Halloween is on October 31st! Adults and children dress up and go door-to-door looking for "treats" (candies, lollipops, chocolate bars, etc.). Every house has carved pumpkins, ghosts and witches, bats, spiders, and skeletons!
The excitement of dressing up in costumes and visiting friends, as well as the massive amounts of candy they bring back, helped to popularize this holiday among children.
One of the things that makes parents feel uneasy is when their child asks "What exactly is Halloween? Why do we dress up in costumes?" As part of your parenting journey, you must explain Halloween traditions in simple terms, using age-appropriate language that does not frighten the children.
If you are addressing the narrative to children, you can alter it to remove the scary parts.
You can talk about the harvest season's story. The origins of Halloween may be traced back many generations to when humans celebrated the end of the harvest season. Ancient societies had finished harvesting their crops by the end of October and were preparing for the non-growing season, when the crops were "dead" due to the cold of winter.
You can tell the narrative where kids are dressing up as someone they are not or as their favorite characters on Halloween night. Furthermore, they can go for “trick or treat” in their neighborhood to collect sweets and candy, following the practice of poor children going door-to-door on All Hallows Eve and collecting food in exchange for the promise of praying for the giver's deceased relatives on All Saints Day.
You can also use the story related with the Christian holiday “All Saints” or “Hallowmas” on November 1st, commemorating the deceased and appreciating things associated with them. According to the legend, on the night before All Hallows Day, the ghosts of the dead would come to earth for one last time before resting in peace. This is where the custom of dressing up in costumes to frighten away ghosts originated!
Above all, Halloween is what you make it, and it should be a happy, exciting time for everyone.
Now, use your creativity to come up with some fantastic costumes for the kids and yourself for Halloween night!
Have a fantastic Halloween!
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