I read an article about Halloween’s past and present.
Samhain, the ancient Celt' s festival, widely considered to be the precursor of Halloween. On Samhain night, the spirits of people who had died in the past year would walk among our living world. So villagers put out food and sweets to pacify these spirits. This is a ritual that may have preceded trick-or-treating.
Halloween has pagan origins, but its name has Christian origins. It is derived from the Christian holiday “All Hallows Eve”, or the evening before All Saints’ Day (1 November). Halloween itself was adapted by Christians who hoped to stamp out paganism, and over the years, some of the darker aspects of Halloween have been replaced by more light-hearted, family-friendly festivities. But Halloween still has the scary and supernatural aspects today, in celebrations all over the world.
Ireland is arguably the holiday’s birthplace. Halloween is still greeted with excitement each year. Barnbrack is a fruitcake with different charms baked inside, for example, a ring, a coin, or the rag. In Mexico, Halloween became joined with Dia de los Muertos. It is The Day of the Dead and indigenous holiday in Mexico. In Romania, Halloween is a major draw for tourists seeking a Dracula themed scare. In the United States, Halloween is the day with both young and the old getting in on the fun.
I think about Halloween in Japan.
Recently, I think that Halloween has come to been celebrated in Japan. But it seems that very few people celebrate the day for religious reasons. We enjoy Halloween as one of the fun events. I think this is similar to Christmas in Japan. But many people in Japan knows Christmas is the holiday of Jesus Christ's birthday, on the other hand, they don't know what is Halloween.
I think that Halloween is utilized for increasing sales by some companies and theme parks in Japan. In the supermarket, they say " Let' s eat pumpkins for Halloween", and discount the pumpkins. Restaurant provides pumpkin-using dishes for a limited time. Some theme parks hold a Halloween parade. I think this is a point in common with St. Valentine's Day in Japan. In Japan, as St. Valentine's Day is " the chololate's day", so Halloween seems to be " the pumpkin's day".
Sood, Suemedha. "Travelwise: Halloween’s past and present." BBC Online. 28 October 2011. Web. 1 November 2011. <http://www.bbc.com/travel/blog/20111028-travelwise-halloweens-past-and-present>
When I was a kid in America I would go around with my friends dressed up in scary costumes. We would go from one neighbor's door to another, trick-or-treating. The neighbors would give us candy. We loved Halloween but we never thought about its history or religious association.
返信削除Then when I was a college student we enjoyed going to Halloween parties where we would drink and dance for hours. We also dressed in costumes. One year I was a caveman.