Happy Halloween

What do you think of when you think of Halloween? I think candy, costumes, decorations, thrills and chills for the kiddies and booze, partying and costumes for the grown-ups. This is a tradition that has a very unclear place in today’s society. Why do we do the things we do? Hell, because it’s fun! No denying that! Who wouldn’t want to pretend to be someone or something they’re not for just one day? Who doesn’t want an excuse to decorate and eat candy and party? To break away from the every day. What about autumn? Does Halloween bring thoughts of fall? The harvest season? Maybe for some, but I think most typical American’s just do what they do for this tradition and don’t ask many questions as to why.

So, that being said, I thought it would be fun to explore the actual origin of Halloween. It turns out the tradition is thousands of years old. Started by a tribe in Europe called Celts, Halloween was originally a festival called ‘Samhain’. The Celts were a pre-Christianity tribe who worshipped nature. They believed that winter represented death and darkness marking November 1^st as the first day of their season of death (winter). It is important to note that the Celts livelihood was food crops, so winter did bring the fear of starvation.

And so the ritual began, marking the Eve of the first day of their winter as a day when the spirits of the dead come out to play. They believe that on this day, the boundaries between the living and the dead dissolved. They believed that ghosts, goblins, witches, elves, etc were surrounding them striving to hurt them. There were rituals in which they would sing and dance around a fire in elaborate costumes of animal heads and skins mimicking evil spirits trying to gain their good will. They would leave food and drink outside their doors for the good spirits of passed family and friends to enjoy. People acted crazy on this day. Men dressing like women and women dressing like men. People running about, knocking on neighbors doors asking for food.

Although the first know celebration of October 31^st was by the Romans, who worshipped various gods and used this day for a special feast to honor Pomona, goddess of the fruit tree, we can see a clearer correlation to present day tradition with the customs of the Celts.

Here are some interesting tidbits on the ancestry of current Halloween tradition. The colors orange and black which we have come to know as the colors of Halloween represent both death (black) and the harvest (orange). Death and the harvest are the two driving forces behind the beginning of Halloween.

Trick or treating stemmed from a tradition called ‘souling’ in which beggars would go from village to village asking for soul cake. If this donation was received it was believed the beggars prayers enabled souls of the donors relatives to travel to the heavens. It was referred to as the ‘mischief night’ when people were allowed to go about playing pranks without fear of punishment, hence trick…. or treat.

Roots of the Jack O Lanterns are pretty grim. This is an old story about a man who made a deal with the devil. Oh yea, the good old timeless tale of a condemned soul. To make a long story short, basically the Jack O Lantern is meant to represent a damned man or a damned soul. Yikes! Cut off the top, pull out all the flesh inside, cut out the eyes, nose, mouth. I used to think they were cool, but now it just seems creepy!The actual carving of pumpkins originated in Ireland and turnips were the original food of choice. When the custom migrated to North America they found pumpkins in abundance and made the switch.

During the medieval Christian era when witches were ostracized, burned, etc it was believed they would turn into black cats to try and protect themselves. This is the start of the superstition that a black cat equals evil. Oh, but they’re so fuzzy and cute!!! Psh! Christian, can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em.

Halloween was brought to America by European immigrants, where the customs slowly came into what we know of this holiday today. The commercialized Halloween package was born. There are many more details in history that have helped to create the Halloween we know and love today, but I hope we all have a better understanding for the holiday now. Hopefully the ghost stories, bon fires, jack o lanterns, trick or treating and costumes we know today have a little bit more meaning for everyone now. To summarize, Halloween is a celebration of the harvest feast, as well as the celebration and elaborate deterrence of spirits both good and evil. Geez…. I’m proud to be an American, but what a ridiculous holiday.