Happy Halloween

(Mobile Clicks on the occasion of Halloween at Belmont, California – Mezee Street)

Halloween is celebrated on 31st October every year. Halloween is the modern name of an ancient Celtic holiday, “Samhain”.

Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. It is believed to be a Christianized feast influenced by Celtic harvest festivals.

Halloween is the oldest holidays celebrated in a number of countries around the globe, it is famous in Christians. It is considered to be “The Day of the Dead, which honors deceased loved ones and ancestors.”  It is designed to honor the departed soul which is believed that they come down on this earth on the day of Halloween.

It is a time of celebration and superstition and is considered to be the day when the deceased souls descend down on the earth and people decorate the altars to the dead in their homes decorating them with candy’s, flowers, photographs, samples of the deceased’s favorite foods & drinks and fresh water. Candles & incense are burned with a belief that the souls are able to find their way to home. It is said that on this day, the spirits of the dead come back to earth in search of living bodies to possess for the next year and try to return to the homes where they were living. So to appease these spirits, people offer those fruits and nuts. If the spirits are not pleased, it is feared that the spirits would kill the people or destroy their property.

There are many beliefs to it but all revolves around that the souls visits earth, ghosts, witches etc. and to ward them off people burn bonfires. Halloween costumes are traditionally modeled after supernatural figures such as vampires, monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. People especially children dress up in costumes of ghosts and witches and play pranks on each other. Black and Orange are the famous color for this day.

The Jack-o-lantern is the festival light for Halloween. Pumpkin is a good substitute of the turnip, to be used as Jack-o-lantern.

Trick-or-treating is a traditional celebration for children on Halloween. Children in their costume go from house to house, asking for treats, with a question, “Trick or treat?”

The word “trick” refers to a threat to trouble the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. People generally give candy
to the children who come to their house.

Nowadays many schools and churches arrange Halloween parties for the kids. People usually have parties, wear Halloween costumes, do bonfires, tell and read scary stories about witches, skeletons, bats and ghosts and also watch horror movies.

A traditional food eaten on Halloween is barnbrack, a kind of fruitcake that can be bought in stores or baked at home. A muslin-wrapped treat is baked inside the cake that, it is said, can foretell the eater’s future.

If a ring is found, it means that the person will soon be wed; a piece of straw means that a prosperous year is on its way.

Children are also known to play tricks on their neighbors, such as “knock-a-dolly,” a prank in which children knock on the doors of their neighbors, but run away before the door is opened.

The kids enjoy the most indulging in playing pranks, partying, singing and dancing around the bonfires and dressing in weird costumes creating scary scenes and now many business make grand some in helping the people in the celebration and partying of Halloween and even a sizable amount is spent on the scary costumes especially designed for this day. The world has shrunk due to connectivity so it is far spread in most of the Christian population.

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY HALLOWEEN DAY.