Halloween traditions and tshirts

Hello friends and Zazzlers!

It's October again and in the United States and Canada adults and kids prepare to celebrate Halloween on October 31. Decorations in orange, black, and purple fill the stores and houses. Some are doing their homemade costumes, some are browsing the internet for the most bizarre proposals available. And some are counting the days for the end of it! It's a very popular tradition but Halloween does not please everyone.

Halloween is a shortened version of "All Hallows' Even," the eve of All Hallows' Day. "Hallow" is the same as "holy person," in old English. All Hallows' Day is All Saints' Day, the day that Catholics commemorate in order to honor all the saints at once. It's the first day of November. In Portugal, the 2nd day of November is when families honor the dead visiting cemeteries and leaving flowers on the graves.

Originally, Christians observed All Saints' Day on May 13. But the Church moved the observance to correspond with Samhain 's pagan fall festival. Most of the traditions of Halloween date back to Samhain (sow-en), or "end of summer" . This was a festival that highlighted the change of seasons and of people's habits. Samhain marked the final harvest of the year. The Celts believed that on this occasion the world of the dead and the world of the living were close. The spirits of the dead could then travel their way into the world of the living!

It's curious how both traditions came together. The date of the celebration was a way that the church found to incorporate pagan tradition in the calendar so more people could become familiar with the Catholic faith. But the Samhain Celtic traditions of dead returning to the world of living did not please Christians.

Later the church created All Souls' Day, on November 2nd, like I wrote before, an occasion to recognize all dead. It was ok to honor the death but wandering spirits were associated with the devil.

I first learned about Halloween from movies and then in my English class at high school. It may seem a silly holiday if we don't care to know how it all started. Traditions like trick-or-treating or carving pumpkins have an ancient origin. Trick-or-Treating has its origin in medieval times' practice. People would make "soul cakes," bread desserts with a currant topping. Then children would go door-to-door begging for the cakes, and that was called "souling". In exchange for the cake the child would say a prayer for a dead relative of the cake giver. In Portugal there was a similar ritual called Pão por Deus. In the city of Coimbra it's called Bolinhos e Bolinhós. This tradition is practically inexistent nowadays. Many here blame Halloween for it as Portuguese children are adopting the foreign tradition, the masks and even the "trick or treat" say instead of "Bolinhos e bolinhós". The Celts would dress up and parade to lead the wandering spirits away. They also walked door to door asking for food to give to the gods or spirits.

And what about the Jack'O Lanterns? Celts would bring home an ember from the communal bonfire at the end of the night in hollowed-out turnips. But according to tan Irish legend, Stingy Jack's spirit carries a turnip lantern through the darkness. He was a bad character so he was turned away from heaven. But he also did not get to go enter hell as he tricked the devil once or twice. The devil gave him a hot ember to light the way in the dark. In Ireland and Scotland, these jack'o lanterns are popular decorations. When the Irish emigrated to the USA they took the tradition but started to use pumpkins because they were more abundant and easy to carve. Pumpkins originated in Central America and were a popular crop among Native Americans.

Let's imagine that you are not in the mood for DIY Halloween costume this year. Or maybe you had your share of costumes and you just want something simple. For you and your kid or baby. How about some spooky, creepy, funny or cute Halloween Zazzle shirts? Let's take a look at some possibilities then!