New York Village Halloween Parade Overview
All Those in Costume are Welcome to Join Hundreds of Puppets, 53 Bands of Different Types of Music, Dancers and Artists, and Thousands of other New Yorkers in Costumes of their Own Creation in the Nation's Most Wildly Creative Public Participatory Event in the Greatest City in the World!
On 6th Avenue from Spring Street to 21st Street from 7 - 10 p.m
Halloween NYC Parade Route
New York's 38th Annual Village Halloween Parade Theme 2010: Memento Mori
The History of Halloween Tradition
Halloween is the one of the oldest holidays still celebrated today. Halloween is also one of the most popular holidays, second only to Christmas. Today, millions of people celebrate Halloween without knowing its origins and myths, but it you're like me, knowing a little of the history and facts that surround Halloween make it all the more fascinating.
Beyond costume parties and trick-or-treating, the origins of Halloween can be traced to the Celtic New Year. The Romans, the Christian Church and, ultimately, our commercialized society revised and reinvented this holiday, but inside the modern traditions traces of Halloween's ancient past still remain.
Halloween's origins lie in an ancient Celtic festival. The Celtic people were a loose collection of tribes that, in the distant past, lived across much of Europe. They never formed an empire in any sense of the word, but were rather highly independent collection of clans - which allowed more organized folks, like the Romans to eventually conqueor them.
On the night of October 31, the Celts of ancient Ireland celebrated Samhain (pronounced - sow-in) in England, the festival was called Calan Gaef (pronounced - kalan-geyf.) They celebrated their new year on November 1. The Celts believed that Samhain, the night before the new year, marked the end of summer, the harvest, and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became became thin, allowing spirits - both harmless and harmful - to pass through.
It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks, typically consisting of animal heads and skins to disguise themselves and thus avoid harm. Since not all spirits were friendly, the Celts also left gifts and treats out to pacify the evil and ensure next years crops would be plentiful. This custom evolved into Halloween trick-or-treating.
The Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter. Some of the ancient divinatory rituals have survived down to today in the form of games like "bobbing for apples." Apples were special fruit to the Celts. At the heart of the Celtic Otherworld grows an apple tree whose fruit has magical properties. Old sagas tell of heroes crossing the western sea to find this wondrous country. At Samhain, the apple harvest is in, and old hearthside games, such as apple-bobbing, called apple-dookin' in Scotland, reflect the journey across water to obtain the magic apple.
By A.D. 43, the Romans had conquered the majority of the Celtic lands. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic regions, two Roman festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably helped keep the tradition of "bobbing" for apples going. Eventually the influence of Christianity spread into the Celtic lands.
In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even though the church altered the holiday, it was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.
As European immigrants came to America, they brought their varied Halloween customs with them. Because of the rigid Protestant belief systems that characterized early New England, the celebration of Halloween in colonial times was extremely limited there. As the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups, as well as the American Indians, meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The first celebrations included "play parties," public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other's fortunes, dance, and sing. By the middle of the nineteenth century, annual autumn festivities were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with new immigrants. These new immigrants, particularly the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland's potato famine of 1846, helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today's "trick-or-treat" tradition. Young women believed that, on Halloween, they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings, or mirrors. In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers, than about ghosts, pranks, and witchcraft.
At the turn of the century, Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the season, and festive costumes. Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything "frightening" or "grotesque" out of Halloween celebrations. Because of their efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century.
By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular, but community-centered holiday, with parades and town-wide parties as the featured entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many schools and communities, vandalism began to plague Halloween celebrations in many communities during this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully limited vandalism and Halloween had evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the high numbers of young children during the fifties baby boom, parties moved from town civic centers into the classroom or home, where they could be more easily accommodated. Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats. A new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow.
Today, Americans spend an estimated $6.9 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country's second largest commercial holiday. Of course, whether we're trick or treating, bobbing for apples, or dressing in costumes, each one of these Halloween traditions relies on the good will of the very same "spirits" whose presence the early Celts felt so keenly. Ours is not such a different holiday after all!
Halloween is the one of the oldest holidays still celebrated today. Halloween is also one of the most popular holidays, second only to Christmas. Today, millions of people celebrate Halloween without knowing its origins and myths, but it you're like me, knowing a little of the history and facts that surround Halloween make it all the more fascinating.
Beyond costume parties and trick-or-treating, the origins of Halloween can be traced to the Celtic New Year. The Romans, the Christian Church and, ultimately, our commercialized society revised and reinvented this holiday, but inside the modern traditions traces of Halloween's ancient past still remain.
Halloween's origins lie in an ancient Celtic festival. The Celtic people were a loose collection of tribes that, in the distant past, lived across much of Europe. They never formed an empire in any sense of the word, but were rather highly independent collection of clans - which allowed more organized folks, like the Romans to eventually conqueor them.
On the night of October 31, the Celts of ancient Ireland celebrated Samhain (pronounced - sow-in) in England, the festival was called Calan Gaef (pronounced - kalan-geyf.) They celebrated their new year on November 1. The Celts believed that Samhain, the night before the new year, marked the end of summer, the harvest, and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became became thin, allowing spirits - both harmless and harmful - to pass through.
It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks, typically consisting of animal heads and skins to disguise themselves and thus avoid harm. Since not all spirits were friendly, the Celts also left gifts and treats out to pacify the evil and ensure next years crops would be plentiful. This custom evolved into Halloween trick-or-treating.
The Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter. Some of the ancient divinatory rituals have survived down to today in the form of games like "bobbing for apples." Apples were special fruit to the Celts. At the heart of the Celtic Otherworld grows an apple tree whose fruit has magical properties. Old sagas tell of heroes crossing the western sea to find this wondrous country. At Samhain, the apple harvest is in, and old hearthside games, such as apple-bobbing, called apple-dookin' in Scotland, reflect the journey across water to obtain the magic apple.
By A.D. 43, the Romans had conquered the majority of the Celtic lands. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic regions, two Roman festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably helped keep the tradition of "bobbing" for apples going. Eventually the influence of Christianity spread into the Celtic lands.
In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even though the church altered the holiday, it was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.
As European immigrants came to America, they brought their varied Halloween customs with them. Because of the rigid Protestant belief systems that characterized early New England, the celebration of Halloween in colonial times was extremely limited there. As the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups, as well as the American Indians, meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The first celebrations included "play parties," public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other's fortunes, dance, and sing. By the middle of the nineteenth century, annual autumn festivities were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with new immigrants. These new immigrants, particularly the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland's potato famine of 1846, helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today's "trick-or-treat" tradition. Young women believed that, on Halloween, they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings, or mirrors. In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers, than about ghosts, pranks, and witchcraft.
At the turn of the century, Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the season, and festive costumes. Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything "frightening" or "grotesque" out of Halloween celebrations. Because of their efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century.
By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular, but community-centered holiday, with parades and town-wide parties as the featured entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many schools and communities, vandalism began to plague Halloween celebrations in many communities during this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully limited vandalism and Halloween had evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the high numbers of young children during the fifties baby boom, parties moved from town civic centers into the classroom or home, where they could be more easily accommodated. Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats. A new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow.
Today, Americans spend an estimated $6.9 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country's second largest commercial holiday. Of course, whether we're trick or treating, bobbing for apples, or dressing in costumes, each one of these Halloween traditions relies on the good will of the very same "spirits" whose presence the early Celts felt so keenly. Ours is not such a different holiday after all!
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