Hallows’ Evening – Origins, Traditions, and Frightening Foods
The spookiest time of year can be the unhealthiest time of year. Kids go door to door to receive sugary snacks that contain lots of nasty, unhealthy ingredients loaded with refined sugars… and who knows what else. Where your kids might think ‘treat,’ what you may see is a trick instead. But everyone loves to participate in the festivals swarming with superheroes, black cats, and monsters, which of course means consuming incredible amounts of candy, right?
Wrong! We looked into giving you some healthier options in pumping up your Halloween party with some indulgent fun for your personal fright fest. We shared the history behind Halloween for you to share with party guests. Plus, we gave you the details on haunting snacks to keep your little gremlins entertained this year – without breaking out that sugar-coated nonsense that makes the real horrors of Halloween come true. Enjoy our spooky secrets.
Halloween’s Origins
Halloween as we know it in modern times differs greatly from the root of its origin. Where we recognize this day by wearing goofy or scary costumes, eating goodies from neighbors, and telling ghost stories, frequenting haunted houses, or watching horror films, the original celebration was meant to mark the end of summer.
Halloween is Hallows’ Evening or Hallowe’en. Originally to the Roman Catholic Christians – All Saints’ Eve. Hallowed Evening or Holy Evening comes from the Scottish for All Hallows’ Eve. This was the evening before Hallows’ Day celebrated on November 1st. The Christian Church in the 1700s viewed Halloween as a pagan celebration of the occult or practices deemed incompatible with their beliefs.
History traces Halloween back up to 2000 years ago. A traditional Gaelic recognition of warm weather’s last days called Samhain consisted of a gathering of people who met to mark the finish of harvesting season and beginning of winter referred to as the ‘darker half’ of the year. The community held a feast to celebrate plentiful amounts of food – much like Thanksgiving that we know today. In modern Irish the name is Samhain. In Scottish Gaelic – samhainn. The Samhain tradition is mentioned in early Irish literature that pre-dates Christian roots. Some historians argue that this is the most accurate suggested origin of Halloween, but Christians and others believe otherwise.
Folklorists often suggest that Halloween originated as a celebration to worship Saman – the god of the dead. This theory argues that the dead rose from their graves to walk the earth for the night. This practice roots into the Celtic culture of the Druids. Customs like trick-or-treating and wearing costumes reflect this theory.
Eventually, the Irish introduced Halloween to America during the 19th century. At this point, Halloween was called All Hallow Even or evening of All Saints. Eventually, the tradition spread throughout America, evolving into the holiday we celebrate today.
On November 1st and 2nd, Mexicans celebrate a similar tradition called Day of the Dead – or Dia de los Muertos. Like some beliefs of Halloween, those who observe Dia de los Muertos think that the dead rise. However, this celebration is based in intimate family fun and reunion. Observers hold a feast, and set up pictures of dead family members alongside portraits of saints and Jesus. They leave out sugar skulls and bread to share with their dead relatives, and welcome their presence back into their homes. Dia de los Muertos is more about embracing death than fearing it.
Now that you know the supposed origins of Halloween, you can share the history with your own family members. Here’s a few healthy, organic ideas on GMO-free foods to spread the message of ‘health’, for this age-old tradition.
Frightening Foods
Get creative in your celebration with organic foods, and throw together some serious snackage that both nourishes and gives the kids a smile! We know how to get your little monsters to eat organic fruits and non-GMO vegetables for Halloween this year – no fuss, fight, or fright! Give these ideas a try at this year’s festivities for fun times and organically delicious delicacies.
Idea 1) Peel some organic oranges, and leave the fruits whole. You can peel as many as you need, depending on the amount of guests. For each organic orange, you need one stick of organic celery. Put the organic celery inside the hole at the top of the orange. Voila! Instant, healthy, edible GMO-free pumpkins.
Idea 2) Get several, small dipping cups and put a dollop of organic Greek yogurt inside. You can use plain, but vanilla or coconut will also work. Place organic, dark chocolate chips into the yogurt so that the dollop appears to have two eyes, a nose, and a row of teeth. You can shape the chips so that each cup of yogurt looks like a fun skull-face!
Idea 3) Gather some organic apples – type does not matter. Collect some natural wood toothpicks and small, organic berries (i.e. organic blueberries, organic raspberries, organic grapes, organic blackberries). If you have clean, medical bandages available, then that might prove useful as well. Use the natural tooth picks to arrange the organic berries on the organic apples in odd ways. For instance, you make an alien out of a green apple by placing two toothpicks into the top of the apple, and two grapes at the other ends of the picks. Add organic blackberries or organic blueberries the same way for eyes and mouth. You can also wrap a little of that cloth medical bandage around the apple, before making a pair of eyes with berries. This makes an excellent mini-mummy.
Idea 4) Grab some organic Greek yogurt, along with chunks of organic pineapple, slices of organic tangerine, and some small slices of organic kiwi. Assemble some clear, tall glasses – as many as needed for guests. Place a layer of organic tangerine slices at the bottom, then a layer of plain organic Greek yogurt. Add a layer of organic pineapple chunks, and a layer of organic yogurt. Finally, use a layer of organic kiwi slices, and a layer of organic yogurt. To top it off, place an organic cherry or shake some organic, raw sugar or honey on top. This will give you and your guests a tasty fruit cocktail to enjoy.
Keep Your Hooligans Safe for Halloween!
Remember to make sure your little ghouls know to stay close to their parent or guardian while they haunt this magical night. Ensure a safe and fun Halloween by not accepting candy from strangers, and replacing GMO sugary sweets containing toxic chemicals with wholesome, organic treats that won’t trick their bodies.
If you have any other ideas on wholesome, organic foods to share for Halloween, or you have a fun activity to enjoy at the Monster Mash, feel free to comment below with your special ideas and recipes. We look forward to reading them, and maybe we will even try them for ourselves! Any questions or concerns regarding our products, brand, or web catalogue? Please drop us a line when you get a chance so we can help you out.
Happy Hallows’ Evening from your family at face naturals!
References
- Ideas discovered and refined from this Pinterest
- History of Halloween
- Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience
- Samhain
