These strange illustratuions belong to the Codex Seraphinianus, a book originally published in 1981. It seems like the strangest book in the world will have a new edition this October . If you've ever heard about it you can watch this short review by AbeBooks. This book has bizarre drawings but I find it fascinating yet incomprehensible and I am not the only one. It depicts a unique universe. These illustrations are about flora and fauna, food, games, architechture, machines and other peculiar objects that does not exist except in the wild imagination of the author, Luigi Serafini, who also made up a new language! Take a look! You may find some inspiration in it for Halloween wild creations!
Hello friends and Zazzlers!
It's October again and in the United States and Canada adults and kids prepare to celebrate the 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 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 in 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 church found to incorporate pagan tradition in the calendary so more people could become familiar with 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 highschool. It may seem a silly holiday if we don't care to know how it all started. Traditions like trick-or-treat or carving pumpkins have an ancient origin. Trick-or-Treating has its origin in medieval times's 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 death 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 partically inexistant 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 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 your and your kid or baby. How about some spooky, creepy, funny or cute Halloween Zazzle tshirts? Let's take a look at some possibilities then!
