Halloween Badge
Use your pumpkin scraps in a recipe
I bought two pumpkins and spent an irritating afternoon carving up the larger one, separating the seeds and stringy bits out, then making pumpkin chutney and spicy pumpkin soup. Not sure I ever want to see a pumpkin again.....
Research the origins of Halloween
Halloween has its origins in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated in parts of northern Europe from around 2000 years ago. Samhain was celebrated around November 1st and marked the change of seasons from summer to winter. The Celts believed that during the night before New Year the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead thinned and ghosts returned to Earth. Druids built bonfires and animals and crops were sacrificed to the Gods.
When the Romans conquered much of the Celtic world, some of their traditions were incorporated into Samhain; one was Feralia which honored the dead, and another was a celebration of the Goddess Pomona whose symbol was an apple, and may be related to the tradition of apple bobbing.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe, All Souls Day was celebrated on November 1st, and there were often bonfires, and people wore costumes of saints, angels and devils. The night before All Souls Day, 31st October, was known as All Hallows Eve which eventually became Hallowe'en.
As European immigrants went to North America, the traditions of Hallowe'en changed again until they became the celebration known today
Source: history.com
Go to a pumpkin patch and pick a pumpkin
Went to Tapnell Farm and picked pumpkins with my daughter. The orange one will be carved between us and the scraps cooked, and the blue one will be cooked.
Read a gothic novel and review it
Frankenstein or Wuthering Heights. I started reading Frankenstein but couldn't get into it easily, so am waiting on an e-copy of Wuthering Heights from the library, and may also read Northanger Abbey. In the meantime I listened to the audiobook of Neil Gaiman's "The Sleeper and The Spindle", which was a gothic reimagining of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty; the story contained gothic elements such as castles, magic, and the undead and although based on the original fairy tales, was very much unlike them by the end. Sharp, funny and dark as per usual with Neil Gaiman!
Research alternative autumn festivals to Halloween
Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico and nearby Central American countries; some of the traditions date back thousands of years, and others date back to the Spanish conquest and consequent Christianisation of the area. The festival generally lasts two or three days at the start of November. One day is for remembering dead children, and another for dead adults. It is traditional to eat sugar skulls, and 'bread of the dead'. The widely recognised, highly decorated skull mask are not a particularly old tradition and was invented in 1913 and later popularised by artist Diego Rivera.
Research the origins of a supernatural being
Werewolves date back over 4000 years in European literature, being first mentioned in the Sumerarian Epic of Gilgamesh as a man that transformed to a wolf. Werewolves as known now date to the ancient Greeks and Romans; myths talk about Scythian tribes that transformed into wolves (could be a way of describing people in a cold climate that wore wolf skins to keep warm!). However there was also the cult of Zeus Lycaon (Wolf Zeus) who are believed to have had cannibalistic rituals.
Do some Halloween related baking
I made some vanilla biscuits using an East German Amplemann biscuit cutter. There were lots, and when I laid them out to cool it looked like a graveyard. I didn't have anything handy too ice them with so left them like that!
Make a picture from autumn leaves
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