Last year, I missed the Halloween Parade but this year I plan to be there right in time. And October is the month of Halloween, with Pumpkins, Costumes and Fright Fests - it's a hell of a time.
Halloween, is observed on October 31, but celebrations go on for whole of the month. The night before the Hallows Day (November 1st), also known as the 'Day of the Dead', 'is a mix of Celtic festival of Samhein, Catholic All Saint's Day and Roman Festival of Feralia' (source: history.com). The Celtic celebrated this day, i.e. on the eve of their new year by lighting bonfires and wearing costumes to ward off the ghosts, as it was believed that dead returned back on this day, as the line between world and the other world blurred.
Nowadays, the celebrations include:
'Trick or Treat' - Children dressed in costumes go from house to house for treats by asking the question 'Trick or Treat'.
'Costume Parties'- People dressed as ghosts, witches, skeletons, devils and celebrities attend parties. These costumes are usually available both online and in stores in all varieties and themes like Disney princess, ghost busters, Harry Potter, Spider man, Wizard of Oz, Lady Gaga and many-many more.
'Jack-O-Lanterns' - carved Pumpkins which look like human face are lit in the night. Many Pumpkin carving and painting competitions go on during the Halloween month.
'Haunts' - The haunted attractions, where people pay to get scared. Like Haunted Houses, Fright Fests in Six Flags Adventure Parks, 'After Dark' in Madame Tassauds, Barn of Terror in Kingston, Blood Manor Haunted House in Chelsea where visitors pay $30 per person and wait for two hours to enter (am New York, 21st October 2010, page 10), Pure Terror Scream Park in Chester, Ghost Tours in Washington. Frightening !!
'Apple Bobbing' - where people take out apples from a tub of water using only their teeth. Must be difficult.
'Haunts' - The haunted attractions, where people pay to get scared. Like Haunted Houses, Fright Fests in Six Flags Adventure Parks, 'After Dark' in Madame Tassauds, Barn of Terror in Kingston, Blood Manor Haunted House in Chelsea where visitors pay $30 per person and wait for two hours to enter (am New York, 21st October 2010, page 10), Pure Terror Scream Park in Chester, Ghost Tours in Washington. Frightening !!
'Apple Bobbing' - where people take out apples from a tub of water using only their teeth. Must be difficult.
'Candy Apples' - Treat for people of all ages, apples rolled in sugar syrup. Yumm.
'Scary Movies' - Right time to watch all those scary flicks, in low lights.....boohoo! And some good options to get those movies are- Renting a DVD from Blockbuster, Buying the latest spooky flick or 'Huluween'- Hulu's guide to some of the scariest movies.
'Halloween Parade' - The most awaited attraction of Halloween, where people come out on the streets wearing their costumes and scaring others on the way in the night parade - time to be in New York.
In all, Halloween is fun, delicious and scary at the same time. Waiting to join the Halloween Parade on October 31st.
Links:
1. http://www.history.com/topics/halloween