Learn About Halloween

Let's learn about Halloween...

We love to make seasonal beaded jewellery projects, especially Halloween themed ones! We found it so interesting to go back in time to learn more about the history of spooky season.

Over 2000 years ago...

Halloween, a festival celebrated on the 31st of October, has a rich history throughout the world blending ancient traditions, cultural practices and religion. The origins of Halloween date back over 2000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounce sow-in) meaning summer’s end, the Celts marked the end of the harvest season on this day and the beginning of winter, a time they associated with death.

Protection from malevolent spirits

They believed that the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead was blurred and that spirits could pass through this veil and return to Earth. To ward off these spirits, large bonfires were built, and the Celts would don costumes of animal skins and heads meant to disguise them from any evil spirits. They would also leave offerings of food to appease these wandering souls and carve faces into turnips, potatoes and other root vegetables and place candles inside. These lanterns were supposed to guide the wandering souls back to the afterlife and protect them from malevolent spirits.

Feralia and Pomona

Two Roman festivals were combined with Samhain, Feralia and Pomona. Taking place in late October, Feralia commemorated the passing of the dead while the festival of Pomona was a day to celebrate the Roman goddess of fruit and trees, it is believed that this celebration is what led to the tradition of bobbing for apples.

As Christianity spread, Samhain was eventually incorporated into Christian practices. November the 1st was designated All Saint’s Day or All Hallows’ Day by Pope Boniface IV in the 7th century, this day was set aside to honour all saints and martyrs. The day before became known as All Hallows’ Eve which eventually was shortened to Halloween. By the 9th century Christianity had spread to the Celtic lands where it supplanted many older pagan rituals.

Souling and guising...

The practices of souling and guising became popular in the Middle Ages in Europe. Souling involved poor people visiting the homes of wealthier people to receive soul cakes in exchange for praying for the souls of the families lost ones. Guising was the art of dressing in costume and performing tricks or reciting verse in exchange for food or money. The precursor to modern day trick or treating.

A man named Stingy Jack...

Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the traditions of Halloween to the United States in the 19th century, there they found the tradition of carving potatoes and turnips could be made much easier by using pumpkins, a fruit native to North America. The larger size and near hollow inside making the perfect Jack o’lantern. The name Jack o’lantern stems from an old Irish legend about a man named Stingy Jack. According to the legend, Jack was a mischievous man who tricked the Devil several times, when Jack eventually died the Devil barred him from entering heaven or hell, condemning him to roam the lands for all eternity with only the light inside his hollowed out turnip head to light the way. He became known as Jack of the Lantern eventually shortened to Jack o’lantern.

Trick or Treat?

The popularity of Halloween spread and evolved into a community centered holiday by the 20th century. The return of immigrants from the United States to the UK bought Halloween back to the island along with many of the American traditions that had been developed. Many parades and parties would be hosted primarily for the enjoyment of children. By the 1950’s the traditions centered around trick or treating, costume parties, pumpkin carving and decorations to create the perfect haunted house.

The Colours of Halloween

The Colours of Halloween Have you ever wondered why we always think of certain colours when it comes to Halloween. You’re inevitably thinking of orange, green, purple and of course black right now. Just take a look at our Halloween bead mixes to see how well the colours work and how it immediately feels spooky. So why these colours?

Oranges

Orange is probably the colour most associated with Halloween, representing Autumn and the harvest but probably the most iconic association is with Pumpkins. Who doesn’t love a traipse through a field to find the perfect pumpkin to carve! Orange symbolizes warmth and light, think of the traditional bonfires lit to celebrate Samhain.

Green

Green makes you think of monsters and bubbling cauldrons, warty witch faces and vials of poison. All perfect for a season associated with the spooky and supernatural.

Purple

Purple is a colour typically associated with magic, mystery and the supernatural. You can’t have Halloween without a little magic and mystery. A colour normally associated with Royalty it is also used to show power and what is a witch without her magical powers. As Halloween became more commercialised purple was used more and more to add a good contrast to the orange and green. And let’s face it who doesn’t love a good splash of purple in anything!

Black....

And lastly the most obvious colour black, symbolising darkness, death and the unknown, harking back to the traditional elements of Samhain regarding the veil and life after death. Traditionally associated with mourning, a time when we think of those we’ve lost. And let’s be honest, black costumes really do look the spookiest and the best at Halloween.

So if you are looking to create the perfect Halloween themed jewellery, maybe some stretchy bracelets with spooky words or one of our fright-tastic polymer mixes, then keep these colours in mind to really evoke the spirit of Halloween.

Free Halloween Designs

Feeling inspired to made your own Halloween beaded jewellery? We have had fun creating some free designs to get you started.... just follow our free step by step instructions and see what products we used...

Halloween Collection

Are your ready to start making your Halloween jewellery project? Then pop along to our Halloween Collection!

SALE

EL01-10
Coloured Elastic Black 1mm - Pack of 10m

£1.25

Elastic within a cotton cover in a range of bright colours, alongside classic black and white. Perfect for quick and simple bracelets, a favourite ...
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MT1DT-50
Filligree Moon Charm Antique Silver 11x17.5mm - Pack of 50

£3.80

A tiny moon with a pretty filligree design Charms are ideal for making earrings, pendants or adding to charm bracelets. You could also use them fo...
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BTM413PK-4
Medium Thong Purple Cotton 1.5mm-Pack of 4m

Original Price £1.00

Current Price £0.50

Strong, versatile and extremely good value, no wonder this has been a top seller for years! Made of woven cotton which will soften with wear. Use w...
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PLCNHA-500
Halloween Plastic Barrel Pony Mix 6x8mm-Pack of 500

£4.10

Perfect for Halloween craft! Pony beads are brightly coloured plastic beads, with a lovely big 4mm hole. They are available in over eighty differen...
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MT1DC-20
Filigree Moon Pendant Antique Silver 40x29mm - Pack of 20

£3.20

Add a charm to the bottom loop of this statement pendant for a quick jewellery make Charms are ideal for making earrings, pendants or adding to ch...
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MTPA-20
Pentagram Antique Silver 16.5mm - Pack of 20

£2.50

Whether you know it as a pentagram pentacle or pentangle you'll be familiar with this symbol so why not add one to your next piece of jewellery? M...
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MT1CN-40
Tiny Bat Antique Silver 23x10mm - Pack of 40

£4.05

Did you know there are over 1000 species of bats worldwide making up a quarter of the world’s mammals Our silver species aren’t of the vampire vari...
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MT1BE-10
Bird Skull Antique Silver 37x11mm - Pack of 10

£4.40

Thought to represent a spiritual connection to magic bird skulls have been used in divination for many ages Now you can keep that connection close ...
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MT1BK-20
Decorative Skull Antique Silver 24x16mm - Pack of 20

£2.60

Cute or creepy? This skull is engraved with a wonderful floral theme Charms are ideal for making earrings, pendants or adding to charm bracelets. ...
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