“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, ‘tis near Halloween” Author Unknown
Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition, personally my second favourite celebration after Christmas.
What’s not to like about the Halloween celebration, it’s so much fun and mischief!
Think trick-or-treating (I’m just “marginally” too old for this one), Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories and watching horror films.
We had an incredibly exciting and busy last week fulfilled with shopping for Halloween decorations and lots of scary party food, decorating the house in endless spider webs, pumpkins, fake spiders (with occasional live additions) and obviously watching lots of horror films!
Guys have you ever wondered, every year we wear scary outfits, bob for apples and carve pumpkins on Halloween – but WHY?
There are different “schools of thought”, some believe that Halloween originates from the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain, meaning ‘Summer’s End’ which celebrated the end of harvest season.
Gaels believed that it was a time when the walls between our world and the next became thin and porous, allowing spirits to pass through, come back to life on the day and damage their crops.
The Christians would honour saints and pray for souls who have not yet reached heaven, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration.
Halloween and dressing up
It all started with Celts dressing up in white with blackened faces during the festival of Samhain to trick the evil spirits that they believed would be roaming the earth before All Saints’ Day on November 1st.
By the 11th century, this had been adapted by the Church into a tradition called ‘souling’, which is seen as being the origin of trick-or-treating. Children go door-to-door, asking for soul cakes in exchange for praying for the souls of friends and relatives.
In the 19th century, souling gave way to guising or mumming, when children would offer songs, poetry and jokes – instead of prayer – in exchange for fruit or money.
Costumes became more adventurous in the Victorian ages, they were influenced by gothic themes in literature, and dressed as bats and ghosts or what seemed exotic, such as an Egyptian pharoah. Later, costumes became influenced by pop culture, and became more sexualised since 1970s.
Halloween trick-or-treating
The phrase trick-or-treat was first used in America in 1927, with the traditions brought over to America by immigrants. Halloween quickly became a widespread holiday that revolved around children.
Why do we carve pumpkins?
The carving of pumpkins originates from the Samhain festival, when Gaels would carve turnips to ward off spirits and stop fairies from settling in houses.
The influx of Irish immigrants in the 1840s to North America could not find any turnips to carve, as was tradition, so they used the more readily available pumpkin into which they carved scary faces.
By the 1920s pumpkin carving was widespread across America, and Halloween was a big holiday with dressing up and trick-or-treating.
You must agree that there is a fair bit of mystery, magic and superstition surrounding the whole concept of Halloween.
We avoid crossing paths with black cats, afraid that they might bring us bad luck but why? This idea has its roots in the Middle Ages, when many people believed that witches avoided detection by turning themselves into black cats.
We try not to walk under ladders for the same reason. This superstition may have come from the ancient Egyptians, who believed that triangles were sacred.
Then especially around Halloween we try to avoid breaking mirrors, stepping on cracks in the road or spilling salt. The list is endless!
Halloween Matchmaking
But what about the Halloween traditions and beliefs that today we have forgotten all about?
In particular, many had to do with helping young women identify their future husbands and reassuring them that they would someday be married.
There are so many tales out there and I have just picked a few. One of the tales mentions that if a young woman ate a sugary concoction made out of walnuts, hazelnuts and nutmeg before bed on Halloween night she would dream about her future husband.
Young women used to toss apple-peels over their shoulders, hoping that the peels would fall on the floor in the shape of their future husbands’ initials.
At some Halloween parties, the first guest to find a burr on a chestnut-hunt would be the first to marry; at others, the first successful apple-bobber would be the first down the aisle.
How about standing in front of mirrors in darkened rooms, holding candles and looking over shoulders for your future husbands’ faces? This one is a bit creepy, not sure I would dare to do this (omitting that fact that I’m already happily married).
The history is all mesmerising but without further adieu keep scrolling down to discover my Halloween’s costume choice!
Guys I hope you enjoyed a few memories from our Halloween party. What do you think about this costume? What is your favourite Halloween costume? Let me know in the comments box below.
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those tips are excellent and really good article
Amazing shooting!
Have a nice week!
Gil Zetbase
thank you lovely. I wanted to browse through your website but I keep getting lots of error messages suggesting that your web is offline xx
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http://us.blastingnews.com/news/2017/11/meet-the-9-year-old-who-wants-cards-for-his-last-christmas-002141131.html
Awesome costume for Halloween! That is so amazing!
Xo,
Miki
http://mikialamode.com
thanks hun! I quite enjoyed wearing it!! thanks for stopping by xx
I love your costume! It’s so cute.
http://sugarcoatedbears.blogspot.com/
Great Halloween post. Your costume and decoration are amazing. You look fantastic. xoxo Cris
https://photosbycris.blogspot.com.au/2017/06/have-for-health.html
Love these Halloween vibes! 🙂
X Merel
http://www.andathousandwords.com
Your costume is so amazing, I love the makeup too
xo
http://www.laurajaneatelier.com
thank you Laura! xx
So many neat facts about Halloween, thanks for sharing!
Excellent Halloween post!! Especially loving those tights!!
Rebecca
xx
http://www.peppermintdolly.com
thanks Rebecca! xx
So fun! I love this!
xx
Lauren Elizabeth
Petite in Pearls
Such fun and successful Halloween costumes dear! I love the decorations too, and the makeup is extraordinary! Bravo! Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
Stella
http://stellaasteria.com
Wow that is some serious Halloween costume and decoration! and the info behind how the traditions came about was really interesting
Wow!! Really so cool dear 🙂
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This is a great Halloween post. You look stunning in your costume and love the decorations.
Ah! Your costume is so much fun and you did a fabulous job with the overall look – especially makeup! Also, that small black glittered spooky house is such a chic decoration for Halloween, love it!
aglassofice.com
x
Haha I love Halloween, you look great !
http://www.pardonmyobsession.com/
everything is preety cool. good work
Firstly how amazing is your Halloween decor!! I’m very jealous! It looks fantastic! And it’s great to read the history behind Halloween as I didn’t know most of that.
Your Halloween decor is on point! I love all the costumes!
xxoo
Mary
http://www.BelleONTrend.com
I absolutely love your Halloween costume, you look so scary and chic at the same time! I am also very impressed with all the amazing Halloween decorations! xx
http://www.gloryofthesnow.com
Loving how festive you are with your costume and decorations!
XO, Jessi
https://www.mywhitet.com/transition-makeup-day-night/
Looks so fun! Great photos.
xoxo Falasha
Bite My Fashion
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Your Halloween costume is amazing!!!
Jennifer
Effortlessly Sophisticated
Wowww 😳 What a beautiful and cool 😎 Halloween look … love ❤️ it! Happy Halloween Gorgeous! 😘👍😘
🍂🍁LA BIJOUX BELLA 🍂🍁| by mia | A Creative Lifestyle Blog
Fantastic post! It’s so much more into Halloween than meets the eye, thanks for sharing all the info. I love coming back here as you always have really interesting posts with lots of info and tips!
Your photography is brilliant! You look well scary with that make up! You did a great job, once again! Love xx
Wow! This is one awesome costume! You look so authentic. I really like what you did with the make up, well scary!
All the decorations are fabulous.
Love the video, it’s well spooky! Good work lovely xo