For many of you, this Halloween will be your first American holiday experience!
You might be wondering where the tradition came from. Halloween evolved from an ancient Irish holiday that marked the end of summer and the harvest season. When the Irish immigrated to America during the Great Famine in the 1800’s, they brought the holiday with them. They would go door-to-door asking for food and gifts and offer to pray for the dead.
The modern-day definition of Halloween is very different than what it used to be. Now Halloween is celebrated each year on October 31st, and consists of fun activities and events including dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins and watching scary movies.
It’s an opportunity for people to go out with their friends, meet their neighbors and interact with people. One of my favorite parts of Halloween is that there is no dress code; you can really let your creativity shine. It’s also a way to teach children about giving and receiving. Halloween is a great opportunity for people of all ages to come together, celebrate and have fun!
The first Halloween experience of my life was during my Freshman year. Our dorm was transformed into a Haunted House, and each floor had its own spooky theme. It was the first time I truly came out of my comfort zone since I moved to America and started making friends.
Almost every school has some sort of Halloween event, you just need to find out where it is and start socializing. And don’t worry if you can’t find a costume. Most people wear costumes, but wearing your normal clothes are perfectly fine too. The key is to have fun and be safe!
Here is a quick guide to understanding some of the traditions of Halloween:
- Costumes: Your costume is the first thing to think about after being invited to a Halloween party. Search the web to get some ideas. Personally, I use Pinterest to brainstorm costume ideas. Halloween costumes can be scary, funny, or just plain silly. A lot of people like to dress up as their favorite celebrity.
Where to buy costumes?: Make your own! Be creative! You can even just buy a cheap white sheet from Walmart, cut out holes for your eyes and go as a ghost! There are so many options. Amazon, Walmart, Party City, Spirit Halloween all carry costumes that are affordable and ready to wear.
- Trick-or-Treating: Trick-or-Treating is a Halloween tradition where kids go around their neighborhoods, knock on their neighbors doors and yell “Trick or Treat!”. The kid holds out a bag and the neighbor is expected to put a piece of candy inside. If you live in an area with a lot of kids, it might be a good idea to buy a bag of candy (make sure it is pre-packaged). Fun-size candy bars are a common choice, which can be found at most stores like Walmart. Putting a sign out to let kids know that trick-or-treaters are welcome is recommended too!
- Scary movies: Watching movies is fun, watching scary movies is even better (unless you’re like me and get scared easily)!. There are tons of horror movies that you can find on Netflix or Prime TV. If you don’t have those paid online streaming services, then Youtube is your best friend.
- Haunted houses: When I lived on campus, my dormitory was transformed into a haunted house each year for Halloween. Haunted Houses are buildings or houses that people set up and allow visitors to walk through. They are filled with creepy decorations and people in costumes that jump out and try their hardest to scare you. Some Haunted Houses are scarier than others, but be careful if you’re easily scared!
- Pumpkin Carving: Pumpkin carving is probably the least scary, but still fun halloween tradition. I was never good at pumpkin carving until my coworker told me about some cool templates I could download off the internet. Just print them off, buy a pumpkin from the grocery store, scoop out all the stuff inside the pumpkin, place the template over the pumpkin, and cut out the shapes. Here’s a website that has some really cool pumpkin carving ideas, as well as resources and tips on how to do them. They also have some free patterns that you can download and use. https://www.bhg.com/halloween/pumpkin-carving/pumpkin-carving-ideas/
There are probably a lot of halloween themed events happening around you, search the web and go have fun!