Halloween

costumes

OBVIOUS SIMILARITIES suggest at least a notional link between the present-day Halloween custom of wearing costumes and trick-or-treating on October 31 and the Medieval practices of "mumming" and "ginga_souling" on the eves of All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2). Mumming took the form of wearing costumes, chanting, singing, play-acting, and general mischief making, while souling entailed going door to door and offering prayers for the dead in exchange for treats, particularly "soul cakes."

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/halloween/a/Why-Do-We-Wear-Costumes-Halloween.htm




Candy

● Historically, the practice of giving out candy because in ancient Rome people would give out sweets

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_people_give_out_candy_on_Halloween#slide9

Nowadays, candy is given out to ward off tricks and vandalism done by children if they don’t get treats. This vandalism can be a simple toilet papering of the persons house, throwing eggs, to more violent actions like, breaking windows or starting fires.



Jack O’lanterns?

THE NAME "jack-o'-lantern" is of British origin and dates from the 17th century, when it literally meant "man with a lantern"

"a lantern made by scooping out the inside of a turnip, carving the shell into a rude representation of the human face, and placing a lighted candle inside it."

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/halloween/a/Why-Do-We-Carve-Pumpkins-On-Halloween.htm




Facts

Trick-or-treaters get enough candy to add about 3 pounds to their weight. The thousands of calories of fat and sugar may taste good, but they can do a lot of damage. Fortunately, most young people can eat anything they want and get away with it.

Halloween is a $7 billion enterprise, making up 8 percent of all U.S. sweets sales. It's a huge boost for the economy before the holiday season begins in earnest. We spend more than $2 billion on costumes nationwide.

http://www.diamondbackonline.com/opinion/article_861167b2-3cfa-11e3-8c60-001a4bcf6878.html





Pet costumes

Come on, guys. Look at that number. $330 million on pet costumes. That’s about one-sixth of the money spent on human costumes. That money could be used on just about anything else — we could help the poor, pay for education, support worthwhile charities. But we choose pet costumes.

Best costumes

Movies/cartoons

Nothing makes us feel like kids again more than Halloween. All of our greatest memories associated with the spooky holiday conjure up snapshots of crafty costumes and cavity-inducing treats. In the days leading up to Halloween, creepy cartoons always set the mood with spine-tingling tales and famous animated characters channeling the dark side.

Pumpkins

Christian influence

Samhain was later transformed as Christian leaders co-opted pagan holidays. In the seventh century Pope Boniface IV decreed November 1 All Saints' Day, or All Hallows' Day.

The night before Samhain continued to be observed with bonfires, costumes, and parades, though under a new name: All Hallows' Eve—later "Halloween."

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

cooler fall weather and a tepid economy may put a slight chill on this year's celebrations. Almost 158 million consumers will take part in Halloween activities this year, down a bit from 2012's 170 million people, which was the high mark in the decade since the survey began.

The average person will spend a bit less this year too, the survey found: a total of $75.03 on decorations, costumes, and candy, down from $79.82 last year. Total expenditures for the holiday should reach $6.9 billion, similar to the 2011 levels but down from a spike to some $8 billion last year.

video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDjW7n4j5fg

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Halloween

Entertainment & Humor

Transcript of Halloween