Halloween beliefs. Scary signs for Halloween. How do you feel about superstitions? If you are skeptical, I will have to disappoint you: thanks to superstitions, many holidays were born that are now known throughout the world

We are used to treating Halloween as a holiday when we can have fun and scare passers-by with scary outfits and masks. However, residents of Europe and the United States take this day very seriously, honoring traditions and superstitions.

Halloween - bright holiday with a terrible backstory. According to legend, on the night from October 31 to November 1, the gates separating the world of the living and the dead open, and the souls of the deceased wander the earth, frightening us.
We are used to treating Halloween as a holiday when we can have fun and scare passers-by with scary outfits and masks. However, residents of Europe and the United States take this day very seriously, honoring traditions and superstitions. Ancient legends tell us amazing story Celtic people and their festival Samhain. It turns out that on Halloween night dark forces walk freely across the earth, looking into every house.
Halloween holiday
The origins of the holiday lie in the history of religious culture and relate to a special date in the calendar of the ancient Celts - Samhain. This name hides the most terrible time of the year, when the gates between the world of the living and the dead open, souls and dark forces break free and wander the earth. Initially, people dressed up as evil spirits for one simple reason - to pass as “their own,” confuse demons, and protect themselves and their family. Of course, now even a child cannot be frightened by such tales, but the tradition of dressing up in scary costumes has taken root in people’s memory and has become the basis of the holiday.
On the eve of Halloween, everyone chooses costumes for themselves, and the scarier the better and more interesting. Children especially love this holiday, because for them this night is almost the same as New Year. There are a lot of sweets all around, everything is bright, elegant and cheerful. Even for your tricks you can get a bunch of sweets as a reward. While children beg for treats, threatening: “Trick or treat?”, adults tell fortunes, tickle their nerves with scary films and tell each other creepy stories from their lives.

The symbol of Halloween is the sinister pumpkin, which, according to legend, scares away evil spirits from the house and marks the end of the harvest. A pumpkin head is made over several days by emptying the pumpkin of pulp and cutting out its toothy mouth and scary eyes with a knife. To make it look even more frightening, a candle is placed inside it.
Fortune telling and omens for Halloween
On the night when spirits walk the earth, we too can travel through worlds. Every person has the opportunity to look into another reality, predict the future, and communicate with the deceased. Many perceive even a seance as fun, while others are looking for answers to questions of interest, and sometimes find them. This is a night of magic, magic, mystery. On Halloween, miracles happen all the time, the main thing is to be able to notice them.
Fortune telling on saucers. The three saucers were used to tell fortunes primarily by girls who were looking for love. Of course, they gathered in a large group so that it would not be so scary. A saucer with spring water was placed on the table, another empty and a third with ink. The young fortune tellers took turns blindfolding each other and brought one girl to the table so that she could choose the saucer that would reveal her secret. It was believed that the hand at that moment was controlled by an otherworldly force, which directed and lowered the palm into one of the three bowls. If the saucer was empty, the girl remained among the unmarried that year. If with water, a quick wedding is expected, and the girl will become happy in her marriage. Well, if the hand was painted with paint, then the husband will have an unpleasant past.
Fortune telling by dreams. Through dreams, mysterious information comes to us. They are prophetic, colorful and frightening. On Halloween night they were used to guess and are still guessing to this day. It was believed that if you dreamed of water, a mirror or stones, then this year good luck would accompany everything. But if you see snow, hail, strong winds or faded flowers in a dream, expect trouble.
Signs for Halloween:
– To prevent spirits from entering the house and remaining there, candles were lit.
– To scare away misfortune from yourself and your family, you had to walk around the house or apartment three times carnival costume and with a burning torch in his hands.
– Seeing a spider on Halloween means trouble.
“People put their clothes on backwards and went out at night to meet with a real witch and find out your fate from her.
What should you not do on Halloween?
According to a huge number of mediums and psychics, there are things that under no circumstances should be done on this day. Thus, religious people do not eat meat and meat products at this time, and also attend church without fail, pray and remember their deceased relatives.
Halloween: Do's and Don'ts
If we talk directly about traditions, then there are no strict canons for this holiday:
“However, there are beliefs and superstitions that are best observed;
– So, a person should never turn around if, during a night walk, he heard clear persistent steps behind him;
– It is believed that these dead souls decided to go after you;
– And at the crossroads you can find out your fate;
– To do this, you need to go out at night to the intersection of two or more roads and listen to the wind;
“In his barely audible whisper you can hear a prediction of all the important events that will happen to a person in the coming year.
Halloween is a scary holiday with a fun component and centuries-old history. Whether you take it seriously or take it as a reason for fun is up to you to decide. But we should not forget that our life is full of mysteries and secrets that we are not even aware of.
Have a great mood and happy Halloween.

How do you feel about superstitions? If you are skeptical, I will have to disappoint you: thanks to superstitions, many holidays were born that are now known throughout the world.

One of them is Halloween, which is celebrated on the night before All Saints' Day. Now it looks more like a carnival, but several centuries ago it all began with dark superstitions and terrible legends.

For many years, the traditions of this holiday have changed, but the main rituals have remained unchanged, although they have changed into humorous ones. Halloween Motto - "Trick or treat!" now it is also more humorous in nature, because with this phrase children go around the neighbors begging for sweets. But there are known cases when this phrase turned into the loss of life of the person asking - in America at one time there was a surge in child deaths from poisoning with holiday sweets, which were laced with arsenic and other poisons. Halloween in Russia does not imply such begging, all our celebrations involve carnival parties, perhaps this is for the better.

Halloween came to us just a few years ago... happy holiday, but its original goal - to prevent evil spirits from entering the house, was accomplished by dressing up in costumes of the evil spirits themselves. It was believed that nothing bad would enter the house if it saw that its “relatives” were already there. There are currently thirteen major superstitions associated with Halloween. It's up to you to believe in them or not.

1. Black cats bring bad luck. Many people believe in this, but still keep pets of a mystical color. However, on Halloween, it is strictly forbidden to keep a black cat in the house, otherwise misfortunes will rain down on everyone who was in this house.
2. Nuts are not just Halloween decorations. The ancient Celts believed that evil spirits afraid of even their smell, and used these products as deterrents.
3. To confuse evil spirits, you need to wear all your clothes inside out and leave the house backwards.
4. On this night, candles must be lit in all rooms in order to scare away all witches and evil spirits with live fire. If the candles go out on their own, it means that “they” are very close.
5. In Canada, America and almost all of Europe on Halloween, at midnight, churches ring bells. According to legend, the ringing of church bells can scare away any evil spirits.
6. You need to light a large fire in the courtyard of the house and walk around it three times. This way you can cleanse yourself of negative energy. But the next day you need to take one cooled coal into the house and store it all year, until the next holiday.
7. Make sure that an owl does not land on your house - this promises a dead person in the family.
8. In some countries it is customary to exterminate bats, as they are considered the servants of the devil himself.
9. WITH bats Another superstition is connected - on Halloween night they should be driven out of the attic using torches and rattles. If mice clung to someone's hair at the same time, misfortune awaited that person.
10. In other countries, those circling over the house, on the contrary, promise happiness and a good harvest next year.
11. To prevent evil spirits from entering the house, they used to bury the bones of dead animals near the house, and place a stuffed animal under the door. Now this tradition has changed, and now improvised skeletons are hung on the window doors. However, for some reason, not animals, but people.
12. Before sunset, you should change into carnival costumes and walk around the house three times. According to legend, then the home will be protected from evil spirits for a whole year.
13. In conclusion, one of the most famous superstitions: if the owner sees a spider in the house on Halloween, it means that one of the deceased relatives is watching over the house and warning its inhabitants about the danger. All family members need to be very careful over the next month.

Halloween is celebrated annually on the evening before October 31st. This holiday appeared in Ireland. In the old days, this day symbolized the end of summer and the beginning of the new year. According to ancient Celtic legend, on Halloween the deity of death comes to power, calling for help the souls of dead people. For this reason, it is on October 31 that the gates between the world of the living and the dead open, and the souls of the departed come to earth.

Living people were not very happy about the prospect of meeting evil spirits, so they tried to drive them away with the help of fire and entertainment. People dressed up in scary costumes to confuse the evil spirits and pass as “their own.”

In 1840, the inhabitants of Ireland, fleeing a terrible famine caused by a poor potato harvest, emigrated to America. Many Irish holiday traditions have taken root on the new continent. Most of them are still celebrated today.

Americans celebrate Halloween very willingly. On this day, competitions are organized for the most best suit for the holiday. Already in August, fancy jewelry, costumes of vampires, fairies, ghouls, pirates and other characters that personify evil forces to one degree or another go on sale.

There are many symbols associated with Halloween. Most of them have a long history. The main symbol is the Jack-O-Lantern, which is a pumpkin with the middle taken out and a candle or lantern inserted inside. An ominously grinning face is carved into the pumpkin itself. The tradition of creating such lamps comes from the Celtic custom of making lanterns to help lost souls find their way to purgatory.

The first Jack-o'-lanterns appeared in Great Britain. Initially, rutabaga or turnips were used to make them. Such lamps were left near the house so that they would drive away evil spirits from the home. When the tradition of celebrating Halloween spread across America, lanterns began to be made from pumpkins.

On this day, not only lamps are made from pumpkins, but also a variety of dishes are prepared - pies, puddings, muffins, cereals, juices, etc. The action, which takes place on the evening of October 31, is to some extent similar to Ukrainian caroling. When darkness falls, children change into fancy dress costumes fantastic creatures, pick up lanterns or light long sticks and go to their neighbors. The owners are waiting for little visitors and therefore prepare various delicacies for them. By giving sweets to children, people seem to pay off “evil spirits”, which are symbolized by small children.

Dressing in carnival costumes for Halloween began at the beginning of the 20th century. Over the past century, costumes for the holiday have evolved greatly. Initially, they resembled ugly, emaciated human faces, which looked completely unfestive and even frightening. But already at the beginning of the 21st century, costumes became vivid images, and the holiday itself turned into a real show.

The tradition of dressing up in fancy costumes and walking from house to house, begging neighbors for treats, dates back to the Middle Ages. It was originally associated with Christmas. In Ireland and England, from time immemorial, poor people went from house to house on All Saints' Day (November 1) and begged for so-called “spiritual cakes,” in exchange promising to pray for the souls of the deceased relatives of the owners of the house.

In addition to wearing various costumes and asking for sweets, it is also common to tell fortunes on this night. there are countless numbers. For example, in Scotland, girls cut the peel from apples, trying to make it as long as possible. Then the peel was thrown over the shoulder. It was believed that when it fell, it should take the form of the first letter of the betrothed's surname.

There is another way to find out who your future spouse will be. To do this, the girls came to a dark house. One of them took a lighted candle in her hands, walked up the stairs with her back, walked up to the mirror and held the candle in front of it. According to legend, after this she was supposed to see in the mirror the face of the man who would become her husband in the future. If a girl sees a skull in the reflection, she will die without ever getting married.

Signs for October 31st – Halloween

With this an unusual holiday There are many signs associated with it. For example, if you want to protect your home from evil spirits, then light candles on the evening of October 31st. It is advisable that they burn until dawn. It would also be a good idea to place a “Jack-O-Lantern”, made with your own hands on the eve of the holiday, near your home.

In order for troubles and misfortunes to bypass your family, you need to put on a carnival costume and walk around the house three times with a lit torch in your hands. But seeing a spider on this day is a bad sign. This means that some trouble will happen to you soon.

According to legend, if you go out on this festive night, putting your clothes on backwards, you can meet a witch who will tell you about what awaits you in the future.

What you dreamed on the night of November 1 also matters. Seeing water, a mirror or stones in a dream is a sign of great luck. But if you dreamed of wind, hail, snow or fading flowers, then you should expect trouble.

Video: The essence of Halloween, its history and traditions

Every year on the night from October 31 to November 1, many countries around the world celebrate Halloween, or Witch's Night - a cheerful holiday of evil spirits.

The roots of Halloween go back to ancient times, even before the Christianization of Europe, writes Ukrinform. Then the pagan Celtic tribes celebrated at this time the onset of a kind of new year, on the eve of which the holiday Samhain was celebrated.

This time - the transition to winter - was considered an extremely mystical period. The ancient Celts believed that it was at this time, when the nights become extremely dark and cold, when all the birds fly south except for the mysterious and slightly ominous raven, and the days become short and gloomy - mysterious creatures of the Sida come from the other world to the world of people.

Usually they do not harm people - they simply wander among them, loitering like a schoolboy who has run away from class. But sometimes there are quite aggressive creatures - then don’t expect anything good from them: they will do dirty tricks, or even try to take you to the grave.

To prevent this from happening, it was necessary to cajole the uninvited guests in every possible way: leave them food, gifts, or scare them away: as an option, you yourself could become worse than the sid. People during this period can also visit the other world and then return back. Of course, if you behave there carefully and do not violate local laws.

This is what the ancient Celts believed, and these beliefs were undoubtedly associated with funeral rituals; the world of the living tried, as best it could, to understand the problem of death and non-existence.

Subsequently, the Catholic Church began to celebrate All Saints' Day on November 1, and to honor the memory of all the dead on November 2. The dates were established only in the 11th century, and before that they were celebrated on May 13.

Thus, ancient pagan beliefs mixed with Catholic tradition, and belief in the souls of the dead, various spirits and fairy-tale creatures was transformed into pure evil spirits.

The name Halloween was first mentioned in 1745. The word comes from the English Hallowe"en - an abbreviation of the expression All Hallow's Eve - the evening (eve) of All Saints' Day, which in turn stands for All Hallowed Souls Eve - literally: Evening of All Holy Souls.

It can be said that today Halloween is a global brand, just like Coca-Cola, The Beatles or Apple. Its logo - a rather cute burning pumpkin (the so-called "Jack-O-Lantern"), is recognized in every corner of the planet (if there was something scary, the potential consumer would not take the bait).

Huge bonuses have been added to the promotion and popularization of Halloween latest technologies- cinema, television and Internet. And if in the first half of the twentieth century this holiday was known only in the Western world (mainly in the English-speaking world), then now it is actively celebrated in the countries of the East - Japan, South Korea, China.

In terms of popularity, Halloween is close to Christmas (St. Valentine is third). A huge number of different Halloween “experts” have appeared who will tell you in detail which pumpkin you should choose, what you should do with it, where you should hang it or put it (of course, according to Feng Shui), and what to say and think, what to wear and where to go .

Research shows that the most active supporters of Halloween on all continents are teenagers, who are attracted by the aura of mystery and mysticism associated with this holiday, as well as an army of millions of office workers, for whom turning into a witch, ghoul (aka ghoul) or some other evil spirits (there are many options) is a good opportunity to go beyond the very strict and regulated limits of daily protocol and etiquette, at least for a few hours.

Regarding devout Catholics, these days they remember their deceased ancestors - they visit cemeteries, churches, and light candles.

What should you not do on Halloween?

According to a huge number of mediums and psychics, among whom Helen Bright is not the least, there are things that under no circumstances should be done on this day, writes dengi-i-udach a. Thus, religious people do not eat meat and meat products at this time, and also attend church without fail, pray and remember their deceased relatives.

If we talk directly about traditions, then there are no strict canons for this holiday:

However, there are beliefs and superstitions that are best observed;

So, a person should never turn around if, during a night walk, he heard clear persistent steps behind him;

It is believed that these dead souls decided to go after you;

And at the crossroads you can find out your destiny;

To do this, you need to go out at night to the intersection of two or more roads and listen to the wind;

In his barely audible whisper one can hear a prediction of all the important events that will happen to a person in the coming year.

At this time, special attention is also paid to the decoration of store windows, city streets, squares, and facades of residential buildings. At every step here you can find a huge number of carved pumpkin lanterns with candles inside, skeletons of various sizes, cobwebs, ghosts and guides. All decoration is aimed at making scary halloween more bright, colorful and cheerful.

IN lately This holiday is becoming very popular in our country. It is especially celebrated by young people who follow the example of Americans by throwing parties in makeup and costumes. But in Mexico, the attitude towards this holiday is radically different from other countries. The fact is that Mexicans are very sarcastic about death and everything connected with it, so on All Saints' Day they try to make fun of the old woman with a scythe as much as possible, sometimes bringing it all to the point of complete absurdity.

Those alive on this night can do several things with impunity that are not approved at other times, but during the holiday they are not only acceptable, but almost obligatory.

1. Drink strong alcoholic drinks and gamble. Jack O'Lantern, who after his death did not go to either heaven (since he was a sinner) or hell (since the devil gave him his word not to take him there), wanders the earth this night, lighting his path with a jack-o'-lantern. He likes people , similar to himself and, having met them, he tries to give them some kind of gift.

2. Spill alcohol. That night, the border between the two worlds becomes so thin that it practically disappears. When going out on Halloween night, take with you a bottle of any alcoholic drink and a couple plastic cups. If you're squeamish, you can just spill some from the bottle at any intersection. The spirits also want a drink and, if you pour it for them, they will be grateful to you. Individuals prone to extreme actions can pour a drink to any tramp they meet. In England they still believe that the souls of the dead on this night often use the bodies of homeless people to get out “into the world.”

3. Make indecent proposals to people of any gender who are not your regular partners. It is known that the Druid rituals associated with this holiday included sexual orgies, but to achieve the desired result it is enough to express the appropriate intention. In this way, you can ensure success in your current and future affairs, and also get a guarantee that you will not die this year.

4. Go to your neighbors in search of snacks. On this night, the dead return to earth and wander around the places where they spent their lives, in search of food and warmth. The more the living pretend to be dead and the calmer people are towards those who knock on their door shouting a ritual phrase, the easier it will be for the dead to get what they want. Help them - and they will thank you. It is known that it is on this night that people often have life-changing insights.

5. Fortune telling, summoning spirits, going into trance and talking about death. Every person on this night has a chance to hear voices from the other side of the border, contact the dead and receive information that cannot be obtained in any other way. On this night no one says “it’s just your imagination”, “it’s impossible” and “stop talking nonsense”.

In addition, during the holiday it is encouraged to touch on topics that are usually considered taboo, primarily the topic of death. Whoever is brave enough will receive a reward. In addition, you can and should drink mulled wine (with cinnamon, cloves and apple pieces), light candles, watch a movie, eat sweets and dance.

Halloween is a bright holiday with a scary backstory. According to legend, on the night from October 31 to November 1, the gates separating the world of the living and the dead open, and the souls of the deceased wander the earth, frightening us.

We are used to treating Halloween as a holiday when we can have fun and scare passers-by with scary outfits and masks. However, residents of Europe and the United States take this day very seriously, honoring traditions and superstitions. Ancient legends tell us the amazing story of the Celtic people and their Samhain festival. It turns out that on Halloween night dark forces walk freely across the earth, looking into every house.

Halloween holiday

The origins of the holiday lie in the history of religious culture and relate to a special date in the calendar of the ancient Celts - Samhain. This name hides the most terrible time of the year, when the gates between the world of the living and the dead open, souls and dark forces break free and wander the earth. Initially, people dressed up as evil spirits for one simple reason - to pass as “their own,” confuse demons, and protect themselves and their family. Of course, now even a child cannot be frightened by such tales, but the tradition of dressing up in scary costumes has taken root in people’s memory and has become the basis of the holiday.

On the eve of Halloween, everyone chooses costumes for themselves, and the scarier the better and more interesting. Children especially love this holiday, because for them this night is practically the same as New Year. There are a lot of sweets all around, everything is bright, elegant and cheerful. Even for your tricks you can get a bunch of sweets as a reward. While children beg for treats, threatening: “Trick or treat?”, adults tell fortunes, tickle their nerves with scary films and tell each other creepy stories from their lives.

The symbol of Halloween is the sinister pumpkin, which, according to legend, scares away evil spirits from the house and marks the end of the harvest. A pumpkin head is made over several days by emptying the pumpkin of pulp and cutting out its toothy mouth and scary eyes with a knife. To make it look even more frightening, a candle is placed inside it.

Fortune telling and omens for Halloween

On the night when spirits walk the earth, we too can travel through worlds. Every person has the opportunity to look into another reality, predict the future, and communicate with the deceased. Many perceive even a seance as fun, while others are looking for answers to questions of interest, and sometimes find them. This is a night of magic, magic, mystery. On Halloween, miracles happen all the time, the main thing is to be able to notice them.

Fortune telling on saucers. The three saucers were used to tell fortunes primarily by girls who were looking for love. Of course, they gathered in a large group so that it would not be so scary. A saucer with spring water was placed on the table, another empty and a third with ink. The young fortune tellers took turns blindfolding each other and brought one girl to the table so that she could choose the saucer that would reveal her secret. It was believed that the hand at that moment was controlled by an otherworldly force, which directed and lowered the palm into one of the three bowls. If the saucer was empty, the girl remained among the unmarried that year. If with water, a quick wedding is expected, and the girl will become happy in her marriage. Well, if the hand was painted with paint, then the husband will have an unpleasant past.

Fortune telling by dreams. Through dreams, mysterious information comes to us. They are prophetic, colorful and frightening. On Halloween night they were used to guess and are still guessing to this day. It was believed that if you dreamed of water, a mirror or stones, then this year good luck would accompany everything. But if you see snow, hail, strong winds or faded flowers in a dream, expect trouble.

Signs for Halloween:

To prevent spirits from entering the house and remaining there, candles were lit.
To scare away misfortune from yourself and your family, you had to walk around the house or apartment three times in a carnival costume and with a burning torch in your hands.
Seeing a spider on Halloween means trouble.
People put on their clothes backwards and went out into the street at night in order to meet a real witch and find out their fate from her.

Halloween is a scary holiday with a fun component and a centuries-old history. Whether you take it seriously or take it as a reason for fun is up to you to decide. But we should not forget that our life is full of mysteries and secrets that we are not even aware of. Have a great mood and happy Halloween.