Halloween: traditions and customs, costumes, masks. history of the holiday

In this article we will tell you about the popular Halloween feast, the traditions of which are rooted in the distant past.

Samhain

The Celtic tribes, who lived in Europe more than two thousand years ago, divided the year into two parts - winter and summer. When they finished harvesting, and it was at the end of November, it was time to celebrate the end of the summer season. On the Samhain holiday, the Druids raised bonfires to ward off the inhabitants of the other world from human settlements. On this day the housewives cooked a treat for their ancestors and left it on the thresholds of their houses. Men put on themselves skins of animals to scare away the evil spirits from the village. Adults and children gathered around the fire, offered sacrifices, and then took sacred fire to warm their homes.

The History of Halloween

This terrible and mysterious holiday eventually turned into a frivolous and cheerful Halloween. This happened after Christianity densely occupied positions throughout the world, and the Catholic Church began an active struggle against the remnants of paganism. The easiest way to do this was by replacing traditional festivals with official Christian ones. So All Hallows Even (mass of all the saints) turned into Hallowe'en, and then into Halloween. On the eve of All Saints Day, the Irish and some other nations continued to honor the old traditions, but gradually they forgot that they really symbolized. When residents of the Old World began active resettlement on the American continent, they brought their holidays with them. So Halloween caught on in the US and Canada, and then got there tremendous popularity. In the late 20th and early 21st century, the tradition to celebrate the eve of All Saints Day returned to Europe, and at the same time spread to Russia and the Asian countries.

Who is Jack?

The most famous symbol of this holiday is a pumpkin, which was first gutted, and then cut out on it a terrible grinning mug. Halloween, whose traditions originate from ancient Samain, did not always pass the way we used to see it. Once Europeans carved lanterns from turnips and rukkavy, put candles in them and put unusual lights on the doors of houses to scare off evil spirits on a terrible day. Later, a legend appeared about the Irishman Jack, a well-known drunkard and scoundrel. It was he who went around the finger of Satan several times, than he very angry the unclean. When it was time to die, Jack refused to let in the heavenly tabernacles. The master of the underworld also did not want to see the merry Irish in his possessions and drove him out. Since then, the unfortunate man has to hang around the roads until the Day of Judgment, lighting his way with a piece of devil's coal. In the 19th century, a tradition appeared in the United States to cut Jack's lanterns out of pumpkins, as this vegetable culture was very common. And in our time the orange color has even become a symbol of the holiday, and decorations in the form of pumpkins can be seen in autumn everywhere.

Halloween and popular culture

Since the tradition to celebrate the eve of All Saints Day has returned to Europe, the film industry has been swept by a huge tree of projects on the theme of Halloween. So, since the 80s of the last century, many horror films have been shot, the main characters of which met during a festive night with maniacs and murderers. In the light came a series of pictures of a comedic nature for family viewing, where children are struggling with the ancient evil and eventually celebrate victory over it. Producers of such popular animated series as "The Simpsons" or "South Park", could not leave a popular topic aside. Therefore, almost every season included episodes in which supernatural events took place, the main characters turned into zombies and were involved in amazing adventures. The atmosphere of Halloween surprisingly accurately managed to convey in Tim Burton's feature-length animated film "The Nightmare Before Christmas". In the music business, the theme of the sinister holiday was also not ignored. As an example, we can cite the work of the German band Helloween and the parodic Italian metal band Trick or Treat.

Halloween Distinctive Features

This fun holiday is easy to learn from others by the following signs:

• The premises inside and out are decorated in bright orange and black colors, everywhere you can see such symbols of autumn as village scarecrows and pumpkin lamps.
• Adults and children dress up in costumes of popular heroes of horror films. For example, girls like to pretend to be witches in pointed hats, and boys prefer to appear in the form of a mummy or a ghost.
• The main themes of this holiday are occultism, evil in all its manifestations, monsters and monsters of all stripes.

It is for this fun pastime of children and adults that they love Halloween. Traditions of this holiday we will describe in detail below.

Costumes

This favorite element of the festive action appeared not so long ago - at the beginning of the 20th century. At first, children wore only masks, but they looked pretty scary in them. However, over a hundred years the costumes evolved, acquired bright shades and helped turn the holiday into a real show. Modern American children dress up not only in costumes of monsters, but also with pleasure try on themselves the role of pop culture stars. Also you can meet girls dressed as a princess, queen or fairy. Let's consider more in detail the most popular carnival images:

• Halloween vampire - this costume includes trousers, a white shirt and a long black cloak with red underpants. The owner of this image necessarily complements his insertable fangs, which he demonstrates with pleasure to all comers. The Halloween vampire is not only elegantly dressed, but also has a stylish hairstyle and makeup face in pale shades.
• Witch - this lady usually wears a wide skirt, high striped knee-high socks and a pointed hat. To complement the image will allow a shaggy wig, bright makeup and accessories such as a broom and a witch's cauldron. In the latter, by the way, it is very convenient to fold the donated candies.
• Doctor-maniac is the most simple, and therefore very popular costume. It is enough for him to just take a white coat and a hat, and then abundantly water the clothes with red paint. Complement the image of a toy ax in his hands and a stethoscope on his neck.

Grimm to Halloween

The right suit will allow you to stand out from the crowd, and correctly applied makeup will make you the star of the party.

• Zombie-face on Halloween - to perform this make-up you will need not only ordinary cosmetics, but also aquagrim. The essence of the image is that one half of the face is painted with white, draws a shadow that emphasizes the cheekbone, and a colored lens is inserted into the eye, which visually increases the iris. The second half of the face is bright and effective make-up, highlighting the eyes and lips.
• Vampire - this makeup for Halloween at home is the easiest thing to do. For him you will need a set of usual cosmetics, red paint, burgundy lipstick and overhead fangs. Stress the eyes and cheekbones, make up your lips, and under them draw a drop of blood. Put on the fangs and glue the long eyelashes.
• The face-lightning - the Halloween make-up can be very frightening. To do this, you just need to glue an open lightning of a corporal color on your face, and paint your nose and chin with a red paint that mimics the color of blood.
• Puppet's face for Halloween - this image can be created thanks to correctly applied make-up. So, it is necessary to put a homogeneous pale tone on the forehead, cheeks, lips and eyebrows, and then draw new unnatural facial features with bright cosmetics. Finish the image of false eyelashes glued to the upper and lower eyelids.

Makeup for Halloween at home can do everyone, but it's better to practice doing it in advance. In this case, at a critical moment, you will be sure that you will be at the height. Do not forget to come up with original Halloween hairstyles, because they will help you make your imagined image complete.

Menu for a festive party

Properly prepared dishes for Halloween can scare even the most staunch of your guests. On the table put simple snacks in the form of severed limbs, torn teeth and eyes, as well as depicting insects, spiders and worms. We offer you several recipes for simple dishes that will decorate the most horrific party:

• String on a wooden skewer of a grape of one size so that the whole structure resembles a caterpillar. Make her eyes for peppercorns or dry cloves, and then lay out the fruit shish kebabs on the plate and put it on the table.
• The witch's fingers are one of the most popular treats for Halloween. First, prepare a short pastry for your favorite recipe and peel almonds or peanuts from the shell. Chop some chocolate in a water bath. Blind from the dough blanks that resemble long fingers, in place of the nail, press in half of the nut, and then use a brush to paint thin strips on the bend with the chocolate. Bake the cookie until cooked.
• Ghosts - ready muffins decorate with whipped cream, and then paint your eyes and mouth with melted chocolate.

Entertainment

It is necessary to carefully develop a cultural program, so that guests will remember the party for Halloween for a long time. Traditions of this holiday involve not only dancing and buffet table, but also more active activities. For example, play the famous game "Sweetness or muck", strolling around the neighbors and demanding candy from them. Also you can play with the thematic "Mafia", arrange a costume contest and prepare creative numbers.

Decoration of the room for a party

Where to celebrate Halloween best? Someone prefers to attend events organized by clubs and various organizations, but we recommend that you take this important matter into your own hands. To do this, you need to prepare an entertainment program, invite guests, prepare a festive reception and dress up in a fancy dress. However, the picture will not be complete if you do not design the venue in the right style. To do this, use the following ideas:

• Inflate the white balls, draw large eyes on them, and then hang them to the ceiling with a white transparent cloth. Lovely ghosts are ready.
• Get a couple of dozen tennis balls at the nearest sports store, and in the shop for creativity buy the same number of toy eyes. Join these objects and decorate your interior with terrible glances.
• Pumpkin is an indispensable symbol of Halloween, so cut out lanterns and masks from it.
• Cut out the black cardboard of bats, and cover the candles with red paraffin so that the streaks resemble blood streams.

Halloween in Russia

In our country, the tradition to celebrate the eve of All Saints Day is not as popular as in the West. However, many shops, clubs, shopping centers decorate their premises in ominous black and orange tones. Also, this holiday is fond of schoolchildren, who with pleasure prepare terrible costumes and treats. It's not surprising that Halloween for teens provides an opportunity for self-expression. Young people prefer to celebrate a holiday in clubs or organize thematic parties. Thus, Halloween in Russia has just started gaining popularity, but already many of our compatriots have become his furious fans.