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Tips for Halloween family fun in Baltimore
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Family pet enjoys Halloween.
Halloween provides a great excuse to slow down, enjoy the family and take a break from the flurry of fall activities that can send everyone in varied directions.
If celebrating Halloween is one of your family traditions, consider sharing over dinner how your ancestors observed the holiday. Check in with the relatives and dig out stories about your family. How far back can you trace the family traditions? Was there a special meal prepared on Halloween? Does an heirloom Halloween decoration come out of the attic? Was there a pumpkin carving party? Do you have any handmade hand-me-down costumes?
For those with Celtic roots, the line could be quite long given the reported origins of Halloween from the Celtic fall harvest time of Samhain. History.com has many details on Halloween history. For those of us living in Baltimore, Halloween has been celebrated for at least 150 years when Irish immigrants brought their traditions to American in the 1840s, but it's probably has a much older history here. According to History.com, Halloween existed in American colonial times and was much more common in Maryland and the southern colonies than in New England.
Perhaps you'll find a link to family rubbing elbows with Edgar Allan Poe at 203 N. Amity Street in Baltimore as he created his scary tales. Some Baltimoreans traditionally visit his burial site at Westminster Hall and Burial Ground at 512 West Fayette Street every Halloween.
Today, there are many different Halloween events for families from the ZooBooo! at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore to trick or treating at shopping malls. Ellicott City, for instance, stores on Main Street set aside a special time (4 to 6 PM) for children and their parents to meet and receive a treat from the shopkeepers.
One Baltimore family includes the Ellicott City event as their annual Halloween tradition. Afterwards, they head to the grandparents' house in Catonsville for a pizza dinner and then hand out treats on the big, covered wooden porch to the neighborhood tricksters. This has become a relaxed, fun time for the entire family and the young children especially enjoy having the chance to hand out treats.
Kidstreet News, a monthly guide for activities and events for families and children in the Baltimore-Washington area has an extensive list for Halloween fun online. Baltimore's Child Magazine's web site does as well.
For tricks and tips for a safe Halloween see the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons online and watch for the article on this site about pumpkin carving safety.
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