With it being Halloween today, it’s definitely starting to feel a little spooky out there. Shopping aisles are full of sweets and oozing eyeballs, whilst skeletons have started to adorn people’s windows and doorsteps. Whilst Trick and Treating might not be everyone’s cup of tea, there are still plenty of ways to get involved with this old festival – many of which don’t involve carving pumpkins or even leaving the house!
What exactly IS Halloween?
The name Halloween comes from a shortened version of All Hallows’ Eve, which is a Christian period of observing and commemorating the dead. Traditionally, people would say prayers for the recently departed who had not yet reached Heaven.
Arguably, the festival dates back even further and has roots in the Celtic tradition of Samhain, where people marked the move from Autumn into the darker winter nights. The veil between this world and the afterlife thinned, and the spirits of the dead were welcomed home. In Mexico, for example, they celebrate the three days of the dead during this period.
How can you celebrate?
As you can see, Halloween means different things to different people – for some it may simply be an inconvenient interlude before Christmas, whilst others relish the opportunity to dress up and get their spook on. How you celebrate, if at all, will depend on your personal preferences and interests.
You may want to hold a party – perfect for adults and children alike – and encourage people to dress up. There are so many great costume ideas, from matching Ghostbuster outfits to Morticia and Gomez Addams or the classic Scream mask. The wonderful thing about dressing up for Halloween is you can go as crazy as you want, or keep it low key and done an old bed sheet.
Decorating the party venue can be pretty simple, too. A few carefully strung cobwebs and the occasional severed limb may be all you need. Alternatively, you may want to go the whole hog and invest in some animatronic witches, scary clowns or spiders.
For those that love the spooky feel of a woodland at night, you may want to go even further and create a scene that will stick round long after you’ve thrown the pumpkin away. If you’re looking for a way to bring nature inside, then there are a wide number of stunning wall murals you may want to consider. This winter scene creates a definite spooky vibe; it’s possible to imagine someone is lurking in the shadows just to the edge of the space.
Alternatively, you may prefer a more autumnal feel with this scene, the mist and the darkness helping to create a very spine-tingling vibe. These murals can create a wonderful backdrop to any Halloween party, but don’t have to be tied in to this time of year alone. The bonus of nature scenes such as these is that they stand the test of time and can be enjoyed throughout the year.
