Spooky Spirits
Posted by Alayne Gardner-Carimi on
The Spirits are Willing
Halloween isn't just for kids. Whether you are hosting a Halloween-themed dinner, presiding over a costume party, visiting a haunted house or trail, taking a ghost tour, or enjoying a horror movie marathon—there are plenty of ways for adults to enjoy this spooky holiday. And vomFASS Madison has just the libations to make ghoulishly fun and deliciously different cocktails! Check out our spooky spirits and recipes below.
In Good Company
As few as 20 years ago, less than half of adults celebrated Halloween. Today that number has grown to be over 70%. It’s a chance to be creative, whether with costume or cuisine. And enjoy the chance, at least for a night, to get a kick out of being an alternate persona.
Fear and Frolic
Historians trace Halloween back and connect it to the Celtic festival of Samhian, a celebration to mark the beginning of winter, the death of the growing season and the day when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest—a good time to communicate to the beyond. While the modern incarnation of this holiday, with its trick-or-treat traipsing of costumed youths, is celebrated primarily in the USA, the origin can be traced back through the United Kingdom. For centuries residents of Yorkshire towns celebrated Mischief Night. It was the one night when youngsters were allowed to run amok, causing as much harmless disruption as possible, for example, by knocking on doors and running away.
Halloween vs. Dia Del Muertos
Although Halloween and Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) have some things in common, there are FIVE KEY DIFFERENCES...
While Halloween has its roots shrouded in time as the Celtic celebration Samhian in Scotland and Ireland, Dia del Muertos is a Mexican holiday with ancient roots in the Aztec festival for the Goddess Mictecacihuatl (Lady of the Dead).
Halloween is October 31st, and Dia del Muertos is celebrated on November 2nd.
On Halloween, kids put on costumes and go trick-or-treating with friends and family. People walk through frightening haunted houses. It’s a time to scare or be scared. For Day of the Dead, people love to paint their faces like skulls and have colorful parades with Mexican music. It’s about honoring and remembering the dead. Some people go to the graveyards to leave flowers, tell stories, sing songs, have a drink, and share a meal with their dead.
While both holidays may have people dressing as skeletons, other Halloween costumes tend to be darkly spooky or silly with spiders, bats, black cats, ghosts, and zombies. Dia del Muerto costumes are more colorful – even the skulls – and decorated with flowers, candles, and anything that the departed ones liked.
Day of the Dead is about remembering ones’ ancestors. In contrast, Halloween is less associated with rituals and more about acknowledging and respecting the power of death.
Celebrate Connections
Even with these differences, both hoildays provide a unique opportunity to share fun stories, honor the dead, tell tales, play music, and celebrate the lives of those who are no longer with us. Both holidays are incredibly fun and a wonderful way to connect to our roots, or the communities in which we live.
Whatever you are celebrating, make sure you have plenty of vomFASS Liqueurs and other spirits on hand for yourself, your friends or your dearly departed loved ones. Feel the tingle of Tangerine Liqueur on your tongue, let our Caipirinha Liqueur send a ghoulish shiver of delight down your spine, and celebrate the release the green fairy with our mysterious Absinthe Libertine 72 with its hints of deep, dark, black licorice.
Share this post
- 0 comment
- Tags: #absinthe, #bloodorange, #caipirinha, #cocktails, #diadelmuertos, #Halloween, #libertine, #madisonwi, #martini, #signaturecocktails, #tangerine, #vodka, #vomfassmadison, #wi