Now that the dust has settled , the cobwebs have been cleared and our charity coffers have been emptied and counted, we thought we'd share with you what we got up to at our Halloween Spooktacular last week.
We decorated Service Care Towers and set a programme of activities for the day for our staff to participate if they wished (as long as there was cover on their desks of course). These included: optional fancy dress, pumpkin carving, Halloween-themed quiz, Trick or Treat lucky dip. apple bobbing, mummy wrapping and, after hours, beer pong.
We managed to raise over £150, which will be split equally between Cash for Kids, High Five and The Foxton Centre.
In true Service Care style, our team members got into the 'spirit' of things with gusto and we saw a great turn out to all events. Take a look at our rogue's gallery:
Congratulations to the Winners of the Day:
Best Fancy Dress 1st Prize (£50 voucher) - Lewis Jackson as Ali G
Best Fancy Dress 2nd Prize (Halloween Hamper) - Lucy Jolley as a Scary Clown
Champion Apple Bobber - Alex Procter
Best Mummy Wrapping - Team Finance with Kim Hutton as the Mummy
Best Pumpkin - Team Social Work (Sophie Taylor, Alex Procter, Emily Bentley and Theo Mason)
Quiz Master - Team Police (Rebecca Grime, Paul Bradley, Mike Pollard and Martin Cookson)
What IS Halloween and why do we celebrate it? Executive Assistant Mandy Bibby explains..
Halloween is an old-fashioned holiday that actually dates back many years and is a lot older than you may think.
As for the witches and wizards that have come associated with Halloween, they're part of the story too. Here's the true tale of how Halloween officially came to be…
As you already know, Halloween takes place on 31st October, but here's something you might not know; the word literally means "hallowed evening," and was previously known to early European celebrators as All Hallows' Eve. All Hallows' Eve (31st October) and All Saints' Day (1st November) both paid homage to saints ("hallows" = saints). The name was eventually shortened to "Halloween," which we know it has today.
Halloween began as the festival of Samhain. It was part of the ancient Celtic religion in Britain and other parts of Europe. It marked a pivotal time of year when seasons changed, but (more importantly) the Celts thought the barrier between our world and the world of ghosts and spirits became thin enabling them to connect with the dead. This meant weird creatures with strange powers could wander about on Earth. The early pagan holiday of Samhain involved a lot of ritualistic ceremonies to connect to spirits. While there isn't a lot of detail known about these celebrations, many believe the Celts celebrated in costume, most likely made out of animal hides, as a disguise against ghosts to enjoy a special feast. They also made lanterns by hollowing out gourds, hence, the history of jack-o'-lanterns.
As Christianity took over, the pagan undertones of the holiday were lessened, but it’s in America that Halloween really took off, through Irish immigrants to the United States that raised the popularity of Halloween during the 19th century. The basic traditions of the holiday remained a part of pop culture every year, they simply evolved and modernized.
The winning Pumpkin Carving Team with their pumpkin
If you'd like to work for a company that values fun and charity initiatives alongside hard work, please contact our HR department to see what vacancies we currently have.
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