It’s October 1st! This means that Halloween is right around the corner. Not only that, but now that we’re within the last three months of the year, this also means that Christmas is getting closer. So it’s time to write your lists for what you want for Christmas, shop for Christmas decorations, and review what we did for the year. I planned this entry for a while, but since I had to wait until much later in the year to make it relevant, now it’s time to talk about spooky day and jingle day.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Halloween and Christmas, despite being commercialized, were much more distinct from each other. But as time went on, they both became more assimilated, which the only differences being the origins, the theme, and the main purpose of the holidays. Because on the topic of decorating, Halloween and Christmas almost have the same decorations. So if there’s anything that makes them different, it’s any new traditions that arise.
Similarities between both holidays:
So let’s start talking about what both holidays have in common. Even without the assimilation, Halloween and Christmas already has a few things in common. Here’s 28 similarities between the two:
Time of the Year:
- Both Halloween and Christmas are single-day holidays. Halloween lasts only one day, and Christmas lasts only one day.
- Both holidays have another consecutive holiday. Halloween has All Saint’s Day afterwards, and Christmas has Christmas Eve before.
- Both are observed very late within their months. Halloween is on the last day of October, and Christmas, while not on the last day of December, is on the 25th, which is within the last seven days.
- Both holidays are on an odd-numbered day within an even-numbered month. 25 and 31 are both odd since they end with a 1 or 5, but 10 and 12 (the month numbers for Halloween and Christmas, respectively), are even numbers.
- Both holidays are observed late within the year. Even though much of the year has passed by once October rolls around, two events that have yet to happen are Halloween and Christmas.
- Both holidays, despite being on one day, dominate the entire month. October is more about Halloween, and December is more about Christmas.
- Both days are on fixed dates. Not like Thanksgiving or Easter, Halloween and Christmas aren’t based on the day of the week, and they only occur on the same date, regardless.
- Both can occur during cold days.
Decorations:
- Both sell decorations in stores for at least three months in advance. Halloween decorations usually don’t pop up until July or August, while Christmas decorations are first sold in September or October.
- Both have holiday trees. This has been an integral part of Christmas for a long time, while Halloween is starting to have holiday trees, albeit not as common.
- Both have holiday lights. This is especially true for Christmas these days, but other holidays are starting to have their own set of string lights, including Halloween.
- Both have outdoor decorations, including inflatables.
- Both involve candles. That’s how you light Jack-o-Lanterns, as Christmas candles are more festive-looking.
- Both involve costumes. This is the point of Halloween, while Christmas is not without costumed characters like snowmen or reindeer.
- Both have Peanuts-related holiday decorations (in case you don’t know what that is, it’s Charlie Brown).
- Both involve monsters and ghosts. They’re all over the place for Halloween, while Christmas has various stories with monsters and ghosts (such as Christmas Carol and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer).
Treats/Promotions:
- Both involve not just candy in general but also have their own kind of candy. Halloween has candy corn, and Christmas has candy canes.
- Both involve containers that have candy (pumpkin buckets and stockings).
- Both have other sweet treats, such as pumpkin bread and yule logs (and cookies too).
- Both have school events and activities.
- Both have public events that come before or on the day.
- Both have parties that come before or on the day.
- Both have many TV specials based on the holidays from many TV shows.
- Both have activities that are primarily for kids.
Miscellaneous Fun Facts:
- Both holiday names have nine letters in their name.
- If you subtract one from the day number, the difference is a multiple of the month number.
- In years that March 1st is on a Monday, both days are entirely within the weekend.
- Regarding color schemes, both Halloween’s main color scheme and Christmas’s main color scheme involve the color white. That’s the color of snowflakes, snowmen, snow, ghosts, skeletons, and skulls.
- Both involve the colors orange and green too. But orange is a minor color for Christmas, and if green is a Halloween color, only one shade of green fits, rather than multiple shades like for Christmas.
Halloween Only:
Of course, as two distinct holidays, they have their own stuff. Without listing any negatives (such as “Halloween isn’t observed in Australia”), here’s 18 things that are different about Halloween:
- Halloween is only celebrated at night.
- Halloween can occur during a school day, as people can go to work on Halloween.
- Halloween is on the last day of October. Once it’s over, so is the month.
- Halloween is a fall holiday. I even called it a “falliday”.
- Halloween occurs in the middle of the season it’s part of.
- The primary purpose is to dress up in a costume and collect candy from neighbors.
- Kids get candy by collecting from neighbors.
- There is a wide variety of costumes.
- Feel like watching movies? Any horror movie would work, even if it’s not Halloween-themed.
- Some activities, like pumpkin-carving contests, bobbing for apples, and even costume contests (yes, they exist) are exclusive to Halloween.
- Halloween involves haunted house attractions.
- If you set up a Halloween tree, the tree has to be horror themed.
- Halloween music is primarily instrumental and only played in some areas.
- Halloween has magic shows.
- Halloween has scary stories.
- Halloween is a big deal in primarily the United States. Everywhere else, it’s not as elaborate.
- The modern celebration of Halloween is primarily secular.
- The main two colors are orange and black.
We have 30 days left until Halloween. So if you read this, let’s say that this is something new you learned.
Christmas Only:
Now let’s look at the other holiday, Christmas. Without listing any negatives, here’s 18 things that are different about Christmas:
- Christmas is celebrated all day, but traditions usually occur at morning.
- Christmas is an official holiday. Most places are closed for Christmas, and kids are on vacation from school at this time.
- Christmas is somewhere in the middle of December. Once it’s over, there’s still a few days left in the month.
- Christmas is a winter holiday.
- Christmas occurs very early in the season it’s part of. It’s even a few days after the solstice.
- The primary purpose is family gatherings and opening presents.
- Kids get candy in their stockings.
- Costumes are only Christmas-themed.
- There are more Christmas specials than Halloween specials. But if you want to watch movies, only Christmas-themed movies would match.
- People get presents for Christmas, which they don’t on Halloween.
- Christmas involves public light displays.
- Christmas trees can be any theme, not just the traditional Christmas theme.
- There are more Christmas songs, and you can hear them on the radio and in almost every public place.
- Christmas has Christmas caroling.
- Christmas has Christmas plays.
- Christmas is widely celebrated by many countries.
- Christmas celebrations can be religious or secular.
- The main two colors of Christmas are red and green.
It’s going to be a while before Christmas happens. But if you want to buy decorations, now is the time since it’s already October, but not yet January.
Leave a Reply