Origin and History of Halloween in United Kingdom
The Halloween celebrations in UK is over 2000 years old dating back to the time of Celts during 600 BC-50 AD. The Celts observed a festival similar to Halloween which is known as Samhain, to celebrate the end of summer and the harvest. During which they followed the traditions linked to the ghost world. Later Christianity spread into Celtic lands and the orthodox churches developed festivals which adopted most of the pagan traditions and rituals. The churches decided to honor the souls of saints by observing All Saints Day on November 1st. The day before (October 31st) is celebrated as Hallowmass to wade away the evil spirits, which later became famous as Halloween.
Local name: All Hallows Eve
Ways to celeberate All Hallows Eve in United Kingdom
Halloween in UK is often celebrated by hosting parties. The place is usually decorated using black and orange to represent darkness and fear. The people attending theses parties dress up as ghosts, skeletons and other horror figures. Children dressed up as ghosts go to the houses of their neighbors and demand sweets. If they don�t treat the children, they play a trick on them. Pumpkin lanterns, scary masks, skeletons, bats, black cats, spiders are some of the symbols associated with the creepy celebration. There are also many superstitions associated with Halloween. Some families try to protect their children from evil spirits by making lanterns made out of turnips. While for some it�s just a happy day to share time with family and friends. In many parts of UK families sit around the fireplaces, share apples, roasted nuts and enjoy the day by playing games.
