Halloween tradition

The most famous Halloween activity is trick or treat. The children dressed up as scary people rang the doorbell of their neighbors door to door and shouted, "Trick or treat!" " "(Trick or treat), the host family (who may also wear scary clothes) will give out some candy, chocolate or small gifts. Some families even use sound effects and cigarette makers to create a horrible atmosphere. Of course, most families are happy to entertain these naive children, so the candy that children get in one night is often taken home in bags.

In Scotland, when children want candy, they will say, "The sky is blue and the grass is green, so we can celebrate Halloween" (the sky is blue and the earth is green, let's celebrate Halloween together), and then they will sing and dance to get candy.

There are generally two theories about the origin of trick-or-treating. One is an Irish pagan in ancient western Europe who believes that ghosts will gather near their home for banquets on Halloween. So, after the "banquet", the villagers dressed up as ghosts and wandered outside the village to guide the ghosts away to avoid evil spirits and disasters. At the same time, the villagers also pay attention to some fruits and other foods in the front yard and backyard, and feed the ghosts to prevent them from hurting people and animals or plundering other crops. Later, this custom continued and became a joke for children to make fun of this ungrateful family.

The other is the Christian church in Europe, which began in the ninth century. At that time,165438+1October 2nd was called "All Souls Day" by Christians. On this day, believers trudged in the backcountry, begging from door to door for "soul bread" made of flour and raisins. It is said that people who donate cakes believe in the prayers of church monks, hoping to get God's protection and let their dead relatives enter heaven as soon as possible. This tradition of begging from door to door has evolved into a game, with children begging for candy from door to door with pumpkin lanterns. When they met, the children dressed as ghosts threatened to make trouble without inviting them to dinner, but the host naturally dared not neglect and repeatedly said, "Please eat! Please eat! " At the same time, put the candy into the big pocket that the child carries with him.

Traditional Halloween costumes include zombies, ghosts, witches and demons. The most typical costume is to dress up as a ghost with a piece of cloth with two holes cut. In Scotland and Ireland in the19th century, people thought that ghosts would come to the world on Halloween, so they would dress up as ghosts and let them think of themselves as the same kind. In recent years, Halloween costumes are not limited to horror, but can be dressed in anything, such as playing TV dramas or movie stars and politicians. In 2004, coinciding with the US presidential election, George Bush and Kerry became popular Halloween costumes in the United States. 200 1, 9 1 1, after firefighters, policemen, etc. were attacked. Became the target of children. It is estimated that about 265,438+05,000 American children dressed as Spider-Man in 2004, which was the most popular dress in that year.

Trick-or-treat activities of UNICEF are very common in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is planned to go online at 1950, and the donation boxes will be distributed to children through the school, so that children can raise money smoothly when begging for candy. It is estimated that since its launch, it has raised more than $654.38+0.65438+0.9 billion.

Second, the pumpkin lantern.

On Halloween, many families put pumpkin lanterns on the doorstep. Trick-or-treating children wear fancy clothes, masks and a jack-o'-lantern in their hands. Because the appearance of pumpkin lantern is not scary, but very funny and lovely, plus the huge body of pumpkin, people can see it from far away.

In the old Irish story, it is about a drunk named Jack who likes practical jokes very much. One day, Jack tricked the devil into climbing a tree, and then carved a cross on the stump, threatening the devil not to come down. Then Jack made an agreement with the devil to make him promise to cast a spell on the condition that Jack would never commit a crime and let him come down from the tree. After Jack died, his soul could neither go to heaven nor go to hell, so his ghost had to wander between heaven and earth with a small candle.

According to legend, this small candle is placed in a hollowed-out radish, which is called "jack-o'-lantern", while the ancient radish lantern has evolved to today, and it is made of pumpkin lantern. It is said that shortly after the Irish arrived in America, they found that pumpkins were superior to radishes in source and carving, so pumpkins became a symbol of Halloween.

Third, bite the apple.

The most popular game on Halloween is "Shake the Apple". In the game, people let the apples float in a basin filled with water, and then let the participants bite the apples with their mouths instead of their hands. Whoever bites first wins.

Fourth, others.

In Ireland, there is a traditional divination game in which participants blindfold and choose one from the table. For example, if the touched CD contains dirt, it means that the people related to the participants will die in the coming year. For example, water means they will travel far, money means they will be rich, and beans mean they will be poor. In Ireland in the19th century, girls would put slugs on a plate sprinkled with flour, and the traces of slugs crawling would be like the girl's future husband.

In North America, it is said that if an unmarried woman sits in a dark room on Halloween, she can see her future husband in the mirror. But if they are going to die before marriage, a skull will appear in the mirror. This custom has been very popular since the late19th century, and related greeting cards are also sold.

In some remote counties in northern England, there is a saying that on Halloween night, girls will put an apple under their pillows before going to bed, make a love wish and secretly pray. Next, the first man to send them flowers is Prince Charming.

"Because of the appearance of many ghosts, the atmosphere is very heavy, and many things will come true"-this statement has continued to this day, and many girls in small towns will try it like this. If such a favorite person stands in front of him with a bunch of flowers the next day, the young man will be lucky. In fact, it is not difficult to be a lucky dog. When a boy knows this old saying, he will act unnoticed.