Archive for March, 2007
The History of Halloween Costumes
Posted by: | CommentsHalloween has a distinct history. It takes place worldwide on October 31. In the United States and Canada dressing in costume by both children and adults is traditional and ‘trick-or-treating’ takes place. Pumpkins are carved into jack-o-lanterns and Halloween parties for both adults and children feature haunted house displays, ghost stories and games like bobbing for apples. Images of ghosts jump out from decorated homes, as do skeletons, black cats, witches and other goblins. Halloween parades are rampant.
Halloween has its origins in the Pagan festival of ‘Samhain’ (pronounced: SOW ehn). This simply translates into ‘summer’s end.’ Originally a festival that marked the ending of the harvest and the beginning of the winter season, the in 800s, the Church established a mirror holiday, ‘All Saints’ Day’ on November 1. ‘All Hallows’ was another name given to ‘All Saints Day.’ The definition of hallow is saint, or holy one. ‘All Hallows Eve’ the evening before ‘All Saints’ Day’ became known as ‘Hallow e’en’. Now it’s just called Halloween as slang for the original name.
TV stars
Posted by: | CommentsYou will need pencils paper and sticky tape.
AS people arrive stick a number whch they keep hidden, and give them the name of a soap star.
Now when they mix and talk to each other they must put on the accent of the soap personality.
As they talk they’ve also got to figure out the personality being mimicked by others.
When a person is foundout, the peronality is written down beside that players number and whoever gets the most characters right, wins the game.
[tag]party games[/tag]
Your first Impressions
Posted by: | CommentsTo start with , get hold of pencils, cards, pins or selotape.
When people arrive, pin or stick a card to their back.
Then as the mix and talk to each other, they write a few short descriptive words about each other on the card.
Best let people4 know not to be too rude here.
After maybe 15 mins, people read out the card of the person standing next to them.
Should be fun!
[tag]party games[/tag]
Halloween past present and future 5
Posted by: | CommentsNew modern traditions have evolved. The commercial venture of visiting a haunted house is one of these, and is used as fund-raisers now. Popular costumes now inspire the dressing up of yesteryear, and more humorous costumes exist. Parents now accompany children during trick or treating in America and pranks are practically non-existent. This evolved because of scares over the years about poisoned treats. Costume prizes now exist and others dress to impress rather than scare. Homes, bars and nightclubs are where these activities take place primarily.
Although some countries don’t have Halloween they have similar holidays. Mexico celebrates ‘The Day of the Dead’ and blends ‘All Souls Day’ with Catholic and Native American traditions. Human skeletons decorate Mexican homes, and set out food for spirits that wander. Guy Fawkes Day in England has taken the place of Halloween and is a patriotic holiday on November 5. Guy Fawkes was a conspirator with a group of Catholic conspirators that attempted to blow up parliament in the early 1600s. The conspirators were captured, tortured and killed instead.
Second only to Christmas in popularity in America, millions celebrate without knowing the origins. Halloween is a time for friends, family, and parties. Some still view it superstitiously, but no matter how it’s viewed, it’s an intriguing holiday.
Pinning up partners
Posted by: | CommentsFor this game you’ll need:
A large noticeboard
A sheet of paper
Newspapers
Pins
We are going to describe a new way of pairing off single people at your party.
In preparation you cut out a few newspaper and magazine shots of famous people and hand them out to people of the appropriate sex.
Each cut out that you pass out htis way will have a pin through the head of the personality and your guests name on the reverse.
Now you blindfold each of your guests and spin them around 3 times.
Now they attach their photo to the board and those nearest pair up for the next game.
[tag]party games[/tag]
Halloween past present and future 4
Posted by: | CommentsOther less well known superstitions about Halloween are the beliefs that the Welsh held that you could sneeze your soul out which led to the ‘God Bless You’ we all now use after sneezing. If someone sneezed on Halloween, it was especially dangerous as the devil could then capture your traveling soul.
Owls were thought by some cultures to swoop down and snatch the souls of the dying, and any owl heard hooting immediately had individuals turning their pockets inside out for good luck. Africans would eat in silence during Halloween night to keep the spirits happy, and encourage them to come to the table. In Britain, the devil was viewed as a nut gatherer and nuts were worn on Halloween night as magic charms.
A lot of folklore exists about babies born on Halloween and their ability to see and speak with ghosts. This is called the ‘Gift of Second Sight’ and many movies are made about this folk tale. Halloween babies are also supposedly protected from evil spirits.
Halloween also has romantic superstitions. It’s been said that catching a snail and locking it in a dish on Halloween night will reveal your ‘sweetheart’s’ name in the morning. Another states that a girl that puts rosemary and a silver coin under her pillow will see her future husband in a dream.
The carrying of water to a spring on Halloween night by a young girl will supposedly reveal a future husband’s reflection in the water. Carrying a broken egg in a glass to a spring of water during the day and mixing some of the water into the glass will reveal the future husband’s image as well as future children. Scattering the seed of hemp into a field while chanting, “Hemp I Sow Thee, Come After Me, and Show Me’ and then turning around would reveal the image of her future husband.