Halloween

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on 31 October in many Western cultures. It is characterised by trick-or-treating, costume parties, haunted houses, jack-o-lanterns and bonfires.

The holiday has its origins in Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival celebrating the end of harvest. It was believed that on 31 October the dead came back to life, haunting the earth and causing havoc as a result of the boundary between the living and the dead being severed.

Halloween-related activities include trick-or-treating, which has its roots in the Middle Ages Yuletide practise of wassailing, the hosting of and attending of costume parties, bonfires and hayrides. Visiting haunted houses and corn mazes are also favourite Halloween pastimes.

The carving of the jack-of-lantern is a Halloween activity that normally takes place in the days leading up to the holiday. During this activity, a pumpkin is gutted and a face is carved into its skin. After, candle is inserted into the pumpkin, creating a ghostly, spooky face.

No Halloween is ever complete without the perfect Halloween costume. While costumes can be bought or hired, the pride that one feels after creating his or her own Halloween costume is unprecedented. Making your own costume is the ideal time to display your ingenuity and creativity as well as your imagination and skills. Costumes can be fashioned out of any household item for children and for adults.

For kids, turn an empty box into a robot’s torso; an old sheet becomes a cloak for a ghost; or manipulate abandoned roasting tins into the body of turtle. Ingenuity doesn’t have to stop with the kids. Turn yourself into a sultry ghost, a member of the Chippendales, join in with your mates and emulate your favourite rock band or travel back in history and become a 1950s pin-up girl.

The pumpkin is perhaps Halloween’s most iconic symbol. Recipes featuring the squash are favoured and appear in abundance from the onset of autumn and in the days leading up to Halloween. Pumpkin is a very versatile vegetable and can be used in various dishes from starters to desserts.

Recipes utilising pumpkin include the following.

Starters
Pumpkin and walnut salad — Diced pumpkin and chopped walnuts on a bed of mixed greens Pumpkin soup — Pureed pumpkin with onions, cinnamon and cream

Mains
Pumpkin risotto — Roasted pumpkin risotto with sage and onion Pumpkin lasagne — Vegetable risotto with pumpkin and ricotta

Desserts
Pumpkin pie — Pureed and set pumpkin with spices and ginger Pumpkin cheesecake — Classic cheesecake with pumpkin instead of mascarpone