Halloween Escape is an exciting endless runner game designed for mobile devices. Tap to jump or spin, double tap to perform the cool stunt jump. Grab the most candy to exchange for rewards, avoid deadly traps and obstacles, and don't get caught up in the giant pumpkin chasing you!
Music: Patrick de Arteaga
Its name comes from an English phrase "All Hallows 'Eve", which would be translated as All Hallows' Eve.
The Catholic Church instituted "All Saints Day" as one of its celebrations, in honor of those who "enjoy eternal life in the presence of God" and who do not appear in saints or their name is not known.
Until the 16th century, the night before this celebration a vespers service was held and hence the name of the celebration.
How did it turn into a 'scary day'?
Historians of the 18th century had already linked Halloween to an ancient pagan festival: a Celtic ritual called Samhain that celebrated the end of summer and the arrival of the short, cold days of autumn.
Samhain lasted three days and began on October 31.
According to some scholars, it was a tribute to the "King of the dead."
More recent studies established that bonfires and a celebration of good harvests were also characteristics of the pagan celebration.
But this theory is based on scant evidence and some historians have pointed out that the celebration changed from region to region, from country to country and, between mute and mute, even altered its meaning.
In the 8th century, there was a turning point: Pope Gregory III changed the original date of "All Saints Day" from May 13 to November 1.
It is not clear whether the movement, which also made religious celebration mandatory for all Catholics, was an attempt to "Christianize" Samhain.
The truth is that this move united both celebrations and mixed pagan and Christian traditions.
When did Halloween become the celebration we know now?
It took shape between 1500 and 1800.
Bonfires were very popular then: they were used to burn straw (remember that Samhain celebrated the end of the harvest season), but also as a ritual to "repel" witchcraft and disease.
Another tradition was the exercises of futurology and divination: people predicted the name of future partners and even the date on which they would die.
Those divination rituals took many different forms.
A cabbage taken from the ground could give clues about the work or personality of the future partner. Walnut shells were also "read".
Food was an important component of the celebrations and one of the most characteristic habits involved children who went from house to house singing rhymes or praying for the souls of the dead.
In exchange, they obtained cakes that represented the liberation of a soul from purgatory.
How did the celebration come to the United States?
During the Great Famine (1845-49) in Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, more than a million people emigrated to the United States.
They took their history and traditions with them, and it's no coincidence that the first mentions of Halloween on American soil appeared shortly after that exodus.
In 1870, for example, a women's magazine published an article describing Halloween as an "English holiday."
Initially, the American version was very similar to that of the British countryside.
But there were some crucial additions, like the introduction of scarecrows into decorations - corn was a crucial crop in American agriculture.
There were others, such as the classic phrase "trick or treating" of children or the use of pumpkins (the British tradition was to carve turnips).
