Can we focus on this bizarre tradition for just a second? Have you ever wondered why we boil eggs (and make our house smell like that for days) and then dye them bright colors, only to hide them outside, let our kids find them and then, well, eat them? Rumor has it the tradition started with Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, which believed dying eggs red was symbolic of the blood of Jesus. Cracking the eggs was meant to honor his resurrection. Obviously, we’ve adapted the tradition a bit over the years.
What is our fascination with pumpkins? They’re not even that tasty! (Except pumpkin pie, that’s the best.) Imagine how weird it must be to visit the U.S. in October and see, to your horror, doorsteps lined with terrifying, jaggedy-toothed faces taunting those who walk by. It turns out the jack-o’-lantern tradition actually isn’t American at all. Irish immigrants brought the tradition of lighting carved-out turnips to ward away evil spirits. Since pumpkins were plentiful in the U.S., they took the turnips’ place.
Another strange (but admittedly tons of fun) tradition during Halloween is wearing costumes. While the day has roots in the Celtic Samhain tradition, it’s really taken off and become its own thing. Kids and adults alike dress up in their favorite costume, pretending to be their chosen character for the day. Is it weird? Sure. But nothing beats going to school (or work) dressed like a witch or terrifying zombie.
We once tried to explain the concept of trick-or-treating to friends of ours from another country and, honestly, we couldn’t make sense of it, either. For some reason, the US decided it was cool every October 31 to let our kids beg for candy from our neighbors (while simultaneously threatening to pull a prank on them if they don’t deliver). Not only is that weird, but then we let our kids go hog wild on their bounty. It’s a holiday tradition that makes zero sense and yet is one of the best parts of an American childhood.
Nothing says “Happy Thanksgiving” like watching a procession of gigantic floats of our favorite characters like Spider-Man and Woodstock, right? For the past 93 years, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been emblematic of the beginning of not just Thanksgiving, but the entire holiday season. In fact, how many of us look forward to tuning in to the parade from home, no matter where in the country we live? Does it make sense? Nope. Is it still awesome? Absolutely.
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