Halloween,

Halloween, brings to mind, Kids, Costumes, Party, Candy, a time for Kids and Adults to let their hair down a little and enjoy themselve, trick-or-treating is done in many countries worldwide were children  knock on their neighbours doors, in order to gather trats of fruit, nuts, and sweets for the Halloween festival,

This day precedes All Saints Day, hence Hallow Eve, this day was a superstitious belief in the appearance of ghosts and goblins, witches and warlocks, today these ideas are far less superstitious, and has become a fun time for both kids and adults alike, where the kids can dress-up and go out Trick or Treating, Many Adults will also dress-up in costumes, and enjoy a fun filled party evening.

A party is usually scheduled at this time of year, with mom doing most of the planning, costume ideas, are just a small part of a party, cost should be a major factor in planning, planning should take place well before the event, and a good book on party ideas is well worth the money, it will be in hand and can be used to supplement your own ideas, a search of the Internet can produce a lot of spooky Ideas that will be scary and entertaining to the guests.

A costume tends to be a personal choice for both kids and adults were most people go in for the scary kind, and prices range from low to high, costumes can be Individual, His and Hers, or a Group, where all group costumes reflect the theme of the party, irrespective of who the party is for, your plans will include where it is being held, and when,

Halloween today is seen as the night during which a seperation between the world of the living and the otherworld were spirits of the dead and inhabitants from the underworld were able to walk free on the earth among the living, it was believed necessary to dress as a spirit or otherworldly creature when venturing outdoors to blend in, and this is where dressing in such a manner for Halloween comes from.

The Jack-o-Lantern, in Scotland, folklore revolves around the ancient Celtic belief in faeries Sidhe” or “Sith” in modern Gaelic, and children who ventured out carried a traditional lantern with a devil face carved into it, to frighten away the evil spirits, such lanterns were made from a turnip with a candle lit in the hollow inside, in modern times, however, such lanterns are made with pumpkins, as in North American traditions, possibly, because it is easier to carve a face in a pumpkin than in a turnip, due to this, the practice of hollowing out pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns may have its roots in this practice.

Houses were also protected with the same candle lanterns, if the spirits got past the protection of the lanterns, the Scottish custom was to offer the spirits parcels of food to leave and spare the house another year, children too were given the added protection by disguising them as such creatures, in order to blend in with the spirits, if children approached the door of a house, they were also given offerings of food which served to ward off the potential spirits that may lurk among them, this is where the origin of the practice of Scottish guising a word whichcomes from disguising, It is now a key feature of the tradition of trick-or-treating practised in North America.