Ladied and gentlemen.
Good evening and welcome to the 2016 Halloween Party.
I’ll be giving a brief introduction on the history of Halloween.
As most of us already know, Halloween is celebrated around the world on every 31 October. In some countries, the day is also observed as a religious holiday.
Early Christian churches celebrated 1 November as All Saints’ Day, in honor of those who died for their religion, or for the good of all men. The day was also known as All Hallows Day.
Just like the night before Christmas is known as Christmas Eve, the night before All Hallows Day was referred to as All Hallows Eve, which was later changed to Halloween.
On a day like this, most people wear scary costumes to look like vampires, ghosts or even famous movie characters. The celebrations continue through the night in many parts of the world and could start a week before 31 October.
Halloween is now observed in almost every country with celebrities taking center stage. The fashion craze makes it impossible for one to question if there’s a history behind all that. Of course, there is.
History tells us that early Christians believed spirits of the dead would visit the earth on Halloween. And the fact that they could be good or bad, makes it impossible for those believers not to take precaution.
The Europeans and Celts, in those days, thought it would be wise to wear a mask which was expected to hide their real identities for fear that evil spirits could harm them.
Good thinking, one might say. Whether that worked or not, is left for an argument.
However, in this modern day, most people are no longer afraid of ghosts or vampires. In fact, we mostly see them only in the movies. But that didn’t take away the festivities that come with 31 October.
Halloween has therefore, come to stay. The day has become a super-fun date for kids around the world. On every 31 October, they visit home owners, asking, “Trick or Treat?”
As expected, gifts like candy or other pleasing chewables are given as “treats”.
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