Halloween...Did you know?

Happy Halloween from Robin Hood!

Why do we dress up, ask for candy, gross each other out and enjoy acting ridiculous?

To find the answer I checked the ultimate source of course, Wikipedia!

What I found were many descriptions of and slight variations of the origins and meaning of "Halloween."

Did you know?

-Halloween is not only celebrated in the U.S. but also countries like Belgium, Scotland, Italy and Canada, to name a few.

-The carved Jack O' Lantern was originally a carved turnip

-There are many explanations of  the origin of what we call Halloween. The over riding theme is that Halloween is to celebrate and welcome the souls of the dead to return home on one night or day of the year. This seems to have ancient origins and is found in many cultures throughout the world

-Today's Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by Christian dogma and practices derived from it. Halloween falls on the evening before the Christian holy days of All Hallows' Day on November 1 and All Soul's Day on November 2, thus giving the holiday on October 31 the full name of All Hallows' Eve.

 "Souling", the custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for all christened souls, has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating.The custom dates back at least as far as the 15th century and was found in parts of England, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Italy. Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door during "Hallowmas", collecting soul cakes as a means of praying for souls in purgatory.

What do ghosts put on their bagels?....Scream Cheese!

- Dressing up in costumes and going "guising" was prevalent in Ireland and Scotland at Halloween by the late 19th century^. Costuming became popular for Halloween parties in the US in the early 20th century, as often for adults as for children. The first mass-produced Halloween costumes appeared in stores in the 1930s when trick-or-treating was becoming popular in the United States.

- At one time, candy apples were commonly given to trick-or-treating children, but the practice rapidly waned in the wake of widespread rumors that some individuals were embedding items like pins and razor blades in the apples in the United States.While there is evidence of such incidents, relative to the degree of reporting of such cases, actual cases involving malicious acts are extremely rare and have never resulted in serious injury.

- A popular variant of trick-or-treating, known as trunk-or-treating (or Halloween tailgaiting), occurs when "children are offered treats from the trunks of cars parked in a church parking lot," or sometimes, a school parking lot In a trunk-or-treat event, the trunk (boot) of each automobile is decorated with a certain theme,such as those of children's literature, movies, scripture and job roles.Because the traditional style of trick-or-treating was made impossible after Hurricane Katrina, trunk-or-treating provided comfort to those whose homes were devastated.  Trunk-or-treating has grown in popularity due to its perception as being more safe than going door to door, a point that resonates well with parents.

Trunk or Treating.....Photo from Wikipedia

Personally speaking I have always been equally intrigued and a little weirded out by Halloween and so only celebrate it every other year or so. Seems to always be a few out there who take it too far with the costumes and grotesque pranks. Also, I am a total baby when it comes to anything scary. For example to my recollection I have only seen two horror movies in my e n t i r e life. "The Exorcist"  and "The Fourth Kind". Two were too many for me!

Have a great Halloween!

Had to add this....My Grandma Mary won $$ in the costume contest!