It's Halloween! Time of the year that's absolutely freakish and screaming fun.Now today's Halloween isn't the same as it was 2000 years ago.
 
Did you know that the roots of Halloween lie way back in centuries in the ancient Celtic New Year's festival, Samhain? Well, in pre-Christian Ireland, the Celts believed that on this day the spirits of the dead came down to earth & so the Celtic priests or Druids built bonfires on this day and offered sacrifices. The people dressed up in costumes to keep the spirits at bay. Now if you're brainy enough, it won't be hard for you to guess that the modern tradition of wearing costumes on Halloween traces back to this practice!
 
Wondering where the freaky Halloween tradition of trick-or-treating came from? Now, this had been 'gifted' to the United States by the Irish immigrants who fled their country during the potato famine. The Irish celebration of Halloween or the Hallow E'en (evening of the Hallow), as it's called in Ireland, means All Hallows Eve, or the night before the 'All Hallows'. On All Hallows Eve or Halloween, the Irish beggars went asking for food or money from the rich. If refused, they were threatened to be destroyed by the evil spirits. But who wants to take chance on Halloween? Better start preparing the soul-cakes & candy bags chockablock with nuts and candy, fruit and gum for Halloween!
 
In 1950, a bunch of Philadelphian youngsters went about collecting money on Halloween carrying decorated milk cartons. And guess what? These little beings then sent their collected Halloween sum to UNICEF to help the world's other children! Now that's what we call being angels 'in disguise', right? Finally this boiled down to the current fun-fiesta of trick-or-treating on Halloween! And it sure gives a special spooky touch to Halloween celebrations now. Hey are you ready to freak out on fun? Don't miss out...
 
Like Halloween, the funky tradition of carving pumpkins comes from the Celts too! The legend goes like this that there once lived a miserly drunkard called Jack who was doomed to wander the earth carrying a hollowed-out turnip with a burning ember inside it. Eventually turnip was replaced with the pumpkin in America and became the modern Jack-o-Lantern of Halloween. It's said that placing a jack-o-lanternon the porch or in the window, frightens away the evil spirits on Halloween! Did you carve one out yet? If not, get going! Halloween’s here!
 
Now if you are the extra-careful kind, you can try these out too:
Ring a bell on Halloween to scare the ghouls away.
Sprinkle salt & oatmeal on children's head to keep them away from spooks on Halloween night.
Walk around your home backwards three times before sunset on Halloween.
But meeting a spook or two on Halloween won't be as bad! You know some of them can make real 'soul'-mates...but only if you dare to chum up, that is! How about hanging out with your 'mates' on Halloween?
 
Witch is the best way to witch a witch on Halloween? Uh...oh...Do you know which is the best way to wish a witchon Halloween? Just bring her a handsome wizard and she'll be swept off her feet! You think that's why they're always up in the air? Can be...who knows?
 
But if you're a brave heart and want to meet a witch on Halloween night, you can put on your clothes inside out and walk backwards! This is just a Halloween belief, but you can try it out this Halloween!
 
Halloween celebrations have evolved through the years. The witches, the ghosts, the goblins, the black cats, the jack-o-lanterns, the spiders, the werewolves, the fun with freakish costumes--all still remaining, Halloween celebrations are astronomical in today’s world! And the fun seems never to end. So get started to raise the right spirit this Halloween and spook up your folks for a real fun Halloween night !

Halloween Traditions :

Check out the background and history of some of today's more popular Halloween traditions. Some of the stories may surprise you.

1. Trick-or-treating. Where did we get the tradition of dressing in costumes to ask for goodies? Beggars in Ireland began the tradition centuries ago when they made the rounds to visit the rich and ask for money (and threaten them with evil spirits if they didn't give!).

2. A new twist on tradition. This year marks the 51st anniversary of trick-or-treating for UNICEF. In 1950, a group of youngsters in Philadelphia used decorated milk cartons to collect money. The kids sent the money to UNICEF to help the world's other children. The tradition still carries on today.

3. Jack-o'-lanterns. Like Halloween, the tradition of carving pumpkins comes from the Celts. According to legend, a miserly man named Jack was doomed to wander the earth after he died. He carried a lantern carved out of a turnip. He was "Jack-o'-lantern." On All Hallows Eve, the Irish and Scots carried similar lanterns.

4. Witches on broomsticks and black cats. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that witches were especially dangerous, because on Halloween night they could fly to meet with the devil. Some people believed their pet black cats were witches transformed or even the dead come back to life.

5. Halloween and a sneeze. Why do people say "God bless you" when you sneeze? The Welsh believed that a sneeze blew the soul right out of the body. If someone sneezed on Halloween, people would bless one another to keep the devil from capturing the soul.


Halloween Costume Ideas :

1. Pumpkin

First you get some orange material and cut 2 circles, cut them out and sew them together to fit your size. Get a flashlight and put it in your pocket so you light up! 

2. Ghost

Put on a white sheet with the head cut out. Then write on the chest with a marker anything you would like (for example: Bull, Cow, No, Oh, Mouse, Big, Horse, Hot, etc...) Have fun trick-or-treating 

3. Skeleton

Black leotard and tights. White tape or chalk for ribs and bones. White makeup on face with black eyes.

4. Frankenstein

Hi, this a wicked idea and is pretty cheap. All you need is a white shirt, a pair of black trousers, black hair spray, green face paint and fake blood. 
So put your gear on, paint your face green, spray your hair, then use your blood to make scars. 

5. Werewolf:

This costume will have brown hair on it. It would be like a suit but only one part not two. For the head you would have to put fake hair, or you would get a mask. Your sneakers would have to be hairy. 


Halloween Party Ideas for Food :

Let yourself go wild with your Halloween party ideas for food and you're sure to come up with some original (and grotesque) foods. 

You can turn your buffet table into a coffin by using sturdy cardboard, paint it black, and fill it with ghoulish goodies. Use this great smoking cauldron as a centerpiece for an awesome effect.

Also, make sure to label the foods so that everyone knows exactly what they're chewing on. Kids love it when you give everyday food scary names.

*Handburgers: Help the kids trace their hands on a beef patty and then cut it in the shape of their hands. Use the excess meat to make more patties. 

*Mummy Dogs: Hot dogs wrapped with breadstick dough and two dots of mustard for the eyes. 

*Spiders Dipped in Blood: Slice hot dogs with a knife from both ends to almost the middle several times. Boil and the ends curl up to look like spider legs. 

*Halloweenies: A less scary version of a hot dog. 

*Fried Fingers with a Side of Guts: Chili fries. 

*Bloody Cat Soup: Take a ketchup bottle, peel off the label, write a new one with a black cat and stick it on.

*Worm Casserole: Mix cooked egg noodles and spaghetti with butter and grated cheese. Bake until the cheese melts. Sprinkle with bread crumbs (dirt) and bake again until toasted.

*Frankenstein's Eyeballs: Mix flour, water and cheddar cheese to make a dough-like substance. Roll it into a ball and press an olive with the pimento facing up. Pull the dough up around the edge of the olive and bake until brown. 

*Skewered Eyeballs: Peel hardboiled eggs and cut each in half. Remove the yolks from the eggs and mash the yolks with mayonnaise. Fill the egg-white halves with the yolk and mayonnaise mixture. Press an olive into the middle with the pimiento "looking" up. Sprinkle the yolk and mayonnaise mixture with red pepper flakes and then, for a great added effect, stab each "eyeball" with a toothpick. 

*Halloween Sandwich Figures: Use Halloween-shaped cookie cutters.

*Bat Wings: Chicken Wings

*Guts: Pasta

*Creepy Jell-O: Use Laytex gloves to make different colored Jell-O hands. You can also use one of these super cool Brain, Heart and Hand Gelatin Molds. Another awesome Jell-O idea is to use a full-face party mask as the mold. Plug any holes in the mask and spray the inside with non-stick spray. Depending on the size of the mask, mix up a couple boxes of Jell-O (usually about 4) with about a 1/4 cup of milk to give it a more realistic look. Add some Gumi worms to the mixture and refrigerate. When the Jell-O has set, carefully remove the mask. This is an awesome desert that the kids'll love! 


Halloween Party Ideas for Drinks :

*Slimy Punch: Pour Mountain Dew into a punch bowl and add green Sherbert

*Hands Floating in Blood: Fill several Laytex gloves with water or Sprite and freeze. Float them in a big bowl of red punch. This'll chill the drink while freaking everybody out.


Halloween Party Ideas for Treats :

*Cat Litter: Mix Grapenuts with powdered sugar and pour the cat litter into a real litter box. Add Tootsie rolls or squished brownies and stir in with a cat litter scoop.

*Spider Oreos: Separate the two parts of an Oreo cookie, put three strands of licorice across the cookie and put the top of the cookie back on. Use two dots of icing to anchor red hots or M&Ms for the eyes.

*Dracula's Teeth with Witch's Blood: Nachos and cheese. Add green food coloring to the melted cheese for a great effect.

*Caramel Apples: Get caramel apple wraps from your local grocery store and have the kids wrap the caramel sheet around the apple and stick in the stick. So simple!

*Krispie Eyes: Make Rice Krispie Treats (directions are on the cereal box). Form them into small balls, add an M&M or other small round candy for the iris, and dot the candy with frosting or gel for the pupil. 

*Candy Hands: Fill transparent Laytex gloves with caramel corn and tie at the top. 

*Bugs on a Log: Take a celery stick, smother with peanut butter, and add little ants (raisins). Another variation is to dip a pretzel rod halfway into peanut butter and roll in chocolate chips. 

This is a fun activity for little children and a treat that can be instantly consumed. And, it's even HEALTHY! 

*Worms in Dirt: crumbled Oreo cookies topped with gummy snakes.