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Oct

31

2012

Oct

31

2012

Oct

31

2013

Oct

31

2013


Trick or Treat During Halloween in New York!

Published by Kristin Cowles, Editor-in-Chief

Country: United States

The Experience

Pumpkins aglow with spine chilling faces, sit gazing out from neighborhood porches as they await the arrival of the next trick or treat'er on all Hallows eve. Now known as Halloween, a contraction of Hallows Eve, this secular tradition is celebrated annually on October 31. Long before the days of trick or treating, corn mazes, and bobbing for apples, Halloween traditions originated from the Celts, who on the 31st celebrated the harvest and year end. This time of year was believed to be the weakest point between the bonds of life and death, and to ward off the evil spirits many lit fires to keep away spirits with large billows of smoke. Following the Catholic churches influence, November 1st was named All Saints Day, or Hallowmus in an effort to involve the masses in a non pagan tradition at that time of year, and thus October 31, the evening prior, All Hallows Eve, now known as Halloween. The tradition of Halloween emigrated to America during the Great Famine in the 1850's, when many Irish involved their own influences on the tradition such as bobbing for apples and harmless pranks on neighbors and friends. As the pranks escalated in unruly nature around the 1930's, candy began to be offered as a way of bribing children to not vandalize local stores fronts and homes. Today Halloween is celebrated as much by children as it is by adults, joining in festivities of carving pumpkins, haunted houses, corn mazes, costume parties and of course the traditional trick or treating.

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When to Go to Halloween

If you want to join the pack of trick or treat'ers, the evening of October 31 is the time to celebrate this ghoulish event.

Odds n' Ends

Its always a good idea to thoroughly check all candy you receive to make sure no seals are broken and nothing has been tampered with. Costumes are a great tradition and a great way to participate in your own way, so get creative and dream up a demon from outer space.

More Experiences Nearby

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Books and DVDs

The Halloween Tree (Hardcover)
Special indeed are holiday stories with the right mix of high spirits and subtle mystery to please both adults and children.
Frankenstein
If you haven't read it recently, though, you may not remember the sweeping force of the prose, the grotesque, surreal imagery, and the multilayered doppelgänger themes of Mary Shelley's masterpiece.

Elsewhere on the Web

History of Halloween - TheHistoryChannel.com
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.
Halloween - About.com
While our modern celebration of Halloween still bears traces of its Celtic origins, it has come down to us for the most part as a cross-cultural stew of folk traditions.
Monsters and goblins and ghosts. Oh, my! - Answers.com
Are you wondering why pint-sized ghouls and goblins are wandering the streets and ringing strangers' doorbells; why your significant other is pestering you to dress up as Sonny to her Cher at a masquerade ball; why goosebumps and shivers are in the air; and why chocolates seem to come only in miniature sizes this time of year?
Halloween - Wikipedia.org
Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses", carving Jack-o'-lanterns, reading scary stories and watching horror movies. Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century.
Halloween in New York About.com
Halloween Extravaganza and Procession of Ghouls This annual Halloween event features a classic silent horror film accompanied by outstanding organ music at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine followed by The Grand Procession of the Ghouls.

Media References

Fun With Pumpkins, Apples, Corn & Hay: Fall For Kids Guide - Digital City.com (blog)
With all the fall activity going on around you, make sure you get the kids in on all the fun. Fall is a great time to take the young ones to pick out pumpkins, taste fresh apples or find their way through a corn maze.
Pumpkin sales pick up - News10Now.com (television)
Good-bye summer. Today is the first day of fall! Maybe you've started to spruce up the outside of your home with the traditional corn stalks, gourds and of course pumpkins!

Language Guides

French , Hindi , Indonesian , Italian , Japanese , Lao , Malay , Mandarin , Portugese , Russian , Spanish , Thai , Turkish , Vietnamese are some of the languages spoken in United States. If you know of a freely available phrase book or podcast for one of the missing languages, let us know!

Discussion

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