Scottsdale Car Service wants to know what your plans are this Halloween!?

With the Fall season already upon us, the first celebration of Fall commences with Halloween. Halloween as we know has been a time of celebration, superstition, tricks, and treats. Do we know why we dress as frightening creatures and pass out candy in our neighborhoods? Halloween has been a tradition for many centuries, and the holiday’s roots are thick and very intriguing. In the spirit of fall celebrations, here is a few interesting facts about Halloween you may or may not have known!

I am sure you are interested to know where the holiday got it’s name?

The name ‘Halloween’ is thought to have originated from the All Saints Day celebration in the 18^th century was also called All-hallows, from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day. Therefore the night before ‘All-hallowmas’ began to be labeled as All-hallows eve, and eventually Halloween!

Where does the custom of wearing a costume come from?

Halloween is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, the celebration marked the end of summer and the harvest, and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. Celtics and European cultures alike believed on the night of Halloween, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. In order to ward off unwanted spirits people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. Clearly, this appeases to the notion the scarier the costume the better!

So where does the practice of knocking on door to door in search for candy originate?

Aside from dressing up to ward off unwanted spirits, it was important to keep them away from your home as well. Celtics and Europeans believed placing offerings of food outside their homes would appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter. During the 18^th century with the Christian influence, distribution of ‘soul cakes’ was  given to neighbors instead of the old Celtic belief of leaving food out to warn off bad spirits.

How did Halloween come to be as we know it?

Fast forwarding to the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks and witchcraft. That is exactly what took place Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century. Over time Halloween has evolved into what we know it today as the community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating and dressing up! I hope this has opened intrigued and excited you to usher in this winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.

What will you be doing for Halloween this year?