Young readers learn about the early traditions which have led to our present-day celebration of Halloween.

Introduces the history and traditions of the Halloween holiday, including the story behind the holiday and how people celebrate it today.

There are so many interesting and unanswered questions about Halloween: Why do we celebrate Halloween? Why do we go trick or treating? Why do we dress up in scary costumes? Why do we get candy on Halloween? Have you ever wondered how Halloween got started? Was it invented by candy sellers? It might seem strange to you now, but the celebration of Halloween goes back hundreds of years, to a time when people's lives were deeply connected to the land, the food it produced, and the changing of the seasons. In essence, Halloween started as a celebration of the Earth's bounty, and as preparation for the coming dark days of winter. Read to see where all the modern traditions associated with Halloween came from and how they changed over the centuries to become the holiday we love and celebrate today. For Parents: It's easy to dismiss Halloween as a ploy to sell more candy. The holiday, however, is steeped in ancient symbolism and carries a deeper meaning about the rhythm of the seasons and our eternal connection to the earth. Understanding the roots of the holiday, which began as a harvest festival, helps make it a more meaningful celebration than simply the exchange of candy. This book aims to present the history of Halloween in clear, simplified terms, so that kids, and families, can begin to appreciate the rich symbolism and ancient customs of the holiday. Halloween is a complex, multi-layered celebration with lots of influences and traditions. It marks a time of transition between seasons - the end of summer and the beginning of the dark days of winter. This ancient celebration was a way for people to understand nature and to try to influence and control it. As modern society becomes more estranged from food production and nature, the traditions that formed Halloween remind us that we are intricately connected to the land, the food it produces, and the changing seasons. About this book: Fully illustrated with color photographs that aim to recreate the mood, feeling and atmosphere of the ancient festival. They are not intended to be historically accurate. This book focuses on the pagan roots of Halloween and the Celtic celebration of Samhain. It does not address the Christian aspects of the festival, such as All Hallows' Eve. The objective of this book is to introduce children to the history of Halloween, and its beginnings as a fall harvest celebration, and to get them to observe and think about the origins of other modern festivals and traditions. Topics discussed in this book: The Celtic Samhain harvest festival and its connection to Halloween. The significance of the changing of the seasons to people's lives. And why ancient people celebrated these changes with feasts. Where Halloween symbols and traditions come from: Jack-O-Lanterns, trick or treating, costumes and masks, and the association of Halloween with witches, ghosts and demons. Includes a "Things to Talk About" section with suggested topics for discussion and further research: The importance of the cycles of nature to our daily lives. Exploring other festivals that celebrate seasonal changes. Researching sacred foods associated with feasts and festivals. Taking notice of other ancient customs that we still practice today and talking about how they get passed down through the ages. Looking up unfamiliar and new terms used in the book.

A full history of this frequently misunderstood phenomenon is provided in Trick or Treat. It wonders how holidays as disparate as the Celtic Samhain, the British Guy Fawkes Day, and the Catholic Holy Days of All Saints and All Souls could have merged to generate contemporary Halloween while providing an interesting summary of how Halloween has expanded over the world. The holiday was revived in the United States, where dressing up and the "trick or treat" practice developed new traditions, drawing inspiration from similar but separate celebrations in Central America, particularly Mexico's Day of the Dead. We learn about the current surge in the popularity of haunted attractions and see how Halloween is becoming more and more popular in nations like Russia, Japan, and China.

Using a mix of personal anecdotes and perceptive social analysis, acclaimed cultural critic David J. Skal examines the amazing phenomenon of Halloween, exploring its dark Celtic history and illuminating why it has evolved-in the course of a few short generations-from a quaint, small-scale celebration into the largest seasonal marketing event outside of Christmas.

The Haunted History of Halloween explores the development of Halloween, from its prehistoric Celtic origins to its startling rise in popularity around the world in the twenty-first century. Norman is a skilled author of horror short stories, and her nonfiction works exhibit the same ability to captivate readers and keep them turning the pages. This well-researched, concise work is lavishly illustrated, entertaining to read, and a fantastic option for people who want to understand why we seek out the spooky every October. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of this widely misunderstood phenomenon. It wonders how celebrations as disparate as the Celtic Samhain and the Catholic Holy Days of All Saints and All Souls could have merged to create the current Halloween while providing an interesting summary of how Halloween has expanded over the world. The holiday was revived in the United States, where dressing up and the "trick or treat" practice developed new traditions, drawing inspiration from similar but separate celebrations in Central America, particularly Mexico's Day of the Dead. We learn about the current surge in the popularity of haunted attractions and see how Halloween is becoming more and more popular in non-Western nations like Russia, Japan, and China. Also, the author explores the significance of Halloween in the context of its rising global popularity, taking us on a journey from the spectacular to the macabre. This makes it a must-read for anyone interested in learning more about the origins of this contemporary holiday behind the mask. Full of historical nuggets and strange folklore, Norman's Booo! It's Halloween: The Haunted History of Halloween is the perfect bible for all devoted disciples of the holiday. Blair Norman provides us with an endearing, unsettling, perceptive, and utterly interesting history of Halloween. It's a delightful combination of pop culture knowledge and cultural history to read! Click the "Add to Cart" button!

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.