Making Your Halloween Fit For The South
Not only does the South have a long history of enjoying Halloween, it might even lay claim to creating its modern traditions. According to History.com, early Halloween traditions may have been brought over to New England, but it was in Maryland and the colonies to its south that Halloween traditions as we know them today were really established and took off. This year, reclaim that Halloween heritage by taking a few steps in the direction of making your event one that’s thoroughly themed by the South.
Seizing the old-time spirit
The South is awash with beautiful houses and locations that are perfectly fitted to the old-time themes of Halloween – Country Living highlight Charleston as a great example of this, an incredibly elegant city that has all the hallmarks of its rich history. Trying to capture that old-time spirit is a great way to marry Halloween together with the inspirations it drew from the South. You can do this by using old colonial-era houses for your parties, or through having a costume themed around characters from that time. Replicate the wood fires of the time by using crackling candles, which can also help you to fill the air with seasonal smells and key scents. You could even go one step further and enforce a ban on smartphones in rooms at your party.
Look for inspiration
Inspiration isn’t in short supply, either, and can be found readily throughout the South. Have a look at New Orleans, for instance, which plays a key role in upholding the Halloween tradition with its huge annual Halloween parade, a bonanza which includes plenty of colonial-era influences alongside more modern influences from Mexico and other Hispanic origins. In Kentucky, the Baxter and Broadway parade is considerably shorter but offers an authentic look at the rural tradition in the South. It gives a window into the traditions that can help to give you an authentic South-themed Halloween befitting of the traditions that created it.
Rely on the classics
Anyone who knows their Halloween stuff will know that the Jack-o’-Lantern comes from Irish origins. However, the South played a huge role in its proliferation as a Halloween tradition. When impoverished and famished Irish farmers made their way to the USA, escaping the potato blights in their home country, they planted pumpkin widely as it was so easy to grow in the South. In that typical welcoming style of these states, they gave their tradition over to the USA, turning into a very American pastime. What this should show you is the best traditions are the ones that really take you back to the history of the South.
Making a Halloween worthy of the history of the South is really just about looking to its roots. Halloween owes so much to the South that having an authentic experience is the best thing you can do to make it South-themed. Stick to your roots, and your Halloween will last long in the memory.
