Friday, the 31st of October, 2014 is the 304th day in 2014 and in the 44th calendar week.
General Events:
Halloween or All Hallows Eve
October 31, 2014 in the World
Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints, but is today largely a secular celebration. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o’-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.
According to many scholars, All Hallows’ Eve is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, with possible pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic Samhain. Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.
The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Eve, that is, the night before All Hallows Day. Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English (the feast of all saints), All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556. Thus there is no evidence of the term for this day before the 16th century Reformation.
Halloween is not celebrated in all countries and regions of the world, and among those that do the traditions and importance of the celebration vary significantly.
Where is Halloween?
Worldwide
Samhain 2014
October 31 to November 1, 2014 in the World
Samhain is observed on October 31, 2014. Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year. Most commonly it is held on 31 October – 1 November, or halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. Along with Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh it makes up the four Gaelic seasonal festivals. It was observed in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.
Kindred festivals were held at the same time of year in other Celtic lands. Samhain is still celebrated as a cultural festival by some (though it has mostly been replaced by Halloween) and, since the 20th century, has been celebrated as a religious festival by Celtic neopagans and Wiccans. Neopagans in the Southern Hemisphere often celebrate Samhain at the other end of the year (~30 April – 1 May). Some Neopagans celebrate it at the astronomical midpoint between the autumn equinox and winter solstice (or the full moon nearest this point).
In the Northern Hemisphere, this midpoint is when the ecliptic longitude of the Sun reaches 225 degrees. Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature. Many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It was popularized as the “Celtic New Year” from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer.
Where is Samhain?
Worldwide
Hop-tu-Naa 2014
October 31, 2014 in Isle of Man
Hop-tu-Naa is observed on October 31, 2014. Hop-tu-Naa is a Celtic festival celebrated in the Isle of Man. Predating Halloween, it is the celebration of the original New Year’s Eve. For modern Hop-tu-Naa, children dress up and go from house to house with the hope of being given sweets or money, as elsewhere. However, the children carry carved “turnip” lanterns rather than pumpkins and sing Hop-tu-naa songs. In older times, children would have also brought the stumps of turnips with them and batter the doors of those who refused to give them any money, in an ancient form of trick or treat. This practice appears to have died out.
Where is Hop-tu-Naa?
Nationwide Isle of Man
Hallowmas 2014
October 31 to November 2, 2014 in the World
Hallowmas takes place on October 31, 2014. Hallowmas, also known as the Triduum of All Hallows (Triduum of All Saints), is the triduum encompassing the Western Christian observances of All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Soul’s Day, which last from October 31 to November 2 annually. These dates of Hallowmas were established in the 8th century AD.
Where is Hallowmas?
Worldwide
Day of the Dead
October 31 to November 2, 2014 in Mexico
Day of the Dead is celebrated from October 31 till November 02, 2014. Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and all banks are closed.
The celebration takes place on November 1 and 2, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased. Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl.
The holiday has spread throughout the world: In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures.
Where is Day of the Dead?
Nationwide Mexico
World Savings Day
October 31, 2014 in the World
World Savings Day is celebrated on October 31, 2014. The World Savings Day was established on October 31, 1924, during the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks) in Milano, Italy. Representatives of 29 countries wanted to bring to mind the thought of saving to the worldwide public and its relevance to the economy and the individual.
The World Savings Day is usually held on October 31 except in countries where this day is a public holiday, since the idea is for the banks to be open, so that the people are able to transfer their savings into their account. In Germany World Savings Day is held on the last business day before October 31 since this is a public holiday in some States (Reformation Day).
Nowadays the focus of the banks that organise the World Savings Day is on developing countries, where many people are unbanked. Savings banks play an important role in enhancing savings in these countries with certain campaigns and initiatives such as working with non governmental organisations in order to double the number of savings accounts held by the poor.
Where is World Savings Day?
Worldwide
National Unicef Day
October 31, 2014 in the USA
National Unicef day is celebrated on Halloween. The tradition of ‘Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’ began in 1950 in the United States, when Philadelphia schoolchildren first went door-to-door at Halloween collecting money in decorated milk cartons to help their global peers. They raised a grand total of $17, kicking off a campaign that has since brought in millions of dollars each year to help UNICEF provide medicine, better nutrition, safe water, education, emergency relief and other support to children in more than 150 countries.
Where is National Unicef Day?
Nationwide USA
Nevada Day 2014
October 31, 2014 in Nevada
Nevada Day is celebrated on October 31, 2014. Nevada Day commemorates the admission of the state of Nevada into the union on October 31, 1864. The first known observance of Nevada Day (originally known as “Admission Day”) was by the Pacific Coast Pioneer society during the 1870s. It was not until 1933 that the state legislature designated October 31 as Nevada Day and a state holiday. On this holiday all state, county and city government offices are closed, along with most schools and libraries. Some private businesses, like banks, also close at their discretion. In Nevada’s capital, Carson City, a parade is held through the heart of downtown, as well as a carnival and several other events.
Where is Nevada Day?
Nationwide Nevada
Frankenstein Friday
October 31, 2014 in the World
Frankenstein Friday is observed on October 31, 2014. It is held each year on the last Friday in October. Frankenstein Friday celebrates he birth of Frankenstein and its creator. Frankenstein’s monster (also called just Frankenstein) is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein.
The novel is about the eccentric scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. In popular culture, the creature is often referred to as “Frankenstein” after his creator Victor Frankenstein, but in the novel the creature has no name, and this usage of “Frankenstein” is generally considered incorrect.
Frankenstein is infused with some elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement and is also considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction. It has had a considerable influence across literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories, films, and plays.
Where is Frankenstein Friday?
Worldwide
Reformation Day
October 31, 2014 in the World
Reformation Day takes place on October 31, 2014. Reformation Day is a religious holiday celebrated alongside All Hallows’ Eve, in remembrance of the Reformation, particularly by Lutheran and some Reformed church communities.
In the United States churches often transfer the holiday, so that it falls on the Sunday (called Reformation Sunday) on or before October 31, with All Saints’ Day moved to the Sunday on or after November 1. Reformation Day is a civic holiday in Slovenia and in the German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. It is also a national holiday in Chile since 2009.
The liturgical color of the day is red, which represents the Holy Spirit and the Martyrs of the Christian Church. Luther’s hymn, A Mighty Fortress is our God is traditionally sung on this day. It is also traditional in some Lutheran schools for schoolchildren to hold Reformation Day plays or pageants that re-enact scenes from the life of Martin Luther.
Where is Reformation Day?
Worldwide
Historical Events on 31st October:
445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 9:1, NLTse).
1517 – Martin Luther posts 95 theses on Wittenberg church – precipitates the Protestant Reformation
1863 – The Maori Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.
1876 – Great Backerganj Cyclone of 1876 ravages British India (Modern-day Bangladesh), resulting in over 200,000 human deaths.
1888 – Scottish vet John Boyd Dunlop patents pneumatic bicycle tyre
1892 – Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba in southern Palestine- “last successful cavalry charge in history”
1918 – Spanish flu-virus kills 21,000 in US in 1 week
1924 – World Savings Day was announced in Milan, Italy, by the Members of the Association at the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks).
1941 – Mount Rushmore Monument is completed
1952 – 1st thermonuclear bomb detonated at Marshall Islands
1960 – Cyclone hits coast of Gulf of Bengal; about 10,000 die
1968 – President Johnson orders a halt to all bombing of North Vietnam
1978 – People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South) adopts constitution
1980 – Polish government recognizes Solidarity trade union
1984 – Indian PM Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh at her home in New Delhi
1998 – Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
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