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Pennsylvania
Boechout, AntwerpIt looks really scary, Randy! 
Sorry I don't have a carved pumpkin, it's not really a tradition here -yet-. 
PennsylvaniaScary but not too scary, I hope. ;)
Anybody know why we carve Jack O Lanterns?
No, not the folk tale of "Jack" who put an ember of coal in a carved out turnip. I mean why we have Halloween and why we carve pumpkins.
It starts with All Saints Day, which comes on November the first.
All Saints Day is when we honor the spirits of our relatives and loved ones who have passed on during the year. In some countries like Spain and in South America, it is tradition to clean the headstones on the graves to pay homage to our ancestors. This has been a tradition in some places since medieval times.
In medieval times, the new day started at sundown, the previous evening, not at midnight as we do it today. Remember! Clocks weren't common until the Industrial Revolution! In fact, the Spanish term for Halloween is "Vispera de Todos los Santos." ("Eve of All Saints.")
On the evening before All Saints Day, the spirits of our loved ones have one last opportunity to return to the homes of their families to say goodbye before passing on to the afterlife. This is why we clean the graves. To show our relatives that they will be remembered in the afterlife.
The placing of pumpkins on our doorsteps comes from the tradition of keeping a lantern on our doorsteps to light the way for our deceased relatives to find their way home. If you want to uphold the real tradition of Halloween, you need to use a real candle in your pumpkin, not a battery operated light. Spirits are drawn to fire. That is what attracts our relatives home: the flame. Without that flame and the pumpkin to protect it from "evil influences," our relatives might not find their way home and be able to pass on to the afterlife. We're supposed to carve a distinctive design into our pumpkins so that our relatives can recognize their homes. The design of your pumpkin should be a family tradition, sort of like your family crest or coat of arms.
That's why we carve pumpkins on Halloween! :)
We dress up like ghosts and goblins to symbolize the spirits that roam the countryside, looking for their homes. As everybody knows, we give out treats in order to appease the "evil" spirits who would hinder the passage of our loved ones to the afterlife.
I have always been a little bit disappointed to hear that people think Halloween is a "blasphemous, Pagan ritual" because, in reality it a solemn occasion.
So... If you want to celebrate Halloween the way it is "supposed" to be celebrated, get out your pumpkins!
Show us your Jack O Lanterns! 
Past Time BearsIt starts with All Saints Day, which comes on November the first.
All Saints Day is when we honor the spirits of our relatives and loved ones who have passed on during the year. In some countries like Spain and in South America, it is tradition to clean the headstones on the graves to pay homage to our ancestors. This has been a tradition in some places since medieval times. Quoting Randy
This is similar to the Day of the Dead. My daughter set up an ofrenda honoring all our deceased pets throughout the years. These are animals she, my other daughter, and my hubby and I have had - which are MANY!
Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday observed throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico where the day is a bank holiday. The celebration takes place on October 31, November 1 and November 2, in connection with the triduum of Allhallowtide: All Hallows' Eve, Hallowmas, and All Souls' Day.[1][2] Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased. Quoting Wikipedia
I'd just like to add that we had the cutest and best-costumed kids at our house for trick-or-treat this year. It was very cold, which apparently served to keep the teenagers (aka kids in zombie makeup) away, but it did not deter the witches, princesses, comic-book heroes, and yes--even a brown bear! 
Adorable.
Becky
