Halloween may have its origins from the ancient festival known as Samhain. In the Gaelic culture the festival was celebrated at the end of the harvesting season. Usually at that time the ancient pagans used this time to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for the winter stores. The people believe that the boundaries between the world of dead and living overlapped.
Legends say that on October 31, the deceased could come back to life to cause devastation. They could cause sickness and to damage their crops. Frequently the Gaels made bonfires. They threw the bones of the slaughter livestock there. In attempts to mimic the spirits of the evil the people wore special masks and costumes.
One of the most prominent Halloween’s symbols are the carved pumpkins. Carving lanterns is Scottish and Irish tradition which goes back centuries. In North America the pumpkins are widely available and for first time they were associated with Halloween. Many families there carved pumpkins into comical or frightening faces and placed there in front of their homes.
Other very popular symbol is jack-o’-lantern. It can be traced to the legend of Stingy Jack. He was avid, gambling, hard drinking old man who tricked the devil. He trapped the devil climbing into a tree and curved a cross into its trunk. The devil cursed Juck’s soul to wander forever the earth at night. For centuries the Irish parents told their children that story.
Ghosts, witches, vampires, zombies, bats, mummies, skeleton, black cats, spiders, demons and owls are very popular symbols in our days. Most of these symbols are inspired by the horror films. Also with this holiday have become associated Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Leatherface, Jason Voorhees, and the Jigsaw Killer.
The most traditional colors around Halloween are black and orange. We associate the black color with witches, black cats, vampires, night and mainly the death. The orange color is symbol of autumn, fire, jack o’ lanterns and mainly with the pumpkins.
People use these symbols to decorate their houses with these symbols when Halloween is coming.