Officially established on November 1st of 835 AD to celebrate the saints – not zombies – the English term derives from the verb hallow, to sanctify, and from the word a, eve (from evening = evening): therefore eve of the saints. In reality, however, the origins of Halloween are much older. We have to go back in time – more or less around the 4th century BC – to discover that it is a Celtic recurrence. More precisely of the recurrence of Samhain, a term from the old Irish that more or less indicates “end of summer”. Because at the very end of summer in the remote Irish territories, the transition from the end of the beautiful season to the beginning of winter was celebrated. A vital period considering that in that period of time the last harvest was made before the arrival of the cold. Mindful of this, in 835 AD Pope Gregory IV, with the institution of the feast of All Saints, wanted to create a continuity with the past, superimposing the new Christian feast on the older one. Only recently, in the mid-nineteenth century, Halloween also spreads to the United States and soon becomes one of the main American festivals, with a decidedly folkloric connotation and relative obscuring of the original meanings. It is no longer a religious occasion, but a “apotheosis of costume»With masquerade parties and themed celebrations. And, of course, the mythical “trick or treat?” A practice, this, which goes back to the Middle Ages, when poor people, in November, went from door to door to ask for food in exchange for prayers for the dead. Today, children around the world are knocking for sweets. Which, however, have to deal with the spread of the pandemic, in Italy and abroad. With the specter of a new and impending lockdown, even Halloween is having a hard time. To have fun, in safety, here 5 ideas to make and decorate with your children: monstrously good and visually striking cookies, cakes and cupcakes. And the party (at least at home) is guaranteed.
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31 October 2020 | 12:53 (©) REPRODUCTION RESERVED
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