17 Oct 09 Halloween Invitations and Celebrations Around the World

Halloween Celebrations Around the World

Nothing seems to kick off autumn like Halloween celebrations. All over the world and for hundreds of years, October 31st and some of the nearby days have been a little bit spooky. Here in the United States, of course, Halloween is celebrated. More than 60% of people decorate their homes and yards for the holiday. And more candy is sold around this time of year than at any other time, except Christmas. Some of those tasty treats are going to trick or treaters and party guests but there is more to this day than sweets and scary Halloween invitations, http://www.holiday-invitations.com/halloween-party-invitations-24.htm

Origins of the Holiday

The Spooky Halloween invitation, http://www.holiday-invitations.com/halloween-party-invitations-24.htm can be traced back to the Celtic people who once lived in what is now the UK. On October 31st, they celebrated Samhain that was a big festival to honor the Lord of the Dead. The day was considered special because they believed the spirits of the dead were able to move into this world on that night and could walk around freely until dawn. They didn't even need ghost invitations to join the party.

The costume invitations sometimes used for Halloween parties can be traced to the Celts for this, too. Because not all of those free roaming spirits were nice folks, the festival involved wearing costumes so the evil spirits couldn't find them.

Trick or Treating

Another important aspect of the holiday is sending children door to door begging for candy - a practice known today as trick or treating. While modern kids don't think anything of this fun activity, it's only been widely practiced here since the 1930s. Some suggest that trick or treating was encouraged by adults to prevent kids from vandalizing property on Halloween night. But no documentation of such a reason has been produced and sending out Halloween party invitations, http://www.holiday-invitations.com/ would seem to take care of that problem.

But trick or treating could stem from a practice known as souling that was practiced throughout the UK and Europe on November 1st. People with no food or money would go door to door for a handout in exchange for prayers for their deceased relatives. This might have inspired some of these modern Halloween celebrations in the U. S.

Around the Globe

Just as people in the U. S. have plenty of reasons to send out invitations Halloween party, so do other countries. Romania is a good place to visit on October 31st. Travelers can go to Dracula's castle and watch recreations of witch trials while taking a tour through Transylvania. Trick or treating occurs in other parts of the world, too, including Denmark and parts of South America. Tourists can also visit Mexico for Halloween then stick around for their traditional Day of the Dead festivities. Throughout much of the world, Halloween celebrations are a big part of this time of year.

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Sarah Porter has written about Scary Halloween Invitations Cards, Printable Halloween Invitations, Free Halloween Party Invitations, Kids Invitations Halloween Party, Photo Halloween Invitation and more at http://www.cardsshoppe.com http://www.holiday-invitations.com and http://www.invitations-shoppe.com