Halloween Special & Bat Manicure

When October 31st creeps by, you know that it is that time of the year when bones rattle with excitement, ghosts dust themselves off, goblins cook up new potions, witches get themselves new bobby pins to throw all over when they ride on their brooms – all in the name of Halloween. Streets should be overflown by these odd creatures of the dark which are asking for candy. Scaring people is also their favorite sport. Chill comes but then it also goes when spooky stories are being told around fires as the adrenalin warms up those tiny bodies. Movie theaters pay a certain hommage to the dark side by featuring scary movies. Should we mention those hard-working hands and fingers carving humble pumpkings into magnificent jack-o’-lanterns? Some might find that this celebration has been commercialised to the extremes but I cannot contain the chills that go down my spine when warnings about razors in apples are passed around. But how much do we actually know about Halloween?

Cim se 31. oktobar priblizi, automatski je jasno kako je dosao onaj trenutak u godini kada kosti zveckaju od uzbudjenja, duhovi oprase krajeve svojih haljina, goblini krckaju nove magicne corbice, vjestice idu u nabavku novih ukosnica koje ce da za sobom razbacuju dok se budu vozile na svojim metlama – sve u cast Noci vjestica. Ulice ce postati preplavljene ovim neobicnim stvorenjima koja ce traziti slatkise u razmjenu za zdravu dozu trzavica. Omiljeno im je zanimanje ulijevanje straha u stare kosti. Hladni zmarci prolaze niz ledja no istovremeno i odlaze cim se pocnu pricati strasne price uz vatru koje ce podici adrenalin i zagrijati mala tijela. U kinima se prikazuju najnovija horor ostvarenja. Moramo spomenuti i vrijedne ruke koje ce zavidnom vjestinom preobraziti skromne tikve u  fantasticno strasne grimase, obasijane svjetloscu svijeca. Neki ce smatrati kako je ova proslava iskomercijalizovana do ekstrema no tesko mi je ignorisati gorko-slatko uzbudjenje i neizvjesnost koju sa sobom nosi jabuka poklonjena na ovu noc. Sjecate se prica da se u nekima od njih kriju zileti? Pazljivo grizite. No, zeljela sam saznati nesto vise o ovom obicaju i ovo su moja saznanja.

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Halloween can be traced back about 2,000 years to an Oct. 31 Gaelic festival called Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”), which means “summer's end” in Gaelic. It was an annual communal meeting at the end of the harvest year with intent to gather resources for the winter months. Supernatural forces were mentioned but not to the extent modern times have made it out to be. Although many American folklorists like to claim that this feast was dedicated to Saman (the god of the dead), in reality – there's not as much data to back up these claims. Samhain was mainly focused on the tribal people paying tribute to their conquerors. They probably hoped to some day reveal the magnificent palaces of the gods of the underworld but death and evil powers weren't the focal points. Stripped from all the stories and legends, Samhain was a tribute to the tansition of changing seasons and rebirth of nature as summer turned to winter. Samhain and All Saint’s Day aren't exactly overlapping and they aren't two sides of the same coin but they certainly influenced each other. The mix resulted in the form of celebration we now call Halloween (or All Hallows Eve).

Noc vjestica datira i do prije 2 hiljade godina, sve do 31. oktobra kada se odrzavao galski festival pod nazivom Samhain. On je oznacavao “prestanak ljeta” kod keltskih Gala. To je bio godisnji drustveni skup koji se odrzavao pri kraju zetve sa namjerom da se prikupe sredstva i zalihe za zimske mjesece koji nastupaju. Natprirodne sile su bile spominjane no ne do razmjera koje se cesto spominju u novija vremena. Iako mnogi americki folkloristi vole tvrditi kako je ova gozba bila posvecena Samhainu (bogu mrtvih), u stvarnosti ne postoje dokazi koji bi potkrijepili ove tvrdnje. Samhain je uglavnom bio fokusiran na plemena koja odaju pocast svojim osvajacima. Vjerovatno su se nadali da ce jednom otkriti velicanstvene palace njihovih mitskih bogova u podzemnom svijetu ali ipak, zlo i zle sile nisu bile poenta okupljanja. Nakon sto uklonimo sve price i legende koje okruzuju ovo okupljanje, mozemo reci da je Samhain bio ritual obiljezavanja prijelaza godisnjih doba – novog ciklusa i tranzicije prirode iz ljeta u zimu. Samhain i dan Svih Svetih (Dan mrtvih) se ne poklapaju i nisu dvije strane istog novcica ali izgledno su utjecali jedan na drugog i kao rezultat toga imamo Noc vjestica.

Halloween beliefs and customs were brought to North America with the earliest Irish immigrants, then by the great waves of Irish immigrants fleeing the famines of the first half of the nineteenth century. Known in the North American continent since colonial days, by the middle of the twentieth century Halloween had become largely a children's holiday. Since that time the holiday's popularity increased dramatically as adults, communities, and institutions embraced the event. Through the ages various supernatural entities including fairies and witches came to be associated with Halloween, and over a century ago in Ireland the event was said to be a time when spirits of the dead could return to their old haunting grounds. By the late 1800s, the tradition of playing pranks on Halloween was well established. Halloween mischief in the United States and Canada consisted of tipping over outhouses, unhinging farmer's gates, throwing eggs at houses and the like. In attempt to control the vandalism, concerned parents and town leaders started to encourage trick-or-treating in costume in exchange for sweets. It was then that the troublemakers adopted Oct. 30 as their day to pull pranks.

Obicaji Noci vjestica su preneseni u Sjevernu Ameriku od strane prvih irskih imigranata. Imigranti iz irske su u ogromnim brojkama dolazili u Sjevernu Ameriku kako bi izbjegli posljedice velike gladi koja je vladala u prvoj polovini devetnaestog stoljeca. Obicaj poznat u Sjevernoj Americi jos od vremena kolonija, do sredine dvadesetog stoljeca je Noc vjestica postao uglavnom djeciji praznik. Od tada je njegova popularnost dramaticno porasla i medju odraslima, medju drustvima a i pojedine institucije su ga prihvatile kao praznik. Tokom godina su se najrazlicitija nadprirodna stvorenja povezivala sa ovim praznikom. Prije vise od stoljeca, u Irskoj se za Noc vjestica govorilo da je to vrijeme kada duse mrtvih ozive i vracaju se na zemlju gdje uznemiravaju zive. Do kraja osamnaestog stoljeca se ustolicila tradicija pripremanja podvala za Noc vjestica. Podvale su se u SAD-u i Kanadi sastojale iz omotavanja kuca materijalom, skidanje sarki sa vrata stala na farmama, gadjanje kuca jajima i slicne zloceste aktivnosti. U pokusaju da se suzbije ono sto je vec preslo u vandalizam, zabrinuti roditelji i odgovorni u gradovima su poceli ohrabrivati obilazenje kuca u razmjenu za slatkise. Tada su se mali razbojnici usaglasili da ce zloceste aktivnosti vrsiti dan prije (30.oktobra).

Halloween history is an interesting one and each year I find out some new fact. To honour Halloween, I have sacrificed my nails which have been a hiding place for spooky bats.I've really enjoyed making this manicure but it was a bit of a risk since I never did it before. I don't have the steadiest hand of all so do excuse the odd mistake. To paint the silhouette of the bats, I've used my Revlon Nail Enamel in Blackest Black (999). I cannot stop to think whether was this the most fitting black for Halloween of all? Just turn the number nine into six and you have the most scary numerical combo of all. This is a gorgeous black nail polish with blue shimmering flecks which show under certain light. But before painting the bats on and around the fingernail tips, I've applied a single coat of the Revelique High Shine Nail Polish in Rebel (30). Again, Halloween-worthy name and even a cuter color. I'm usually not a fan of pink but this hot pink has stolen my heart with its rebellious spirit. Fantastic pigmentation and creamy texture are amplified with a hint of the most flattering pinky fairy dust. Adorable color which gives an interesting effect with the Revlon's black offspring. I used the humble toothpick to draw the bats and after everything dried, I've finished my nails with a coat of the Revelique Base & Top Coat. This is a special discovery and I will tell you more about it in one of my next posts. I hope you enjoyed this Halloween Bat Manicure of mine. To top things off, I'll reveal which horror movie I watched last night. The Conjuring (2013.) must be one of the best horror movies of all time. No kidding people, it's just a matter of time when it becomes enlisted as one of the horror classics. Tonight, Insidious (2011.) is on the menu. Happy fright night my dear creatures of the night! 🙂 

Historija Noci vjestica je interesantna i svake godine o ovom obicaju otkrijem nesto novo. Dala sam zrtvu u cast Noci vjestica tako sto su moji nokti postali odmaraliste jezivih sismisa. Jako sam se zabavila kreirajuci ovu manikuru no prilicno sam rizikovala posto je nikada prije nisam pokusavala napraviti. Moja ruka nije najpreciznija i nadam se da cete oprostiti ako negdje uocite greskicu. Kako bih iscrtala siluetu sismisa i njegovih krila – koristila sam Revlon lak za nokte u nijansi Blackest Black (999). Ne mogu a da ne pomislim kako je ovo najprigodniji crni lak za nokte za ovu svrhu. Ako pretvorite devetke u sestice dobiti cete najstrasniji broj od svih. Ovo je prekrasna crna boja koja je obogacena tamno plavim sljokicama. One se vide tek na odredjenim svjetlom. Prije nego sam iscrtala sismise, nanijela sam samo jedan sloj Revelique High Shine laka za nokte u nijansi Rebel (30). I ponovo, naziv dostojan praznika a nijansa je prekrasna. Obicno nisam ljubiteljica ruzicastih nijansi ali ova jarka ruzicasta me osvojila buntovnickim duhom. Odlicne pigmentacije i kremaste teksture koja je dodatno poboljsana iznimno lijepim sitnim shimmerom. Zajedno sa Revlonovim tamnim lakom je interesantna kombinacija. Skromna cackalica je posluzila kao alat za crtanje sismisa a kada se lak osusio, sve sam zavrsila slojem Revelique baznim lakom i nadlakom – u jednom. On mi je tek posebno otkrice i pisati cu nesto vise o njemu kasnije. Nadam se da vam se dopala Sismis manikura za Noc vjestica koju sam kreirala. Kako bih zaokruzila citavu pricu, otkriti cu vam koji sam horor gledala sinoc. The Conjuring (2013.) je film o kojem je rijec i procijenila bih ga kao jednog od najboljih horora ikada napravljenih. Nema sale, mislim da je pitanje vremena kada ce se spominjati kao jedan od klasika ovog zanra. Veceras mi je Insidious (2011.) na meniju. Sretnu Noc vjestica vam zelim, moje drage spodobice noci! 🙂