JUNO COSTUME for HALLOWEEN 2009

Category: File - :Juno sospita pushkin.jpg|thumb|250px||Vatican statue of Juno Sospita.

Juno was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister (but also the wife) of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars, Minerva and Vulcan. Her Greek equivalent is Hera.

As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman empire she was called Regina ("queen") and, together with Jupiter and Minerva, was worshipped as a triad on the Capitol (Juno Capitolina) in Rome.

As the great Juno Moneta (which the ancients interpreted as "the one who warns"; this traditional etymology is badly formed, but has not been replaced) she guarded over the finances of the empire and had a temple on the Arx (one of two Capitoline hills), which was the Mint. She was also worshipped in many other cities, where temples were built in her honor.

Every year, on the first of March, women held a festival in honor of Juno called the Matronalia. On this day, lambs and other cattle were sacrificed in her honor. Another festival called the Nonae Caprotinae ("The Nones of the Wild Fig") was held on July 7. Juno is the patroness of marriage, and many people believe that the most favorable time to marry is June, the month named after the goddess. Lucina was an epithet for Juno as "she who brings children into light."

Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans is apparent in her attire. She often appeared armed and wearing a goatskin cloak, which was the garment favoured by Roman soldiers on campaign. This warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess Athena, whose goatskin was called the 'aegis'.

Halloween (also spelled 'Halloween') is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints, but is today largely a secular celebration.

Halloween activities include trick-or-treating , wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.