History of Halloween
The Halloween holiday came from America to Russia not so long ago - only at the end of the 20th century, however, this holiday is gaining more and more popularity. This is really not surprising, as celebrating Halloween is a great idea for a school party!
The word “Halloween” comes from the English “the Eve of All Hallows,” which means the Eve of All Hallows. It was believed that on Halloween - October 31 - the spirits of people who died during the year could return and find bodies for the next year.
Nowadays, for children and youth, Halloween is an opportunity to dress up in a carnival costume and have fun. Usually the school Halloween party is memorable for a long time. And you can get ideas for Halloween from this article, especially since this is an almost step-by-step guide to holding the best holiday in the history of the school.
Dishes for the festive table
On the day when it is customary to beg sweets from neighbors and friends, not a single holiday table can do without sweet dishes. It can be pumpkin-shaped candies, muffins and cakes, as well as any other desserts - it all depends on your imagination.
Pumpkin dishes are an essential part of the Halloween table. It can be cereals, soups, pies and even pancakes. Pumpkin is a symbol of the holiday; according to superstitions, dishes made from it bring protection from evil forces and material well-being.
Barmbrack bread is a dish that is both a form of fortune telling for Halloween and a delicious snack. This is a pie with any filling and from any dough with one small feature. Each piece should contain something that predicts the future - a ring, peas, wood chips, cloth, coins and other small objects. But do not forget to warn guests about surprises predicting the future, otherwise embarrassment is possible.
On the day of spirits, they not only revered the dead, but also rejoiced at the harvest if it was abundant. Apples are a seasonal fruit, which is why many traditional dishes for this holiday include them. These can be apple pies, caramelized fruits, apple compotes, and in general anything that can be made from apples.
How to spend Halloween at school
Preparing for the holiday
Before organizing Halloween at school, you need to discuss in advance with teachers or school administration how the holiday will be held, how long it will last, and who will be responsible for organizing it: teachers, parents or the children themselves.
To organize a truly memorable school party, you need to think through everything carefully, from the competitive program to the music and decoration of the hall.
Halloween scenario
Since the holiday is for children, special attention should be paid to the scenario. Of course, the plot, games, competitions, and entertainment for Halloween should be themed, but you can’t go too far. Overly gruesome or disturbing scenes should be avoided.
The host for Halloween can be chosen from among the high school kids. You should think about his costume and makeup in advance.
Some more ideas
Halloween horror stories
Many children love scary stories, which are perfect for this holiday. You can enhance the effect of an ordinary horror story with the help of objects: a peeled tomato, boiled spaghetti and two peeled round grapes.
Children are told a scary story about a monster that ends in its death, and are asked to touch its heart (tomato), eyes (grapes), and brain (spaghetti) while blindfolded.
But be careful! It is necessary to take into account the age of the children so that the holiday does not end in tears.
Competition program
Halloween, of course, is not a carnival, but the first thing that comes to mind when people say “Halloween competitions” is the best dressed competition. Here imagination is limited only by the common sense of schoolchildren. You can introduce separate nominations like: “The most frightening costume”, “The most skillfully made”, “The most original” and so on, and at the end of the evening the main winner who prepared the best costume of the evening will be announced.
Instead of the common costume competition, you could have students write some backstory about their character and then read it out to the class. Such a Halloween competition will certainly amuse the kids a lot, and the winner can be awarded a prize: a pumpkin, for example. You can also use small souvenirs or sweets as a reward.
Pumpkin decoration
If you can get some decent pumpkins for Halloween at school, you could encourage the kids to carve out the traditional eyes, mouth, and nose into them, or they might want to come up with something of their own. For safety reasons, a teacher must be nearby at all times.
Horror stories
Telling scary stories is a good way to use your imagination. A stack of cards is prepared in advance, where the beginnings of phrases for scary stories are written:
- “In the silence there was a scream and...”
- “The door opened with a creak and behind it...”,
- “In the dark deep of the night a man...”, etc.
Each student chooses a card. One of them begins the story with the phrase he read, after a predetermined time, the next student continues the game, starting with the last sentence of the previous one and his phrase, and so on until all the cards run out or the time comes for a logical outcome.
Entertainment “Memorize objects”
And even on a holiday, you can train your memory with the help of an appropriate game. At least 20 objects, one way or another related to Halloween, are placed on a tray or desk under a cloth: figurines, toys, candles, etc. The student is asked to look at them for a minute, then they are covered again with the cloth, and the student must list items. The winner of this game is the one who can remember the most items.
Game "Guess What"
The game “Guess What” will allow schoolchildren to show their resourcefulness and ingenuity. For this game you will need cards with holiday-themed words written on them: monster, bat, witch, web, etc.
Schoolchildren are divided into two teams. One of the participants from each team must take a card and draw an object that is associated with the word written on the card.
The difficulty is that you cannot draw the word itself, that is, if the card says “spider”, the student does not have the right to draw a spider, but he can draw a web and use the arrow to make his team guess.
If one of the teams was unable to guess the hidden word, the opposing team can try to do so. Teams are awarded one point for each correct answer.
Competition "Bag of Horror"
For this competition, you need to take an opaque, preferably black fabric or canvas bag and put items in it: a sponge, pumice, dried apricots, kiwi, marmalade in the shape of a worm - in general, something that can be perceived strangely to the touch.
Each participant puts his hand into the bag, feels for one of the objects and comes up with some kind of scary story about it. Then the item is pulled out and everyone, including the narrator, can see what the item actually was.
Competition "Trick or treat"
To conduct this competition, preliminary preparation is needed. Small gifts related to the Halloween theme are purchased in advance, numbers are assigned to them, and then cards are made with numbers drawn on them. Participants take turns approaching the table with cards laid out on it and drawing one of them. The presenter announces what the player has chosen for the prize and invites him to complete a simple task. For example, you can offer to pretend to be a bat or a zombie, scare a neighbor, become a vampire for a minute and “bite” two people, and so on.
Game "Catch the Eye!"
For this game you need a pumpkin, preferably not a small one. It should be cut into two halves and the pulp should be scraped out. Take 10-14 white tennis balls separately and draw eyes on them. The competition itself is as follows: the presenter selects two teams, in each of which the guys choose a catcher. He is given half a pumpkin. The rest will try to throw balls into the catcher’s “basket” from a certain distance. The winner is the team that ends up throwing the most “eyes” into the pumpkin.
Creative competition
The culmination of the evening can be a creative competition, which can be announced in advance - students are invited to come up with creepy horror stories for Halloween. You can increase the activity of students by promising an A for a good story in literature or the Russian language (of course, after agreement with the teachers). Horror stories can be of different themes, the main thing is that they are at least a little scary.
Commemoration of ancestors
The gates of the underworld open on the night of October 31 to November 1, and the souls of deceased relatives seek to visit their loved ones. During this dark time, the Celts commemorated deceased loved ones and tried to appease the souls of their ancestors so that they would help in the future and not punish.
In the old days, saucers with treats were left in the yard for the deceased. You don’t need to prepare anything special for this. Leave for your ancestors what you are going to serve on the table that day, but remember that the treat is not leftovers. The offering should please your loved ones, not anger them.
Different legends give different advice regarding offerings to the ancestors. For example, some of them recommend leaving one empty chair at the festive table - for a guest from the world of the dead. He is entitled to all the same cutlery that the guests have, as well as treats. It is a good sign if the drink in the glass for the spirit decreases. This means that spirits have come to visit you. Don't be afraid of them, be glad that you are together again.
On the afternoon of October 31st you can go to the cemetery. This is a traditional day of remembrance, and you definitely shouldn’t be afraid of ghosts during daylight hours. Lay flowers on the graves of deceased loved ones, light lamps.
At the festive table, if you have chosen a family celebration, you should definitely take time to remember your departed ancestors. Remember their life stories, funny moments and interesting incidents. Memories should be bright and joyful, without any negativity. On Spirit Day, the dead especially need to be remembered.
Since on the night of October 31 to November 1 the boundaries between worlds are erased, not only the spirits of ancestors, but also evil forces are released. Jack-lanterns, candle flames and, of course, special amulets against evil spirits can protect against them.
