The Story of Halloween
Halloween is one of the oldest holidays with origins going back thousands of years. The holiday we know as Halloween has had many influences from many cultures over the centuries. From the Roman's Pomona Day, to the Celtic festival of Samhain, to the Christian holidays of All Saints and All Souls Days.
Hundreds of years ago in what is now Great Britain and Northern France, lived the Celts who worshipped nature and had many gods, with the sun god as their favorite.
The Celts celebrated their New Year on November 1st. It was celebrated every year with a festival and marked the end of the "season of the sun" and the beginning of "the season of darkness and cold."
On October 31st after the crops were all harvested and stored for the long winter the cooking fires in the homes would be extinguished. The Druids, the Celtic priests would light new fires and offer sacrifices of crops and animals. As they danced around the the fires, the season of the sun passed and the season of darkness would begin.
When the morning arrived the Druids would give an ember from their fires to each family who would then take them home to start new cooking fires. These fires would keep the homes warm and free from evil spirits.
The November 1st festival was called Samhain (pronounced "sow-en"). The festival would last for 3 days. Many people would parade in costumes made from the skins and heads of their animals. This festival would become the first Halloween.
During the 1st century the Romans invaded Britain, bringing with them many of their festivals and customs. One of these was the festival know as Pomona Day, named for their goddess of fruits and gardens. It was also celebrated around the 1st of November. After hundreds of years of Roman rule the customs of the Celtic's Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day mixed becoming 1 major fall holiday.
The next influence came with the spread of the new Christian religion throughout Europe and Britain. In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church made November 1st a church holiday to honor all the saints ~ All Saint's Day, or Hallowmas, or All Hallows. Years later the Church would make November 2nd a holy day. It was called All Souls Day and was to honor the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires, parades, and people dressing up as saints, angels and devils.
But the spread of Christianity did not make people forget their early customs. On the eve of All Hallows, Oct. 31, people continued to celebrate the festivals of Samhain and Pomona Day. Over the years the customs from all these holidays mixed. October 31st became known as All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallow's Eve, Hallowe'en, and then - Halloween.
The Halloween we celebrate today includes all of these influences, Pomona Day's apples, nuts, and harvest, the Festival of Samhain's black cats, magic, evil spirits and death, and the ghosts, skeletons and skulls from All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day.
Fun Halloween Recipes:
Sweet:
Itsy Bitsy Spooky Spiders
Bat Poop - for Halloween
Halloween Party Treat (Candy Corn and Peanut Mix)
Severed Fingers Halloween Cookies
Peanutty Halloween Cookie Pizza
Coconut Ghosts
Halloween Eyeball Cookies
Spooktacular Halloween Graveyard Cake
Bernice's Halloween Spiders
Halloween Lollipop Ghosts for Kids
Really Cool Creepy Halloween Hand!
Pretzel Magic Wands - Halloween / Birthday Fun
Chocolate Halloween Mice
Halloween Bones
Halloween Brownie Pizza
Cocoa Halloween Cats
Twinkling Star Treats™
Sue's Super Easy Halloween Candy Corn Fudge
Creepy Crawly Mud Cups
Halloween Spiderweb Apples
Freaky Mummies in a Flash - Halloween Treats!
Halloween Worms
Halloween Tombstone Treats
Chocolate Spiders
Halloween Party Mix
Dark Creepy Gory Chocolate Cake
Spooky Spider Cupcakes/Muffins for a Howling Halloween!
Twit Twooo, Hooting Halloween Owls - Halloween Cupcakes/Muffins
See how French Tart made those fab cupcakes, in here step by step tutorial here :
FT's Spooky Spider & Hooting Owl Cupcakes 101
Savoury:
Spooky Shepherd's Pie
Spooky Eyeball Tacos (Johnny #5 Tacos)
Cheese Ball - Great for Halloween
Spooky Eyeballs
Barbecued Bat Wings
Traditional English Halloween Supper - Mash O' Nine Sorts
Halloween Rats Baked in Blood
Halloween Sandwich Treats
Monster Toes (For Halloween)
Halloween Cheddar Fondue (for the adults)
Halloween Bonfire Potatoes
Halloween Swamp Dip
Pizza Mummies
Halloween Brain Dip
Halloween Mummy Dogs or is That Mommy Babies???
Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Pasta Dinner
Drinks:
Boo Beverage
Halloween Black Brew (alchoholic)
Ecto Lime Cooler (Halloween Cocktail) (alchoholic)
Halloween Sparkle Punch
Pumpkin Banana Froth - Halloween
Monster Slush!
Ghostly Green Brew
Ghoulish Punch
Mulled Apple Cider
Slushy Halloween Punch
Black Bat Punch
Dragon's Blood Punch and Hand Ice Mold
Sunshine Punch (AKA Halloween Swamp Soda!)
Boo Punch
All the recipes shown above ~ plus many, many more ~ can be found in our Halloween Cookbook Halloween!
There are also over 60 other Halloween Cookbooks here on Zaar! To view them click
here
Quick & Easy Cupcake Fun! (Courtesy of Molly53)
Use your favorite cake recipe to make cupcakes:
SPIDER
Chocolate frosting
Oreos, finely ground
Black licorice laces
Black decorating icing or gel
Red jelly beans
Spread the frosting on the cupcake, then dip the top into the ground Oreos. Cut 8 (4-inch-long) strands of black licorice lace. Bend the strands into curves, then poke 4 into each side of the cupcake top to form the legs. Pipe a circular mound of black icing between the first 2 legs to form the face. Cut a jelly bean crosswise and place on the icing to form the eyes.
DRACULA
Green frosting
Black and white decorating icings or gels
Spread the frosting on the cupcake. With the black icing, pipe the eyes and hair — don't forget the widow's peak and sideburns — in quick spurts to create a spiky effect. Draw the mouth, then switch to white icing to make two fangs.
SKULL
White frosting
Marshmallows, jumbo and miniature
Black decorating icing
Spread the frosting on the cupcake. Cut 1 jumbo and 1 miniature marshmallow in half. Use 1 jumbo half and 1 miniature half to form the eyes. Make the mouth with 3 more whole miniature marshmallows. With the black icing, pipe different-size dots for the eyes and nose and a skull outline around the marshmallows.
TOMBSTONE
Chocolate frosting
Oreos, finely ground
Black decorating icing
Pepperidge Farm Bordeaux cookie
Spread the frosting on the cupcake, then dip the frosted cupcake top into the ground Oreos. With the black icing, pipe "RIP" on the cookie. Gently press the cookie into the cupcake top until it stays put.
Sandalio bakes his own shortbread cookies, bending a cookie cutter to form a tombstonelike shape. To save time, substitute store-bought cookies.
BRAIN
Pink frosting
Using a pastry bag, squiggle thick lines of frosting onto one half of the cupcake. Repeat with the other half.
SPIDER WEB
Orange frosting
Black decorating icing
Spread the orange frosting on the cupcake. With black icing, pipe a dot in the center of the cupcake top, then pipe 2 circles — one inside the other — around the dot. Starting at the center with a toothpick, trace the tip through the frosting to the perimeter of the cupcake. Repeat 5 more times around the cupcake to form a spider web.
GHOST
Chocolate frosting
Oreos, finely ground
Ghost Meringue cookies (recipe follows)
Black decorating icing
Spread the frosting on the cupcake, then dip the top into the ground Oreos. Smear the bottom of 1 or 2 ghosts, then set onto the cupcake. With the black icing, pipe 2 dots per ghost for the eyeballs.
GHOST MERINGUE COOKIES
Recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine (America's Test Kitchen, $35) and Plinio Sandalio, former pastry chef at the Cookie Jar Bakery. Don't attempt meringues on a very humid day.
Whites of 4 large eggs, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions, and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites at medium-low speed until they are opaque and frothy, about 30 seconds.
Add the cream of tartar, increase the speed to medium-high, and, watching carefully, beat the egg whites until they are white, thick, voluminous and the consistency of shaving cream, about 90 seconds.
Slowly sprinkle in half of the sugar, and continue to beat until incorporated, about 60 seconds.
Add the vanilla. Reduce the speed to the lowest possible setting, sprinkle in the remaining sugar and mix just until incorporated.
Carefully transfer the mixture into a pastry bag, and pipe the ghosts an inch apart from each other.
To make the ghost, gently squeeze the bag 3 times, each time releasing a little less than before. The ghosts should look like melting, pointy-headed snowmen, with the base being the largest part.
Bake for 1½ hours or until the cookies have smooth, dry, firm exteriors.
Turn the oven off, and allow the cookies to cool in the oven for several hours.
Once cool, they can be stored in an airtight container
Great Websites:
101 Halloween Ideas
Halloween Online
Pumpkin Carving 101
Halloween Activities & Crafts
Halloween.com
apples4theteacher.com (Halloween)
Fun Craft Ideas:
Martha Stewart's ''Batty Bags''
Martha Stewart's ''Treat Balls''
Martha Stewart's ''Bat Pinata''
Pumpkin Bags (treat bags or decorations!)
Trick or Treat T-shirt
Spoon Witch
Mummy Treat Cups
Halloween Party Games
Feed The Monster!!!
What You'll Need:
•Colorful socks
•Dry beans
•Ribbon or string
•Drawing paper and markers
•Cardboard
Preparation:
Make five bean bags out of colored socks filled with dry beans. Tie each sock closed with a piece of ribbon. Draw a large monster head on a piece of cardboard and cut a hole where the mouth should be.
Let the children take turns trying to feed the monster by tossing the bean bags through the mouth hole. Award one point for each successful toss. The guests will probably want to have a second turn, and maybe even a third if time allows.
Spider Web!!!
What You’ll Need:
•One roll of colored yarn per player (each player should have a different color)
•One prize per player
•Construction paper or notebook paper
•A marker or pen
Preparation:
Create name tags for each player by cutting out a piece of paper and writing their name on it. Hide a prize for each child in a different part of the party area. Tie the end of a different colored ball of yarn to each prize. One by one, run the balls of yarn over, under, and around the objects in the room. Make sure they are all intertwined, creating a web effect. When the strands are about 10 to 20 feet long, cut them and tie a name tag to the end of each string.
When it’s time to play, lead each child to their name tag, and have them untangle their strands to find their prizes. This is a great activity for teamwork, as players will discover they need to help each other to get all their strands untangled!
Haunted Musical Walk!!!
What You’ll Need:
•One Halloween-themed object per player, such as a witch’s hat, a broom, a plastic cauldron, mini pumpkins, etc.
•Spooky music on CD
•A CD player that can be easily paused and re-started
Place the Halloween-themed items in a circle on the floor in the play area. Start the music, and have your guests walk around in a circle, stepping next to the objects. At random intervals, stop the music and have everyone freeze by the item next to them. From a jar or hat, draw the name of one of the Halloween objects. The person standing next to that object is “out”. Pull that player and object out of the game. Repeat the process until there is one child and object left.
Monster Dash!!!
How to Play:
Choose one child to be the monster. If you wish, provide a monster mask for him/her to wear. The other players should stand about 25 feet away. When the monster says “Dash”, the players should creep up on the monster while his/her back is turned. The monster should quickly say “Stop” and turn around. The players must freeze where they are as soon as they hear the word “Stop”. If the monster sees anyone still moving, that person is out. The monster should continue saying “Dash” and “Stop”. The winner is the one who passes the monster first. This person gets to be the monster in the next round of the game.
Witch Hunt!!!
What You’ll Need:
•3 - 5 white hats per player (two hats need to be a different color from the rest)
Preparation:
Hide all the witch hats in different nooks and crannies throughout the party area. Send the children out to find as many hats as they can within an allotted time, letting them know that there are two special hats that will result in special bonus prizes. The kids who collect the most hats get a prize. The kids who find the different colored hats get a special prize.
Fabulous Homemade Halloween Costumes:
Eyeball
Ladybug
Black Cat
Pirate
Autumn Fairy
For the above costumes & many more, please visit:
http://crafts.kaboose.com/costumes/homemade-halloween.html
If you or your children are dressing up for Halloween, make sure your outfits' are safe:
Fire-Proofing for Halloween Costumes
And if all the monsters prove to be a little too much for your little ones...why not try
Monster Spray to help send them off to sleep!
Um Safia
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