Halloween

Origin

Halloween is a traditional Fête to which one allots a remote Celtic origin: 2000 years ago, the Celtes celebrated, during seven days, the change of year - called Samonios in Gaulle, Samain in Ireland - around the November 1st. Imported, to finish, on the continent of North America by the Irish catholic immigrants - Ireland having been évangélisée very tardily at the 6th century, it is the country where the festival of Samain remained longest.

Its current name is a deterioration of All Hallow' S Eve , which means literally: “festival day before of all the saints”, i.e. Christian festival day before of the All Saints' day (" hallow " is an antiquated form of the English word " holy" who means: " saint").

Symbols

The principal symbol of Halloween is the Citrouille, replaced sometimes by a Potiron ( Jack-o'-lantern in English): is cut out it to draw there, in hollow, a face, then one places a candle in his center. Even if there is a tradition of the British Isles consisting in carving a lantern starting from a Rutabaga, with a Mangelwurzel or a Navet, the practice were associated with Halloween in North America, where the pumpkin was broader and easier to carve.

Imagery which surrounds Halloween is largely amalgam of season of Halloween itself (season when the nights become increasingly long compared to the day), one century or almost of artistic representations (in particular in American films), and a mercantile will to market what has report/ratio with dark and with the mysterious one. This generally implies death, the magic or of the mythical monsters. The characters usually associated with Halloween are the phantoms, the Goule S, the witches, the vampires, the bats, the owls, the corbels, the vultures, the haunted houses, of the characters with pumpkin head, the black cats, the spiders, the goblins, the zombis, the mummies, the skeletons, the wolf-garous and the demons. Especially in North America, symbolism is inspired by traditional cinema of horror, with characters like Dracula, the monster of Frankenstein, the Werewolf and the mummy. The houses are often decorated with these symbols.

The orange and the black are the traditional colors of Halloween. In the products and the more recent images, one finds also mauve, green and red. The use of these colors is partly has their use in publicities having report/ratio with this festival since more than one century.

To pass Halloween (trick-but-treating)

The principal event of Halloween in the North-American style is the trick-but-treating , in which the children disguise themselves and go from door in door in their vicinity while sounding to each door and by shouting " trick gold treat" (of candies or a bad fate), or sometimes only " Halloween". Even if that resembles an older tradition coming from Scotland and of Ireland, the ritual collection of Halloween appears only at the beginning of the XXe century in North America, and perhaps developed independently. The inhabitants of the house (themselves often disguised) give delicacies, bars of chocolate, and sometimes even of fizzy drinks. Certain people use sound effects and smoke to add to environment.

UNICEF

The Collection for UNICEF became a tradition during Halloween in North America. Beginning in 1950 like local event in suburbs from Philadelphia, the program consists of the distribution of small boxes to the schoolboys, with whom they can request gifts by visiting the houses. One estimates that the children one piled up more than 119 million American dollars for the UNICEF since the beginning of the program. In 2006, the UNICEF withdrew these boxes in certain parts of the world, quoting administrative problems and of safety.

Plays and other activities

One of the plays of Halloween consists in putting apples in a small water basin, to put its hands behind its back and to try to catch it with the mouth.

Food

August 1st A tradition which survived until our days in Ireland is the cooking (or the purchase) of a barmbrack (in Irish: " báirín breac "), a light cake with the fruits. A ring is placed in the cake before cooking. It is said that whoever finds the ring will find the true love during the year

Other food associated with the festival:

Indian corn out of candy
Báirín Breac (Ireland)
Colcannon (Ireland)
bonfire toffee (in the United Kingdom)
Toffee Apple (in Australia; in Great Britain in the place of the " Apples of love ")
hot Cider
roast Indian corn sweetened
Fritter S
Popcorn
roast seeds of Pumpkin
tart and bread with the pumpkin
candies in the cranium shape, pumpkin, bat, towards, etc

Halloween in the world

Ireland

Halloween is a very popular festival in Ireland and is known under the name Gaélique " Oíche Shamhna" (literally the night of the end of the summer), and is celebrated since centuries. In the night of Halloween, the children and the adults disguise themselves in malefic creatures (phantom, zombies, witch, goblins), of large fires are lit and of fires of artifices are lit everywhere in the country.

Quebec

In Quebec, the habit which was gradually spread everywhere goes back at most to the years 1920-1930 and probably started in the area of Montreal on the initiative of the anglophone Inhabitants of Quebec. The festival is celebrated more and more there following the example remainder of Canada.

Canada

In Canada, the festival of Halloween is largely celebrated. October 31st, the come evening, the children cover costumes of all kinds, amusing or alarming, and invade the streets to strike with each door and to ask for delicacies. The hearths which take part in the festival decorate the step of their door of a pumpkin enlightened to indicate that the children are welcome there. For a few years, this festival has become extensive and gives place to multiples/activities for small and large. The festival causes also a passion growing for the creation of true decorations of horror in front of certain houses.

At one time, one tells that, in certain villages, it was the Curé which decided when Halloween took place, not always celebrated on October 31st. By its demonstrations, the festival of Haloween is connected with that of the Shrove Tuesday, or the Mi-Carême, which gave place, in certain areas of the country, to disguises and the candy collection, in particular in New Brunswick

The United States

In the United States, in the state of the Michigan and at certain places of the Maritime Canadian, certain people very take in heart the aspect “bad blows” of the festival. There are acts of vandalism such as the Toilet papering (act to unroll rollers of toilet paper in the trees or on the public highway) or automobile fire.

Scotland

The Scotland, having a language and a culture Gaelic commune with the Ireland, celebrates the festival of Samhain since centuries. Robert Burns made a portrait of the various habits in its poem Hallowe' in (1785).

Halloween, known of Scottish Gaelic under the name of Oidhche Shamhna , consists mainly of disguised children (often as a witch or phantom) making door-to-door and offering entertainment varied. If the performance is appreciated, the children are rewarded with candies, fruits or a little money. There is no Scottish tradition of the trick gold treat .

In Scotland, the folklore, including Halloween, is centered on the belief towards the Fées. The children dress up and transport a Neepy Candle , a diabolic face engraved in a Rutabaga (English neep) hollow, clarified interior, to frighten the bad fairies.

A popular set of children during this evening is that where one must catch an apple in a water vat by using only his mouth. Another play consists in trying to eat, by having the bandaged eyes, a bread coated with molasses during to the ceiling by a string.

England and Wales

August 1st

France

Halloween arrived massively in France towards 1997. As of the beginning, certain French criticize Halloween, regarding this recently imported tradition of the the United States of America as a “operation marketing”. It acquires a broad popular support however, and the stores fill of dedicated articles (costumes, pumpkins, candies). Since 2005, the festival seems less practiced, and in 2006 the daily newspaper Parisian the title even “Halloween is Mort” . This announcement of death is taken again by most of the press which claironne which it was only about one momentary phenomenon, having culminated towards 2000 and whose influence drops constantly since.

In 2006, the day before the festival of Halloween, many media give a report on a dead of Halloween : “Halloween, in and out” (the Express train), “the pumpkin with fishing in the United States, not in Europe” (20 minutes), “All Saints' day eclipsed Halloween” (Catholique.org), “Halloween drinks the bubble” (Release). However, if these advertisements miss precise statistical sources, the rays of the French supermarkets are provided in objects intended for the celebrations of Halloween. Moreover, while the catholic persons in charge are pleased with the success of the Holy wins , the festival concurrent ( to see hereafter), a study of the Research center for the study and the observation of the living conditions (CREDOC), ordered by the national Employers' federation of the funerary arts and gone back to 2005, reveals a recent increase in the business success of the festival of All Saints' day. At October, the confectioners sell their candies in index 130 against 100 at least the other months, which shows the success of the festival well, from the point of view of the confectioners all.

In 2007, the failure of Halloween still goes growing: no decoration in the streets, little publicity to the radio or television, less articles in the stores. Only some children hope for a real progression of this festival but for the remainder " Halloween became a festival completely dépassée". There is still average to celebrate Halloween in France, but the festival is done more discrete than ever.

Belgium

The formula " Trick gold Treat" is adapted in " candies or blows of bâtons" or " candies or a frisson".

Malta

Forever celebrated Halloween with Malta until very recently, where its popularity increased because by the great number of organized dressed up balls the evening of Halloween, especially run by the teenagers and the young adults. There is virtually nobody who distributes candies or which passes in the houses.

China

Halloween is not celebrated traditionally in China, but there exists a close festival, the Fête of the phantoms.

Japan

This festival not having any bond with the Shintoïsme nor with the Buddhism, the Japanese do not celebrate traditionally Halloween. However the event gains in popularity and one now finds many decorations and disguises in the stores.

Oceania

August 1st

The Caribbean

Halloween is almost not celebrated in the the Caribbean. On the other hand, as in Australia and New Zealand, the event is known and gains in popularity.

In certain areas of the the British Antilles, there are celebrations in the honor of the Nuit of Guy Fawkes which take place around Halloween.

On the island of Bonaire, the children of a city gather in group, and contrary at the other places of the world, they pass Halloween in the confectioneries, instead of making door with door.

Controversies

Position of the Catholic church

The arrival of Halloween, celebrates pagan near to two Christian festivals, the All Saints' day (on November 1st) and the day of Late the (on November 2nd) made react the Catholic church in France. It noted that with Halloween a nonChristian population is interested within the meaning of death. To point out the direction of catholic All Saints' day, the Diocèse of Paris founded, since a 2002, festive demonstration baptized Holy wins (“What is holy is victorious” ). Hundreds of people take part each year in it.

Safety

The festival taking place the evening, certain safety regulations are advised, such as for example carrying Maquillage S instead of Masque S, crossing with the intersections, etc Pourtant, with each festival of Halloween, there are persistent rumors according to which people would introduce dangerous poison or objects (blades, needles) into candies. Certain police stations organize even a free inspection of the delicacies. There is in fact never have true case of poisoning or wound, the majority being hoaxes or having been made by the own family of the children. One however continues to see each year of the reports informing people of the danger. Certain parents go even until following their children in their collections, and oblige them to move in the car, even for short distance.

Health

The festival is often seen reproaching for being an occasion given to the children of " empiffrer" candies.

Orthography

In Quebec, the use wants that one puts the article (“Halloween”), contrary to the use in France where one employs “Halloween” without article, as in the anglophone countries. According to the Québécois Office of the French language, In spite of the capital letter which characterizes in typography the names of civil or religious festivals, this term is sometimes attested with tiny. In addition, even if the word is of foreign origin, “H” initial is dumb, which involves its elision, for example in the expression of candies of Halloween .

Fictions

Halloween is the pretext of a big number of works, in particular cinematographic of which here some examples:

It' S the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966), of Bill Melendez
The Fearless Vampire Killers " (1967), of Roman Polanski. Titrate original complete: " The Fearless Vampire Killers gold Forgiveness Me, Goal Your Teeth Are in My Neck . V.f. the ball of the vampires .
Halloween (1978) of John Carpenter
Hocus Pocus (1993) (v.f. Abracadabra ), of David Kirschner and Mick Garris
Strange Christmas of Mr Jack (1993), of Tim Burton

The American serials and series televised often have an episode devoted to Halloween, when it is not several (see Simpson for example, or the series Friends ).

In Buffy against the vampires , Halloween is the day that the “demons” hate, the day when they prefer not to leave on their premises, revolted with the idea not to be sufficiently taken with serious and to be devaluated by a trade event. What is a curious misinterpretation: in the Celtic tradition, the festival of Samain was precisely that of the meeting of the visible world and the invisible world, the day of the year when the alive ones could have access to the “Other World”.

See too

Random links:

Patrice of Mac-Mahon | Canton of Rennes-Center-West | Angol | Palio | Michel Lazdunski