Dive into Halloween history for kids to unravel myths and superstition! It’s the time of the year when the dead rise again and Jack-O-Lanterns are carved to ward off evil spirits. But the story behind Halloween still remains a mystery to many of us.
This kid-friendly guide will delve into history of Halloween, popular legends and Halloween fun facts to make this spooky holiday all the more fun!
Table of Contents:
History Behind Halloween
Halloween or Allhalloween or All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, is observed every year on October 31 – on the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day, also known as All Saints’ Day.
It is believed Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain of Britain, meaning ‘Summer’s End’ and was celebrated the end of harvest season.
It was at this time, people believed, that the boundaries between world of the living and the dead become blurred, allowing spirits to pass through and come back to life and damage their crops.
Places were hence set at the dinner table to appease and welcome the spirits. With time, the festival become best known for children donning costumes and masks to scare others and collect treats.
Whatever may be the reason behind the festival, it is now synonymous with scary, silly pranks, pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating.
Quick Tip: Check out Halloween Trivia For Kids to see how much you know about the spooky holiday!
Legend of Pumpkin Carving
Pumpkin carving is uniquely associated with Halloween. So much that it is impossible to think bout Halloween without envisioning a carved pumpkin.
A must in the Halloween décor, the tradition of carving a pumpkin has a spooky story behind it.
According to belief, a drunk farmer named ‘Stingy Jack’ was refused entry in both heaven and hell after his demise. Lost in darkness, he carved a lantern out of a turnip to guide his soul.
The Celtics who originated the festival of Halloween, thus, placed these carved lanterns outside their houses to guide lost soul wandering during this time. That’s how the tradition of making ‘Jack O’ Lantern’ came into being.
Quick Tip: Make sure to make learning about Halloween fun with these spook-tacluar Would You Rather Halloween Edition for kids and family.
Halloween Fun Facts
Halloween is celebrated in many countries around the world, each one having its own Halloween traditions. Some of weird ones are:
- Manila, capital of the Philippines, hosts a pet costume festival with the aims to raise funds for animal welfare groups.
- Japanese city of Kawasaki holds an annual Halloween costume parade. More than 100,000 watch it and 2,500 people take part.
Also check out 150+ Fun Facts for Kids for amazing, weird but true facts!
- Irish people bake a fruitcake called ‘Barnbrack’ and hide treats inside it. If a ring is found, it means that the person will soon be wed; a piece of straw means a prosperous year is on its way; a pea means the person will not marry that year; a stick means an unhappy marriage or dispute; a coin represents good fortune.
- In Germany, people hide their knives to assure that no returning spirit is harmed or can harm them.
- Austrians leave food items like bread and water along with a lit lamp on the table before going to bed.
- In Czech Republic, chairs for deceased family members are placed by the fire on Halloween night alongside the chairs of living ones.
Quick Tip: Include Free Halloween Printable Activities for Kids to elevate the fun!
- The tradition of trick or treating is inspired by the custom of Souling. According to this tradition, poor people went from house to house asking for soul cakes in return of blessings for the family of the giver.
- Initial Jack O’ Lanterns were carved out of potatoes. But that changed after potato famine and Pumpkins were used instead.
DIY Halloween Costumes for Kids
The most fun part about Halloween is the dress up. Children just adore dressing up as witches, wizards and in all sorts of silly costumes. But you don’t need to spend a fortune in buying these wonderful costumes.
Here are some DIY costume ideas that will make your kids super happy and excited:
1. How does a snail sound for a Halloween costume? Only this one is super cute and certainly non-slimy.
2. Like to paint? What a better idea than to be a Paintbrush then! This easy tutorial will transform your little one into walking talking paintbrush with her/his own palette in under 30 minutes. Now that’s real quick
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3. Spooky Ghost is the fave costume of all. What else, its super easy, quick and NO Stitching required. You possibly can’t ask for more!!
Quick Tip: A plain white sheet would work just as fine.
Do Ghosts intrigue you? Find out All About Ghosts with this kid-friendly guide!
4. Fancy dressing your daughter as a Witch? No worries! Just dress her up in black and don this adorable witch hat. Wolah! She is ready to go.
5. If you are looking for something unique and have the time and energy, than this Garden Gnome is for you. It’s adorable, unisex and can be fixed under an hour.
6. For all Harry Potter Fans (count me in!), this is one of the easiest costume for the famous wizard. Just a quick tip here: If you don’t have a striped tie, don’t fret. Just print a tie-template on a craft paper and color it to represent Gryffindor house.
Related: For all the Potterheads, here is a list of Best Harry Potter Would You Rather!
7. No Halloween party is complete without a Bat. Dress your little one as a Bat and let her/him fly around trick-o-treating. No Sew Wings with an all black attire make for a cute little bat.
8. This one is for the Bubble bath Baby who refuses to leave his/her tub. Super cute, cheap and fixes in less than 20 minutes.
9. Here is the popular one – The Dinosaur.
10. This last one is my personal favorite. I have been obsessed with Mummies since I was 4thgrader (Back in those days, we were a little late learning about the world) It’s simple, easy and quick!
Related: Halloween is all about spooky fun! Check out these fun and easy crafts for halloween to make your own decorations and keep kids creatively busy.
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Be spooky and have fun!