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Halloween is a very fun holiday so there are countless ideas to decorate. For many, many years both children and adults have delighted in this day. Every October 31, Halloween is also a way to celebrate the fall season with fun and spooky decorating ideas. In this article, we are going to see how to decorate your table in terrifying ways for Halloween.
It is one of the most exciting and anticipated events in some countries. We will show you some of the ideas to decorate your table on Halloween. But we will also mention some things about how this celebration came about. As you may already know, the roots of this holiday go back thousands of years embracing Celtic festivals, Catholic holidays, and even British funeral rituals.
It is good to start with the origin of the name. The word Halloween has evolved from Hallowe’en. This word is an abbreviation for “holy night,” which specifically refers to All Hallows’ Eve, which is an important Christian holiday.
But this Christian celebration has been officially around since the 8th century, the history of Halloween is much older. This started with the Samhain. This is a pre-Christian Celtic festival that celebrates the end of summer. This party ran from dusk to dawn from October 31 to November 1.
Halloween decorating ideas come from centuries ago
This dates back 2000 years from Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. According to Celtic culture, the barrier between the living and the dead was most penetrable during the harvest festival. On that date, they believed that spirits could return to earth and have communication with them.
So, to welcome them, the Celts made offerings of food and other things to be lucky. Part of the Celtic territory was invaded by the Romans in the 1st century AD. reason why their festivities began to mix developing new parties and celebrations.
Of course, the festivities for the celebration of the harvest lasted many centuries. But they also underwent significant changes, especially in the 8th century. As we already mentioned, in this period November 1 was proclaimed as All Saints’ Day.
Pope Gregory III was the one who reinterpreted this pagan holiday as Christian. So October 31 remained like All Hallows’ Eve. And in the 11th century, November 2 became All Souls’ Day. A holiday that is a tribute to all Catholics who have died.
Of course, at that time, the days from October 31 to November 2 were days for prayer and reflection, today, Halloween is known as a fun tradition for trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins, and dressing up.
The tradition of decorated gourds was also thanks to the Irish emigrants to the United States. Previously the Celts also believed that evil spirits could stalk them during the date that allowed the union between the living and the dead.
Turnip lanterns before pumpkins
So they carved hideous faces on turnips to confuse and drive away evil spirits. But with emigration, they found these beautiful fruits perfect for carving. So they continued with their traditions but this time with pumpkins. Well, let’s talk about pumpkin lanterns.
Just like costumes, lanterns have become a staple for Halloween night. Today, pumpkins are carved with countless ideas to decorate both the interiors and exteriors of homes. This traditional element, to medieval Britain.
When people walked from door to door to order some treats, they brought hollowed turnips with candles inside. This of course served to illuminate their path a bit. But in addition to illuminating they were also symbolic.
Legend and symbols of lanterns on Halloween
With the candles inside the turnips, they represented the souls trapped in limbo or purgatory. This symbology connects with the Irish legend, which tells the story of a tight-fisted Jack. According to legend, Jack invited the devil to have a drink with him.
Jack did not want to pay for his drink, so he was able to convince the devil to become a currency that Jack could use to pay for his drinks. Once the devil did, Jack decided to keep the coin and keep it in his pocket along with a silver cross. This prevented the devil from returning to his original form.
After some time, Jack released the devil, making it a condition that he would not bother him for a year and also that if he died, he would not claim his soul. The following year, Jack saw the devil again and deceived him in the same way. He asked him to climb a tree to pick fruit.
While the devil was in the highest part of the tree, Jack surrounded the tree with crosses so that the devil could not go down until he promised he would not bother him for ten more years. Shortly afterward Jack died. Legend has it that God did not allow Jack to enter heaven for his life full of sins and vices.
The devil who was also upset with Jack for having deceived him and also for keeping his word not to take Jack’s soul also did not allow him to enter hell. So he sent Jack to wander forever in the dark night but gave him small burning coal so that he could light his way.
So Jack took the burning coal and placed it on a carved turnip. So ever since then, Jack has been roaming the earth. Due to this legend, the Irish began to call this ghostly figure Jack of the Lantern to later simply by Jack O’Lantern. So due to the inspiration of this story, the Irish began to carve their lanterns to celebrate. A tradition that finally came to North America where there were no turnips but pumpkins.
The famous trick or treat
The trick-or-treating tradition is the one most closely linked to Halloween. Today children dress up and go door to door to collect sweets and treats. This tradition, historians have linked it to Samhain and medieval customs in the British Isles.
The Celts believed that, during Samhain, spirits would disguise themselves as beggars to trick people into giving them food, money, and other coveted goods. But due to the superstition that rejecting the pleas of disguised spirits results in a curse, it was what led people to give away treats during the day-long holiday.
This tradition is also related to “souling”. This was a British practice, which emerged during the Middle Ages and lasted until 1930. This was like a ritual, where children and all people in need dressed up and went from door to door asking for alms.
But it is said that the Souling expected to receive soul cakes. These were small round candies, decorated with raisins and flavored with sweet spices. These cakes were blessed by the priests and distributed in honor of the dead.
The two most popular characters on Halloween
This tradition of course continues to be a very important part of the Halloween celebration. Two of its characters so popular since ancient times as ghosts and witches. The ghost is perhaps the most iconic Halloween character and costume.
Represented with a white sheet with holes for the eyes, it has its roots in the burial of the dead. A long time ago, wooden coffins were a great luxury that not everyone in the UK could afford.
Because of that, poor people used to wrap their loved ones in white sheets to bury them. In addition to the ghost costume, the witch costume is also very popular. A not so pretty face, a big pointy black hat.
Although the most modern images are shown in different ways, always linked with broomsticks and black cats. These symbols arose from the canes that were made in an improvised way to help walking. Cats were said to be the pets of witches who were accused during the Middle Ages.
Halloween today
Today, Halloween is celebrated almost all over the world, albeit in many different ways. Of course, folk festivals vary from place to place. For example in the United States, the party revolves around trick or treating in costumes, while in Germany they prefer a festive procession of lanterns and the Irish celebrate with a festive cake.
In fact, each culture has added its own twist on tradition. Still, October 31st continues to be special and loved by adults and children alike. Get inspired by the many ideas to decorate your Halloween table. For an eerily easy decoration, place a spooky cobweb on any surface and even wall.
You have many ways to surprise your family and friends with simple decorating ideas. Sometimes one detail makes a difference. Decorate your table with hand-drawn napkins. Just use a bleach pen to draw a cobweb pattern on the front of the cloth napkins.
Let them sit for at least two hours and watch the design turn completely white. Then you will only have to wash and dry the napkins to decorate your Halloween table. Make custom chandeliers out of old wine bottles and create a ghost-filled table decoration.
Simply spray the bottles in Halloween colors and place a candle in each bottle. Of course, black candles look especially festive for the occasion. Light the candles and let the wax drip down the sides of the bottle, you will see that the messier, the better it will look.
Let your imagination fly and create a perfect decoration
You can also decorate your Halloween table with placemats made with puff pastry paint and parchment paper. Using the puff pastry paint, make a web or cobweb on the parchment paper. Let it dry and set overnight so it can peel the paper off the back. Then place it under a plate, preferably transparent to show your craftsmanship.
You can also decorate your Halloween table with placemats made with puff pastry paint and parchment paper. Using the puff pastry paint, make a web or cobweb on the parchment paper. Let it dry and set overnight so it can peel the paper off the back. Then place it under a plate, preferably transparent to show your craftsmanship.
There is no doubt that there are endless ideas to decorate with pumpkins. Give another excellent use to your pumpkins by turning them into a very original candy dispenser. Take a glass bowl or storage container and trace it onto the front of your medium pumpkin. Cut around the path and then scoop out the pulp and seeds.
Now insert the bowl, and if necessary make the hole a little bigger so that the bowl fits into the pumpkin. Wrap a piece of thick string around the edge of the hot-glued bowl and fill the bowl with sweets and treats. You can also make a simple but beautiful centerpiece with branches and bats and light your table with candles. So let your imagination fly and take advantage of all the ideas to decorate your Halloween table with originality to celebrate.
