Halloween is a spooky time of year. However, this year, an even spookier time came along to join it called COVID-19. This year, Halloween was cancelled for many children, and many adults. but that left many trying to get creative since they couldn’t trick-or-treat. 

Halloween Traditions

Some people stuck with the old traditions they know and love, such as carving pumpkins with family members and showing their creations on their porch, decorating their house, watching a scary movie with friends/family, and more. Whereas, others came up with completely new ideas bringing twists to old traditions! These ideas included carving pumpkins outside with friends while social distancing, doing a halloween scavenger hunt, or parents giving children a list of Halloween items, and last, but not least, having a Halloween costume contest on Zoom or Google Meet! 

The History of Candy

COVID or no COVID, of course there’s always candy involved. However, where did the candy originate? Who was the person who invented candy in the first place? Well, people say that Egyptians were the first people who made candy way back in 2000 BC! Candy has been around about 4000 years now! That’s crazy! The creation of candy is actually quite simple. There are only two main ingredients for candy. That would be sugar and honey. Obviously, candy has got to have some flavor, so people can add different kinds of fruits to create fruit candy. Finally, food coloring or many types of natural and artificial flavoring is used to create all kinds of different candy.

Origins of Halloween Costumes

Many people, adults and kids, love dressing up for Halloween in costumes ranging from scary ghouls to lovely princesses. Halloween costumes have their origins in Scotland way back in 1585! There are lots of references to the custom during the 1800s and the 1900s in Scotland, Ireland, Mann and Wales. 

Halloween at St. Robert School

St. Robert School had a Halloween Spooktacular where all the kids from Pre-K to 8th Grade were able to dress up in their fun costumes and show them off to the school. There was also a costume contest where a few 8th Graders came by each homeroom to pick a winner for the best costume. Winners received a box of candy as a sweet prize! Those who did not win, l still received bags of candy from the 8th graders. 8th graders also led classes through some fun Halloween-themed games. This was done safely by keeping masks on with 8th graders distanced from the cohorts who they visited. The day acted as a fundraiser for the 8th graders as well.

References

“Halloween.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 4 November 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween. 

“History of Candy.” Candy History, Candy History, www.candyhistory.net/.

“Trick or Treating and Other Halloween Activities.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health & Human Services, 9 October 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/halloween.html.