Favorite Halloween Poems

Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen, Voices whisper in the trees, "Tonight is Halloween!"

When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers,‘tis near Halloween.

Greetings all my Halloweenies!  My name is Marilyn Baudier, my husband and I reside in the wonderful little sleepy town of Covington, Louisiana which I'm proud to say just celebrated our 200 year anniversary. Halloween in Covington is just wonderful! I'm not certain if its the crispness in the air or all those beautiful autumn leaves that line our streets from the mighty oaks that stand watch over our homes, but it seems contagious to the entire town looking at all the Halloween Decorations that are proudly displayed starting late September.  Personally, I'm simply gaga over Halloween and hopefully together we can conjure up some great ideas for your next Haunt!

Annually I host a Haunt that delivers amazing food and lots of spooky visual stimulation but it's our annual trip to the Historic Old Covington Cemetery that proves to be an interesting end to a successfully haunting evening. Over the next few weeks I intend to post photos from my 2012 Halloween Party and post some amazing Halloween Party Favorites and lots of decorating ideas. Hope you enjoy!

A Short History on Halloween

 

Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.

Halloween Superstitions

Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to deceased relatives and friends. For these friendly spirits, they set places at the dinner table, left treats on doorsteps and along the side of the road and lit candles to help loved ones find their way back to the spirit world. Today's Halloween ghosts are often depicted as more fearsome and malevolent, and our customs and superstitions are scarier too. We avoid crossing paths with black cats, afraid that they might bring us bad luck. This idea has its roots in the Middle Ages, when many people believed that witches avoided detection by turning themselves into cats. We try not to walk under ladders for the same reason. This superstition may have come from the ancient Egyptians, who believed that triangles were sacred; it also may have something to do with the fact that walking under a leaning ladder tends to be fairly unsafe. And around Halloween, especially, we try to avoid breaking mirrors, stepping on cracks in the road or spilling salt.
But what about the Halloween traditions and beliefs that today's trick-or-treaters have forgotten all about? Many of these obsolete rituals focused on the future instead of the past and the living instead of the dead. In particular, many had to do with helping young women identify their future husbands and reassuring them that they would someday—with luck, by next Halloween—be married. In 18th-century Ireland, a matchmaking cook might bury a ring in her mashed potatoes on Halloween night, hoping to bring true love to the diner who found it. In Scotland, fortune-tellers recommended that an eligible young woman name a hazelnut for each of her suitors and then toss the nuts into the fireplace. The nut that burned to ashes rather than popping or exploding, the story went, represented the girl's future husband. (In some versions of this legend, confusingly, the opposite was true: The nut that burned away symbolized a love that would not last.) Another tale had it that if a young woman ate a sugary concoction made out of walnuts, hazelnuts and nutmeg before bed on Halloween night she would dream about her future husband. Young women tossed apple-peels over their shoulders, hoping that the peels would fall on the floor in the shape of their future husbands' initials; tried to learn about their futures by peering at egg yolks floating in a bowl of water; and stood in front of mirrors in darkened rooms, holding candles and looking over their shoulders for their husbands' faces. Other rituals were more competitive. At some Halloween parties, the first guest to find a burr on a chestnut-hunt would be the first to marry; at others, the first successful apple-bobber would be the first down the aisle.
Of course, whether we're asking for romantic advice or trying to avoid seven years of bad luck, each one of these Halloween superstitions relies on the good will of the very same "spirits" whose presence the early Celts felt so keenly.

Halloweenies: Over the following weeks leading up to Halloween, I'll be posting lots of Party Ideas including some Devilish Décor Ideas and Tantalizing Treat Recipes that I hope will inspire and motivate you to plan a Spooky Evening yourself for your family and friends.  Entertaining is making memories and memories last a life time. Now let's make some memories!

Table of Contents for your Spooktacular Time!

1) Do Not Miss A Trick Party Planning
2) Devilish Décor Ideas - Inside and Out
3) Be the Host with the Most Ideas - Making your party memorable / starting traditions
4) Tantalizing Treat, Hors d'oeuvres and Drink Recipes
5) Frightfully Fun Party Adult Games