31st October: Halloween

Hope you have a spooktastic Halloween! 10 things about Halloween:

1. The word Halloween derives from All Hallows Eve, or the night before All Saints Day on November 1st. Most of the customs pre-date Christianity by a long time. Most of these come from the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced Sowain), a fire festival celebrating the beginning of winter.
2. Samhain was the Celtic new year, and is still celebrated as new year by many pagans today.
3. The Celts believed that the veil between this world and the next was thinnest at this time of year. Friends and relatives who had died would often return, with their souls inhabiting an animal - often a black Cat. That is why black cats are, to this day, symbols of Halloween.
4. The custom of Trick or Treat originated with the Celts as well. To give thanks for the harvest, people would go door to door to collect food for offerings to the gods, and children would collect firewood for the bonfires.
5. Another Celtic custom was to take home an ember from the main bonfire and re-light it at home. Of course, they needed something to carry it home in, and a hollowed out gourd, or Pumpkin, was just the ticket. The hollowed out pumpkin had an extra function - carving a scary face on it, which would be lit up by the embers, would scare the evil spirits away.
6. Dressing up at Halloween comes from the same reason - people would dress up as animals, so that the evil spirits would be fooled into thinking they were not human.
7. One of the top times of year for spells to work out when or who you'll marry. Popular methods include the first person to manage to take a bite out of an Apple floating in a bucket of water or suspended on a string will be the next to marry, as would the one who finds the ring baked into a loaf of Bread.
8. Conservative Christians often speak out against the pagan customs, and stage their own versions. Giving out sweets in the church car park and inviting children to a Christian-based party is one. Another suggestion was that Christians could invite trick or treating children into their house and show them a Christian play or tableau (is it just me, or is that last one actually rather creepy?)
9. The staples of modern day Halloween costumes every year are: cat, Frankenstein's monster, ghosts, Vampires and witches.
10. Predictions for what the trick or treaters will be wearing this year include - superheroes, especially Batman, Superman and Spiderman, Princesses, Anything from Frozen, Mutant Ninja Turtles, zombies and, top of the list as always, witches.

BTW, If you want some spooky Halloween reading, my novel, Death and Faxes is out now. 

It's about a young psychic who is asked by a detective to help track down a serial killer. At first, she is reluctant - but the ghosts of the victims won't leave her alone...

Go to Amazon Kindle Store for the e-book and a free "Look inside" excerpt;

CreateSpace or Amazon for the paperback. (The link takes you to Amazon.co.uk, but it should be available in other countries' Amazon sites as well).