hettiarachchi

Graphic design by: Rtr. Malithi Fernando