31 of October is the day when people put on different strange clothes, ignite pumpkin lights and celebrate a horror feast – the Halloween! Today we are going to tell you 6 interesting facts connected with this sinister fete day. ABBYY Mobile’s contest in the end of article is awaiting the bravest readers.
- Who is Jack of the Lantern which is symbolized by pumpkins every Halloween? Ancient Irish legend says, that greedy blacksmith Jack once managed to trick the Devil himself. Jack offered him to have a couple of drinks in the tavern. When the time to pay has come, Jack asked the Devil to turn himself into a coin and then quickly put it in the pocket. But the thing is, in this very pocket there was a silver cross! So Satan was trapped -- with Christ in his bosom – and was unable to take the original shape. Eventually the Devil was released, but with condition to let Jack’s soul go and not messing with his activities. But it wasn’t enough for Jack, so he decided to trick Satan once again. The Irishman asked him to climb on the tree to have some fruits, but the second Old Nick perched on the sprawling crown, Jack scribbled a cross on the tree trunk. And that’s how he bargained for 10 more years of devil-may-care life. Nevertheless, drunkard Jack failed to enjoy all the benefits he obtained. Why? Well, he died soon after he tricked Satan. After the death the sinner was not allowed into either hell or paradise. Uncaused was Irishman traveling around the Earth, waiting for the Dies Irae, lighting his path with a piece of coal, given him by the Devil. Jack put smoldering flame into an empty pumpkin and started his journey. Hence the name of the lantern — Jack of the Lantern.
- Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) became an interesting neighbor of Halloween in Mexico. Dia de los Muertos - is a time to remember the dead relatives and family customs, and also a good reason the laugh at death and remimd yourselves how important it is to enjoy life. People believe, that in the Day of the Dead the souls of the dead may visit their living relatives and friends. On this day people go to the cemeteries to have chat with the souls, build up the altars with photos and relics on the graves, bring the deadmen’s favorite meals and drinks. Sometimes celebrations take on a cheerful color, when the relatives of the deceased recall funny facts from the life of the dead.
- In many countries, such as France and Australia, Halloween is an undesirable, hyper-commercialized American trend. We will not argue about hyper-commerce, because Halloween has long been not so much a holiday as an industry that brings in revenue of $ 6 billion annually. By the way, 80% of the total sales of sweets on the eve of Halloween is chocolate.
- Two main colours of Halloween are black and orange. Black stands for death and orange stands for harvesting.
- There is a belief that if a young woman looks in the mirror at Halloween at exactly midnight, then she’ll see her death in it. Although in some countries young girls try to discern their future fiancé in such way.
- One of the brightest carnivals devoted to Halloween in Europe is held in Disneyland Paris. Not only the famous amusement park is transformed on a festive night,- the "demonic" dress code must be performed by all its visitors from small to large. By the way, the administration urges parents not to bring children under the age of twelve to Halloween.
Well, now you’re scared enough? Let’s talk about some pleasant things then. We decided to make a spooky contest for you - as it was in the last year. What should you do? Find 10 differences between two pictures in the very beginning of this article. Find them all and send an email at mobilegift@abbyy.com telling or showing us where they are. Put “Halloween 2017” in the subject line. Top 3 fastest and most attentive of you will receive all our apps – Business Card Reader, TextGrabber and FineScanner – as a gift!
Good luck and remember - treat is always better than trick!
P.S. The coolest sale of the year is approaching! We are getting ready for it at full speed, and advise you to keep up! Leave your e-mail on our black-black landing page and be the first to know about the beginning of the sale!
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