The guest’s are welcomed with a traditional Romanian drink prepared especially for the cold season – a shot of Romanian “water of fire” boiled with pepper will increase the interest in the delicious mouth-watering traditional dishes prepared for the Halloween party. The Master of Ceremony, one of Dracula’s many subjects, will introduce the guests to the programme of the evening making sure every one will meet his fate! 

   The first event you’ll enjoy is performed by the Transylvanian Knights. The “Witch Trial” will reveal the medieval rituals of judgment for a witch testing the courage of the guests. Should anyone dare to handle the sword and fight along with the knights to save the damned woman, will be anointed as a knight. 

  There can be no Halloween Party without Dracula; the Count will simply not tolerate such a thing! His majesty will join you and even make a few confessions about his wedding. “Dracula’s Wedding” is a show set on stage by a professional band of actors. This is a non verbal performance. It’s very easy to understand that Dracula did not need words to charm a girl. The first time they met he appeared as a respectable noble, the second meeting revealed his true dark nature… Find out if the story has a happy ending. 

   Since we’re all very familiar with dramas, we’ll then focus on having a fabulous time, and water better way to do this than dancing! A band of folk singers performing live at traditional Romanian instruments will introduce the guests to the gypsy rhythm as well as the melodious and cheerful Romanian songs. The traditional “Scarf dance” will bring everyone to the dancing floor!  

   Close to midnight will all step out to watch the moon and count down the minutes to 12 o’clock, a time of powerful magic when all bad wishes come true! (let’s just say that your neighbours’ cat won’t bother you anymore). A glass of champagne and the traditional Rest in Peace song will delight us afterwards.  

   The culinary event of the evening is the Halloween cake, shaped as a coffin and delicious as fresh blood. This might just be the first coffin you have tried and you will like it!

   The Count’s witch will be at your disposal. She’ll open her office for you to be able to purchase After Life Insurances (something will know for sure you will use!)

   The Master of Ceremony will reword the ones who really did their best for the Halloween Costumes! The Best Female and Male Costumes will receive awards (Romanian genuine handcrafts to remember you of this incredible night). The Count has also a gift prepared for the Best Howl at the Moon (after a glass of strong red wine boiled with cinnamon you won’t lack courage or strength!)

   The DJ will then take over the party! Devilish dancing to the dawn. The last person standing will receive a bottle of wine courtesy of the house and Romanian tips on how to handle the hang over. 

      If you want to learn the truth, be charmed by the legend and enjoy the best Halloween party ever, join us along narrow winding roads, deep in the Carpathians, into the heart of Transylvania for a fascinating holiday! To read a more detailed presentation please visit us on line at:

http://www.visit-transylvania.us/romania-travel-transylvania/halloween-dracula-tour.html

   The prestigious Fodor’s travel guide placed Halloween in Transylvania with Vlad the Impaler, The Dracula Tour in Top ten must-do adventures.

Departing from Budapest on October the 27th 2008, Halloween in Transylvania with Vlad the Impaler offers a 10 day trip back in time, following Jonathan Harker’s footsteps but revealing the genuine historical facts and places related to Vlad the Impaler.

The tour is intended to Halloween enthusiasts, Transylvanian lovers, culture and history fans or adventure seekers.

It includes the unique medieval citadel of Sighisoara – Vlad the Impaler’s birth place, the Saxon city of Brasov, Bistrita Citadel, the royal Peles Castle, the mysterious Bran Castle as well as Dracula’s Castle in Borgo Pass, built according to Bram Stocker’s imagination. In addition, the special activities prepared, all along the itinerary, bring out the essence of the genuine Transylvanian Folklore.

Special events experienced in this Halloween tour:

       · Killing of the Living Dead ritual – Help a haunted spirit to gain his peace          

·        Learn how to make a vampire killing stake from the Vampire Wooden Stake Specialist, a famous woodcraftsman from Maramures

·        Visit legendary castles in Transylvania with plenty of good stories for a Halloween tour: Bran, Peles, Corvinesti and Savarsin Castles

·        Halloween Party in Sighisoara – Dracula’s birth place

·        Special accommodations, the finest selections of “Dracula Hotels” including Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania - Bram Stoker’s imaginary castle in Borgo Pass where, he placed the Bloody Count Dracula, accommodation and candlelit dinner,

·        Discover Dracula’s descendents – pay a visit to Misiuga, Baron of Dracula in his windswept tower in Bistrita citadel

·        Enjoy Jonathan Harker’s Menu - the same meal Bram Stoker’s hero served when in Bistrita citadel

·        Vampire menu for dinner in Turda to find out why it’s worth killing for a meal!

·        During farewell dinner a Survivor’s Certificate will be handed over (collect stamps all along the itinerary to prove your courage)

    Being a very popular tour, Halloween in Transylvania with Vlad the Impaler is often sold out well in advance; in fact the reservations for 2008 have already started so hurry up and join us!

   To book the tour, call Transylvania Live USA, Canada Toll Free at: 1 888 889 7005, United Kingdom free line at: 0808 101 6781, Australia local number (02) 8005 7337, España – Llamada gratuita: 900 931 391 or Romanian office at: +40. 364.405.614 or contact your local travel agent.

Halloween in Transylvania with Vlad the Impaler – Dracula Tour
10 days, escorted tour, HB, from US$ 2243*/ £ 1261*/ CA$ 2399*/ AU$ 2703*/ € 1549- Budapest departure (Hu4.3RoHa)
Vampire in Transylvania – Dracula Tour
7 days, escorted tour, HB from $ US$ 1679*/ £ 944*/ CA$ 1796*/ AU$ 2022*/ € 1159 - Bucharest departure (tour code: Ro4.4RoVa)

Halloween in Transylvania with Vlad the Impaler – Short Break
3 days, escorted trip, from US$ 824*/ £ 463*/ CA$ 881*/ AU$ 993*/ € 569- Cluj Napoca, Transylvania, departure (tour code TR 4.3RoHa)

Halloween Party in Transylvania with Vlad the Impaler!
2 day tour. Departure from Bucarest, Sibiu or Cluj Napoca Airport, 12.00 (GMT+02:00)

http://www.visit-transylvania.us/travel-to-transylvania-romania-dracula-vampire.html

http://www.visit-transylvania.co.uk/travel-to-transylvania-romania-dracula-vampire.html

http://www.romaniatravel.ca/travel-to-transylvania-romania-dracula-vampire.html

What does Halloween represent? better known as the eve of All Saints’ Day. Halloween in Western countries is about ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and the supernatural.

In Britain, Halloween is associated with children playing ‘Trick or Treat‘ a game where children dress up and visit neighbours’ houses threatening to play practical jokes on the inhabitants if not rewarded with sweets or money. All harmless fun of course.

In recent years, the number of local events organised to “celebrate” Halloween has shot up. Also, merchandise is readily available and many families decorate their homes as they do at Christmas.

Where did this phenomenon come from anyway, the United States? We spoke to Kit Bennett from American website Amazing Moms who pleads guilty on all counts.

Kit says, “It’s huge, I would say it’s right up there with Christmas for kids. We as always have gone over the top,” she said. However, Kit, herself a Grandmother and teacher said she has noticed a change in the United States and people have become more safety conscious.

“How we deal with it has changed. It’s actually getting a little lower key. The kids love to dress up and have the candy but we don’t trick or teat so much now. Our children go to shopping plazas now and go store to store to get candy. Many schools are no longer able to celebrate Halloween but they’ll call it a Harvest Party.”

Kit also told us that some children are banned from attending Halloween events and have accused other children of worshipping evil. Oh dear, this sounds like this yearly activity of fun is all becoming a bit too serious. She also went on to say that the event is becoming a big religious activity in the United States with some people not celebrating it for that reason alone.

However, she did want to point out that she and her family do spend time together on October 31st carving pumpkins and enjoying the whole social occasion.

The most popular Halloween costumes in the United States are a Princess costume for the girls and a Superhero for the boys – again different from the UK where it’s a Witch or Dracula.

In the traditional sense Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31st. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting “haunted houses”, carving Jack-o’-lanterns, reading scary stories and watching horror movies. It’s also believed that Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is celebrated in several countries of the Western world, most commonly in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Japan, New Zealand, and occasionally in parts of Australia. Plus, in Sweden the All Saints’ official holiday takes place on the first Saturday of November.

The most recognisable symbol is the carved pumpkin, lit by a candle inside, this is one of Halloween’s most prominent symbols in America, and is commonly called a jack-o-lantern. Originating in Europe, these lanterns were first carved from a turnip or rutabaga. Believing that the head was the most powerful part of the body containing the spirit and the knowledge, the Celts used the “head” of the vegetable to frighten off any superstitions. The name jack-o’-lantern can be traced back to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a greedy, gambling, hard-drinking old farmer. He tricked the devil into climbing a tree and trapped him by carving a cross into the tree trunk. In revenge, the devil placed a curse on Jack, condemning him to forever wander the earth at night with the only light he had: a candle inside of a hollowed turnip.

If ever there was a time that kids loved to dress up is on the 31st of October (Halloween night), however in saying that, so do the biggest majority of big kids to (adults). Halloween is time a for having fun and throwing parties so therefore the reason behind much excitement the kids show when trying on their ghoulish Halloween costumes.

The earlier your plans are sanctioned for a Halloween party the better so as not to have to last minute hiccups which cause disappointment e.g. delivery of the wrong size Halloween costume you ordered from the fancy dress store. With the world the way it is today parents are desperate to protect their children and if that means forbidding them to go trick or treating then so be it. If this decision be made in your household then there are plenty of ways to put a smile back on the kiddie’s faces behind their devilish masks

One way to overcome this is to accompany your children on the evening; you will be surprised just how much fun it can be. By going along with the little ones dressed up as imps you can get a better understanding of why that in past years when it was safe for them to go out alone they get so excited.

Another solution is to throw a Halloween party if you have commitments preventing you from trick or treating with the kids. Under your supervision, leave the kids in charge and allow them to answer other trick or treaters who come knocking at your door. Let the children donate sweets money or edibles; another good idea is to let the children help you bake monster cookies to give as a treat.

It can prove to be cost affective if your neighbours who feel the same as you on the matter about children trick or treating alone come together in unison and share the cost of throwing a Halloween street party, by doing this responsibilities can be divided between each family participating. Families can be allotted a particular task i.e. preparing the food, hanging up decorations or organizing the entertainment, i.e. games music and competitions like for the best Halloween costume.

Other Activities for your party to keep the kids happy can include the popular Halloween pumpkin decorating. What is needed for this are acrylic paints, brushes, paint pens, other art supplies for decorating pumpkins. Always supervise young children and allow for mess.

Give the children their own personalized trick or treat bag and fill it full of their favourite yummies, candy will be welcomed along with a surprise novelty wrapped up inside. Halloween games come no better that the hot favourite Halloween bone hunt, for this game you will need small plastic bones; prizes, be careful with young toddlers and small particles.

Get enough bones for each child. Mark some of the bones as prize bones. Scatter the bones throughout the party area. If the kids start to show signs of boredom announce the Halloween bone hunt and watch their faces light up knowing they have to run a bone hunt. If you forget the bones I’m sure a creative mind will have you think of something else like hiding dollar bills.

Kids love movies and especially scary ones, however you may have those in contrast so be careful what movies on DVD you tend on showing, although its Halloween we don’t want the kids having nightmares.

Halloween night just like bonfire night can include fireworks being set off to liven up the occasion so as well as protecting your kids protect your pets too by keeping them at home where they will be safe warm and out of harms way.