Posts – Halloween Preservation Society

Walpurgisnacht

Walpurgisnacht, Walpurgis Night, celebrates Germanic Christians battling “pest, rabies, whooping cough, and witchcraft” and is the eve of the celebration of Saint Walpurga – an English born nun who was a successful Anglo-Saxon missionary and abbess canonized by Pope Adrian II and responsible for converting Germans to Christianity. She is often depicted as similar toContinueContinue reading “Walpurgisnacht”

More McDonald’s Halloween

Always need frames. This is a McDonald’s poster for the employees explaining the release dates for the Halloween pails for ‘89. Even this poster has it showing the McGoblin as the release, although it would end up being McBoo. The instructions for putting the food inside are listed and the schedule was as follows: Witch:ContinueContinue reading “More McDonald’s Halloween”

McDonald’s Happy Meal Pails

The entire O.G. McDonald’s Halloween Happy Meal pail set from 1985/86. Finally found that McJack. The second image is my full collection of pails.

Pumpkin Fox

The beautiful partially melanistic cross fox. The cross fox is a partially melanistic colour variant of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) which has a long dark stripe running down its back, intersecting another stripe to form a cross over the shoulders. It tends to be more abundant in northern regions of Canada, and is rarerContinueContinue reading “Pumpkin Fox”

DIY Solar Light Powered Jack-O-Lantern

I posted a little project I worked on this weekend and was pleasantly surprised that a few people asked how I did it. So here are some simple instructions and details on how I made my solar light powered jack-o-lanterns. Hopefully, the instructions help you. Items needed: Plastic pumpkin pail (we bought ours from Wal-martContinueContinue reading “DIY Solar Light Powered Jack-O-Lantern”

Second Halloween

Who is ready for second Halloween? Let’s make it April 30th. That date is six months from October 31st and, according to the Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year, Beltane begins at sunset in the Northern hemisphere, with Samhain beginning at sunset in the Southern hemisphere. Sounds perfect. (This image is The Wheel of the YearContinueContinue reading “Second Halloween”

Super Blood Wolf Moon

We are sure many of you caught a glimpse of the super blood wolf moon last night. It was a beautiful sight and made our thoughts naturally go to werewolves. The idea of the werewolf has been around for centuries, appearing in the writings of the ancient Roman novelist Petronius, in Ovid’s narrative poem TheContinueContinue reading “Super Blood Wolf Moon”

Yule

While Samhain, Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve is considered to be the night where the veil between the earthly realm and the spirit world is thin, there is actually another night where that veil is thinnest. The pagan Scandinavian and Germanic people of northern Europe celebrated a twelve-day “midwinter” (winter solstice) holiday called Yule (also calledContinueContinue reading “Yule”

Happy Krampusnacht!

Krampus, the counterpart to St. Nicholas, is presented as a goat-like demon figure, similar to satyrs and fauns of Greek mythology, who punishes children for being bad by hitting them, stuffing them in a bag, and shipping them away. According to folklore, Krampus shows up on the night of December 5th – known as KrampusnachtContinueContinue reading “Happy Krampusnacht!”

Ragamuffin Day

Though not as widely remembered as Halloween, there was a time when another popular day would see kids dress up and knock on doors looking for treats. While we now consider Thanksgiving a time for family, football, turkey, and that big parade, after Abraham Lincoln officially proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, many festivitiesContinueContinue reading “Ragamuffin Day”