HALLOWEEN CONTEST

HOUCK BOOK CLUB-OCTOBER Falling for October

HALLOWEEN CONTEST

“Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen, Voices whisper in the trees, ‘Tonight is HALLOWEEN!'”

-Dexter Kozen

It’s here, it’s finally here! Halloween is just about my favorite holiday because it represents so many wonderful things. The cooler weather, the beautiful fall colors, the foods and spices, warm candles and smoking chimneys. Let’s not forget the parties, carnivals, costumes and treats!

So before I mention the awesome Halloween Contest, I thought it’d be fun to learn just a little history behind Halloween and its costumes.

It seems that some of the first documented costumes originated from the Celts. In addition to sacrificing animals to the gods and gathering around bonfires, Celts often wore costumes, animal skins and masks, to confuse spirits or perhaps to avoid being possessed, according to the American Folklife Center at the U.S. Library of Congress.

By wearing masks or blackening their faces, Celts are also thought to have impersonated dead ancestors. In an early form of trick-or-treating, Celts dressed as spirits and are believed to have gone from house to house engaging in silly acts in exchange for food and drink—a practice inspired perhaps by an earlier custom of leaving food and drink outdoors as offerings to supernatural beings.

Tribes in ancient Rome, what is now Germany and France, held riotous ceremonies whee they donned the heads and skins of wild mammals as costumes to connect with animal spirits.

Halloween Arrives in America

European immigrants brought Halloween to the United States, and the celebration really gathered steam in the 1800s, when Irish-American immigration exploded.

Anoka, Minnesota, may be home to the United States’ oldest official Halloween celebration. Beginning in 1920, the city began staging a parade and bonfire. As the years have gone by, Halloween customs and traditions have become mainstream and a time of fun for both young and old.

Look at some of the early costumes,