Happy Halloween, everyone!
I hope you enjoyed your night of fright, no matter how you celebrated it - trick-or-treating, handing out candy (and eating it yourself), or watching scary movies. It’s easily one of the most popular holidays of the year, usually second only to Christmas. A whopping 35 million kids storm the streets on Halloween night, seeking to fill their bags with candy and drink in the spooky atmosphere. Subsequently, the next few days are marked by some of the world’s biggest stomachaches in world history.
Halloween has a long and rich history, one almost as interesting as the holiday today. Our story begins almost 2000 years ago, in what is now the United Kingdom. At the time, the region was populated by a people group known as the Celts. November 1st was the day they celebrated their New Year, as it marked a turning point in seasons; out were the summer days and over were the harvests, and winter - at the time associated with death - was on its way.
To celebrate the changing seasons, they held a huge festival called Samhain (pronounced “sah-wen”) on the night of October 31st - the Celts believed that on this night, the ghosts of the dead returned to the earth. Massive bonfires were created and animals were sacrificed to the British deities. They wore the first Halloween costumes, although they were slightly less elaborate than the industrial-grade Captain Americas that romp that night nowadays. Instead, they clad themselves in animal skins and hides.
The Celts also believed that the ghosts of the dead were joined that night by other supernatural creatures, like fairies and goblins. Celtic beliefs said that these visitors were tricksters, and could only be kept at bay if you put some food out for them.
In the first century AD, the Celts were invaded and taken over by the Roman empire. They would remain for 400 years, and in this time, would begin to incorporate Samhain into their own religious festivals. Two celebrations in particular intersected with the Celtic festival: the first was Feralia, a day in late October commemorating the passing of the dead. The second was the celebration of Pomona, the goddess of the harvest. Pomona’s symbol is the apple, which is a proposed explanation for the tradition of bobbing for apples.
The Halloween saga would continue with the arrival of Christianity to the British isles in the 600s. Many British people converted, but continued to practice Samhain. To get them to stop, the pope declared the creation of three holidays: November 2nd became All Souls' Day, a day to remember the souls of the dead, November 1st became All Saints' Day, a day honoring Christian martyrs, and October 31st was All Hallows' Eve, which was shortened to…
Halloween.
The holiday was finally here, but the development of its many traditions was just beginning. The Medieval times saw the leaving-food-out-for-goblins tradition evolve into the practice of souling - in this ritual, beggars would go from door to door on Halloween, promise to pray for the souls of people's dead relatives, and receive some food in return. A little later, in Ireland, people started dressing up as ghosts and goblins to “blend in” with the creatures of the night. And there we have the origins of trick-or-treating.
Halloween reached the Americas when British people began immigrating to the US. The spooky holiday rapidly took hold, and soon kids across the nation were going door to door with bags of treats.
Pumpkins
One of the most sacred Halloween objects is the pumpkin. Round and orange, it has become the unofficial spokesperson for halloween. Most everyone has at least a handful of fond memories of cutting a spooky face on these large fruits - yes, fruits - placing a candle inside, and watching them glow. As I write this, I have half a dozen jack-o’-lanterns right outside my door. And considering that over 800 million dollars are spent nationally on carving pumpkins annually, I would bet you’ve made a few too at some point in your life. It’s a universal Halloween experience.
The origins of this spooky tradition date back hundreds of years, to when people began carving creepy faces onto vegetables. No pumpkins yet, just gourds, potatoes, and turnips. The hope was that evildoers would be scared off by the scary faces, and not bother the house. This was also the time that the legend of Stingy Jack arose. The tale goes that Stingy Jack tricked the Devil into turning into a coin. He placed a cross next to the coin, rendering the Devil unable to change form once again. He was only released on the condition that he leave Jack alone for a year. Once his year was up, Jack tricked the Devil again. Unfortunately, God now wanted nothing to do with this unsavory character, and wouldn’t allow him into heaven. However, since the Devil had promised not to take Jack’s soul, Jack was essentially stuck in the mortal world. Jack was sent into the darkness with a burning coal for light. He put the coal into a carved-out turnip, and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. So the tale says, at least. These traditions would develop into the modern tradition of pumpkin carving.
And to this day, kids everywhere roam the night on Halloween. However, if any of those ancient goblins and ghosts were to see the holiday now, they would likely wonder why the world was populated by Darth Vaders and fairy princesses.
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Cool!