In a sense, Halloween is like the China Folk Ghost Festival (the 15th day of the seventh lunar month), and it is also like the Dragon Boat Festival. People put mugwort leaves on their doors, which means to drive away ghosts and turn evil into good luck. Later, after Catholicism entered Britain, it absorbed this traditional folk festival and gave it a religious color, especially a spiritual color that Christianity attached great importance to. Compared with conservative Judaism, Christianity has its own liberal features. However, due to the living environment and weak position of Israelis in history, Christianity has a strong utilitarian color. I estimate that the original meaning of Celtic Halloween can be easily digested and absorbed by Catholicism, which then explains its three attributes about people (body, soul and spirit), and then promotes Christian teachings, commemorates the saints in Catholicism and suppresses Celtic's original concept of ghosts. In fact, the word "Hallow" in Halloween comes from the old English word "halwen", which means the English root "holy". Of course, with the decline of Christianity in the west, especially in Europe, Halloween has no religious color now, and basically hangs the name of ghosts, becoming an entertainment festival for people, especially children.
Although Halloween is set on1October 3 1, the most entertaining thing is Halloween Eve (that is, the night of the 30th). On this day, many schools (especially primary schools) will hold some parades to celebrate it. Boys will probably buy a ghost mask belt with blue fangs and a bright red tongue, and then buy a tattered clothes to wear, and take a similar weapon such as a plastic sword, a meteor hammer and a three-piece stick in their hands; Little girls usually paint their faces colorful, and then put on special clothes and dress up like little angels. Of course, some unconventional little girls dress up as witches. Most of these Halloween costumes and decorations come from China, and businesses make a small fortune every year. A dirty rag dress costs more than 20 dollars-of course, even if these clothes are free after Halloween, it is estimated that no one will want them.
Perhaps the most common and famous symbol of Halloween is Jack-o-lanterns. Now a "standard" jack-o-lantern is actually a pumpkin lantern. Residents hollowed out the pumpkin, then carved it into the shape of a face, lit a candle inside, and put it in front of the door or on the steps to drive away ghosts, which is a good luck. At first, it was said that there were no pumpkins in Celtic tribes. At that time, Jack-o-lanterns were made of radishes or turnips (similar to ordinary white radishes, but round and short, and many of them were red). Because of this, a large number of pumpkins will be sold in shops and farms during the annual harvest season, that is, some time before Halloween. This kind of pumpkin is usually not sold as a vegetable, but as a Halloween ornament, because it is a little different from the kind of pumpkin we usually eat. This kind of pumpkin is not very sweet, and it doesn't paste soup piece by piece after stewed, which is very delicious. Pumpkins are large and small, the small ones are only one or two kilograms, and the big ones can be several hundred kilograms. Of course, the most popular pumpkins are those of 20 kilograms, each of which can sell for five or six dollars.
For people like me who like to visit the farm, it is almost a compulsory course to pick a pumpkin from the farm every year, but I am busy this year. Farmers in the suburbs of big cities in the United States are generally rich, which is completely different from those simple and hardworking farmers in remote areas. These farms are open to the public every summer and autumn, allowing nearby residents to pick vegetables and fruits. These vegetables and fruits are often more expensive than those in supermarkets, but because they are locally grown (meaning local, a word commonly used by Americans in advertising) and fresh, they can still attract a large number of nearby residents, especially on weekends, not to mention picking vegetables and fruits (especially fruits) itself is full of fun. The farm usually has a small playground, or animals such as sheep and chickens are also fed for children to play or visit. Some large farms also have simple trains or long carriages to pull tourists from the parking lot of the farm to different parts of the farm. Carriage piers are often made of wooden strips or wheat straws. I remember the year before last, I went to a farm for Asian pears (usually there are not many farms with Asian pears) and stepped into the fruit forest. I saw a young Russian couple sitting under the fruit tree, munching on pears, with their eyes closed slightly, looking very intoxicated. When the Russian couple saw us approaching, they politely stood up and greeted us, raised their Asian pears and even said that they were delicious, saying that this kind of apple was much more delicious than Fuji apples, and strongly recommended it to us. It looked excited and proud, as if Columbus had discovered the new continent. It turned out that the Russian couple had never eaten this kind of pear before and mistook it for an apple. ......
A farm usually grows pumpkins on several acres of land. The output of this kind of pumpkin is extremely high. Every harvest season, the pumpkin vines wither. From a distance, what you see is a large area of orange, yellow and orange, and there are probably hundreds or even thousands. At this time, tourists can go to the pumpkin field, choose one or several pumpkins that they like, or they are quite satisfactory, or they are crooked, and they finish their accounts and put them in the trunk lid with a smile. The biggest pumpkin I have ever seen on a farm, weighing more than 300 pounds, says "Not For Sale”---- of course, because the pumpkin is too heavy, its side in contact with the soil is flattened.
On Halloween, because it is mid-autumn, it gets dark earlier. After dinner, the children can't wait to put on Halloween clothes, masks and fake Jack-o-lanterns made of plastic. Accompanied by adults, they begin to beg for candy from house to house in groups of three or five. Obviously, children like to beg for sugar in densely populated areas, such as row houses, apartments, residential areas with dense houses, or Mall where businesses are concentrated. Traditionally, if the owner is ready and wants the children to beg for candy, he will turn on the porch light, otherwise he should put it out. Some hospitable Americans simply don't even close the door, move a stool and sit at the gate, waiting for the children who come to beg for sugar. When the children see whose light is on, they will run to ring the doorbell and take the owner to open the door. After that, the children will laugh: "Trick or treat!" Please give me the sugar, or I'll make trouble! ), and then put the fake Jack-o-lantern or bag in your hand and fill it with candy. After the children get the candy, they will say thank you politely and then skip to the next house. Occasionally, children will perform a small program and sing songs, such as "The sky is blue, the grass is green, and may we have our Halloween!" Of course, although most of the children get candy, they also get something else, such as small toys or small bags of potato chips packed in an ounce. Generally, in less than an hour, children can get 5 pounds or even 10 pounds of candy, which is enough for a long time anyway.
I used to live in an apartment. The security measures in the apartment were strict, and the door was locked. Only staff and residents could enter (keys or magnetic cards), and children could not get in, so even if I prepared and bought candy, I couldn't give it out. This year is different. One day about three weeks before Halloween, when I went out in the morning, I was surprised to find a plastic fake jack lantern outside the door. There were some sweets and some small gifts in the lantern, a small stick and a small umbrella beside the lantern. There is a flying page in the lantern, which says something like this:
"Happy Halloween! First of all, I hope you like my little gift for you. Then, please prepare two gifts, and make two copies of this flyer for your two neighbors. Remember, you have to deliver it quietly at night, and don't let the neighbors find out it's from you! Finally, post this flyer on your door, indicating that you have received the gift, and your neighbor will not send the second gift to your home ... "
It's a bit like the old lucky chain game, isn't it? It's just funny that after Halloween, when I pulled off the flying page posted on the door, I accidentally took a small piece of paint off the door with tape paper. ......
The next few days, I bought a pumpkin from the store, dug a few small holes with a knife, made a simple face, and put it in the corridor. As for the candles or small lights in the pumpkin, I am too lazy to toss about. Two days before Halloween, I bought 10 candy from Giant Food Store (a food supermarket), three bags, unpacked and poured the candy into the basket. After dinner early that day, I turned on the lights in the corridor and porch, and sat on the stairs, reading a book and waiting for the first child who rang the doorbell and said "Trick or treat". Sure enough, at about six o'clock, the long-awaited doorbell rang, and for a moment I only felt how kind and familiar the doorbell was! When I opened the door, I saw four or five children standing at the door and said, "Trick or treat!" Some are shy, some are looking forward to it, and it seems that their necks are stretched a little ... Of course, this is an unfounded subjective assumption! The parents of the children stayed on the road. After I sent these children away, I closed the door, and soon the doorbell rang again ... In this way, in less than a quarter of an hour, damn it, I almost gave out three bags of candy! So I had to drive to the store. I thought about it, bit my teeth, spent about 60 dollars, brought back about 20 packs of candy, and hurried home. I thought adding 20 packets of sugar would be enough, right? If it doesn't work out, I still have a box of small potato chips and vegetable strips bought from Costco, with 48 small bags. If necessary, I will give them away together. ......