Halloween
Activities & Crafts
History
of Halloween
Dating
back to an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, the Celts,
who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the
United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year
on November 1. This marked the end of the harvest and the beginning
of winter, a time of year that was often associated with human
death. Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the
border between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.
On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was
believed that ghosts returned to earth to cause trouble and damage
crops. Celts thought that the presence of ghosts allowed the Druids
(Celtic priests), to make predictions about the future. These
prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during
the long, dark winter.
To
commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where
the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to
the Celtic gods. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes
of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's
fortunes.
By
A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory.
In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic
lands, two 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 explains
the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced
today on Halloween.
By
the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into 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 (meaning
All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain,
began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.
Pumpkin
Seed Fun
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Pumpkin seeds, food coloring, vinegar,
paper and glue
Instructions: First you will need to prepare
the pumpkin seeds for your children. Clean and let dry your pumpkin
seeds. Once dry, place 1 teaspoon vinegar and a cup of water in
different bowls with several drops of selected food coloring.
Place the pumpkin seeds in the different solutions and stir in
the solution for 2 minutes. Then spread on paper towel to allow
drying. Once dry put all the seeds in one pile and have your child
sort them into piles based on their color. For older ones have
them count how many are in each pile. After they are done sorting
and counting provide them with glue and paper and have them make
a Pumpkin Seed Collage.
Web
of Yarn
Age: 5 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Paper plate, black paint, white yearn,
scissors, tape and a toy plastic spider ring.
Instructions: Cut small snips around the edge
of a paper plate about every inch apart. You’re your child
paint the plate black and then allow it to dry. Take a long piece
of yarn and knot one end of it. Insert into a slit on the edge
of the plate so the knot is to the back snug against the plate.
Pull the yarn across the plate and up through a different slit
across from it, to make a spider's web. Continue until the yarn
runs out. Slip the plastic spider ring on the yarn before pulling
through the one final split and then not the yarn on the back
of the plate.
Jack-o-lantern
of Science
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: High
Material: Pumpkins and child friendly carving
utensils
Instructions: This is a Halloween favorite of
most people but I wanted to added it anyway. Help your child create
a jack-o-lantern out of a pumpkin that he or she picked out. Ensure
you allow them to get messy and get their little hands inside
the pumpkin. Let them explore. Children 4 and under will not be
able to carve well.
Balloon-o-Lanterns
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Markers and orange balloons
Instructions: Blow up an orange balloon and let
the child use markers to create facial features.
Paper
Plate-o-Lanterns
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: High
Material: Orange paint, paper plate, black paper,
scissors, glue.
Instructions: Have your child paint a paper plate
orange and allow it to dry. Then have the child cut out shapes
for facial features from the black construction paper and glue
them on the plate. Younger ones will need help with the black
shapes.
Spider
Paper Plates
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: High
Material: Large and small paper plates, paint,
black paper, string, tape.
Instructions: Tape the smaller plate to the larger
plate. You want the smaller plate to be the head. Then have your
child paint the plates whatever color they want their spider to
be. Next cut eight 1” strips of paper for the spider’s
legs. Fold the strips back and forth to create a wiggling leg.
Tape the legs to the body. Punch a small hole through the middle
of the spider and feed a piece of string through and knot the
end. Know you can hang the spider up.
Pumpkin
Seed Shakers
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Paper plates, dried pumpkin seeds,
stapler, paint/markers or crayons.
Instructions: Have your child put some seeds
on one of the paper plates (bottom side down). Next, have him/her
place the other plate on top of the first plate (bottom side up).
Help the your child staple the plates together with the seeds
inside. Let the child paint, use markers or crayons to decorate
the shaker.
Spider Webbing
Age: 5 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Yarn or string
Instructions: Allow your child to create a spider’s
web by wrapping the string around the legs of a kitchen chair.
Spider
Kids
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: None
Instructions: Have the children do a spider walk,
by sitting back placing their hands and feet on the floor and
lifting their bottom off the floor. If other children are around
have a race.
