When is Earth Day and What Brands are Celebrating?
Earth Day is celebrated annually around the globe on 22nd April. It is a worldwide event to support and raise awareness about environmental issues. Earth Day was first held on April 22nd, 1970.
October, 5, 2023
With the nights drawing in earlier and the leaves coming into their orange colour, it's that time of the year to look for pumpkins, buckets of ghostly sweets and marshmallows for roasting. Halloween is just around the corner.
You may think that Halloween came to us from the United States? They definitely know how to celebrate it and go full out with Halloween decorations, Halloween costumes, and Halloween sweets ( or ‘candy’). That's what I thought too, but it’s not the case.
According to Britannica, Halloween's origins can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain, which was held on November 1 in today’s calendars. It was believed that on that day, the souls of the dead returned to their homes, so people dressed in costumes and lit bonfires to ward off spirits.
Over time, as Christianity took over and the pagan undertones of the holiday were lessened, the basic traditions of the holiday remained a part of pop culture every year; they simply evolved and modernized. What about Halloween in America? Halloween obviously remains a popular holiday in the United States today, but it actually almost didn't make it across the Atlantic. The Puritans, some of the first arrivals to settle in America, did not like the holiday's pagan roots, so they didn't take part in the celebrations. But once Irish and Scottish immigrants began to arrive in America in greater numbers, the Halloween celebration made its way back into the limelight.
The very first American colonial Halloween celebrations featured large public parties to commemorate the upcoming harvest, where people would share ghost stories, sing, and dance.
We love Halloween! Today’s Halloween celebrations are all about having fun, for both kids and adults alike. House parties and office parties are allowed this year, and the shops are full of sweets, Halloween decorations, and Halloween costumes to choose from. Many houses are decorated with pumpkins, scary skeletons, spider webs, lights and all sorts of spooky things. Kids and their parents are discussing their costumes and Trick or Treat ideas.
But if you are like me, prefer to shop online, to get better Halloween deals, better choices, and save on that precious petrol (as well as help the environment at the same time), you’re in the right place.
Here at Voucher Shares, we always like to focus on sustainable Halloween decorations first.
Pumpkins. I usually grow pumpkins myself and my (and my kids') favorite is 'Dill's Atlantic Giant' from Thompson and Morgan, which holds the Canadian and American records for size. Even if it does not always turn out as massive as we want, it's good fun to grow and carve your own pumpkin. And when grown organically, you can make delicious and healthy pumpkin soup from it too.
This year, sadly, the summer was too wet and the slugs made the most of it. I had to go for Plan B. I got a massive carving pumpkin from the local farm shop, and The Fine Food Specialist saved the day with their Ornamental Mixed Squash/Pumpkin collection that looks like it was specifically designed for the Halloween decorations and tastes delicious too.
Lights. Considering overall plastic pollution and the damage it creates to our planet and future generations, it's better if you could stay away from plastic as much as possible. Lights4Fun offer a great selection of glass and ceramic Halloween decorations, and that is my personal choice for Halloween.
Halloween costumes. Although many Halloween costumes are cheap and may look great, they are usually made of synthetic materials which end up in the landfill. I opted for cotton this year. Cotton is biodegradable and will never end up as microplastic in the oceans. Surprisingly the cotton Halloween costume choice is not that great, but I managed to find some really cool t-shirts and pyjamas in the Toby Tiger Halloween category. Amazon and eBay also have some choices of eco-friendly Halloween costumes.
And there is always an option to make it yourself. You can easily reuse some old clothes, bed sheets and anything available to make your own uniquely scary (and sustainable) Halloween costumes, or you can buy really cool cotton Halloween fabric from MyFabrics.co.uk and let your imagination run wild.
Halloween sweets. Here is where eating ‘healthy’ can take a back seat for the day. If you don’t have your Halloween sweets buckets ready yet, check out the One Pound Sweets Halloween selection. Tons of sweets start from only £1 or less, including vegan sweets choices.
Enjoy and Happy Sustainable Halloween from Voucher Shares!
Tanya Larsen
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Earth Day is celebrated annually around the globe on 22nd April. It is a worldwide event to support and raise awareness about environmental issues. Earth Day was first held on April 22nd, 1970.
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