Halloween goes back to pageant festivals traditionally held at the end of October. People believed it was a time of year that spirits would come alive. They dressed in costumes and stayed inside to prevent being harmed by the spirits. Traditional games are played this time of year one known as bobbing for apples, which entails trying to catch an apple with your teeth.
Some say it’s a reminder of the women accused of witchcraft in the Middle Ages, when women were tied to chairs and dunked in the river or pond. But according to Wikipedia, the history of bobbing for apples dates back to when the Romans conquered Britain, bringing with them the apple tree, a representation of the goddess of fruit trees, Pomona. When an apple is sliced in half, the seeds form a pentagram-like shape, and it is thought that the manifestation of such a symbol meant that the apple could be used to determine marriages during this time of year. From this belief comes the game bobbing for apples.
In today’s society, however, Halloween celebrations are associated with pumpkin carving, face painting of wizards and witches, spooky fun parties with spiders and black cats, and ghosts that go boo in the night. Here are a few fun things you can make (some steps may require a parent’s hands) to help get your home and family into the Halloween spirit.
Ghostly Path Light
What you’ll need
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- Clean plastic gallon milk jugs
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- Black permanent marker
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- Craft knife
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- String of 50 clear low-wattage holiday lights
How to make it
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- Draw ghost eyes and mouths on the jugs. Tip: Leave the caps on while you do this, so the jugs don’t dent.
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- Use the craft knife to cut a half-dollar-size hole in the back of each jug (a parent’s job).
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- Arrange the ghosts near each other and string the lights between them, stuffing several bulbs into each of the jugs.
Autumnal Door Decorations
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- Collect colorful fall leaves and press them in a heavy book for 7-10 days between wax paper (so it won’t damage the book).
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- Then, using metallic paint markers, glue, and glitter, draw on the pressed leaves or write Halloween greetings.
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- To add additional shine to the leaves, brush them with Mod Podge when you’re finished decorating them.
Black & White Pumpkins
Instead of carving pumpkins, try something a little different this year. Spray paint pumpkins white. When they’re dry, with black paint or a Sharpie, create your own faces, patterns or spooky designs.
Happy Halloween!
Jo x
Copywritten by Jo Frost
