Given
that the vast majority of the living mortals were not
thrilled at the prospect of becoming possessed by the
walking dead, the Ancient Celts took certain steps to
avoid this "honor." Accordingly, on the
night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the
fires in their homes, hoping to make their abodes
cold, clammy and unpalatable to the dead (one has to
wonder if cold and clammy might not have a certain
appeal to the dead). Leaving their dark and dank
home, the Celts would then dress up, disguising
themselves as ghouls, monster and demons, and march
about the town committing various acts of vandalism.
All of which was intended to frighten away the
spirits of the dead (perhaps it’s just me, but
wouldn’t this seem to be rather attractive to
the walking dead?) Some accounts report that various
Celtic peoples would on Samhain build a bonfire and
burn alive someone from their community who was
thought to already be possessed by a denizen of the
spirit world—this was thought to serve as an
object lesson to wayward ghosts (oh yeah right, and
the spirit of this "ghost toastie"
isn’t gonna come back next and kick some butt?).
The customs and playful pranks of Halloween were
first introduced to America in the 1840's by Irish
immigrants. The favored antic of the day included
tipping over outhouses and stealing fence gates.
Trick-or-treating is thought to have originated
during the Middle Ages and was known as
"souling." On November 2, All Souls Day,
Christians would walk from home to home begging for
"soul cakes," pieces of bread made with
currants. In return for soul cakes, the beggars (are
there no workhouses?) promised to say prayers for the
souls of the dead relatives of the homeowner. The
term "trick or treat," doesn’t appear
in print until the late 1930s.
The
roots of the custom of carving Jack-o-lanterns likely
originated in Medieval Ireland. According to the
legend, a man named Jack, a notorious drunkard and
con-man, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Old Jack
then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk,
thus trapping up the Satan up the tree. Jack then cut
a deal with the devil that, if he would never tempt
him again, he’d let him climb down. As the story
goes, when Jack died, he was not only denied entrance
to Heaven (because of his evil ways) but was also
barred from Hell, as Satan seemed to hold a grudge.
Satan did, however, give a glowing ember or coal to
light his way as he wandered about (the walking dead
them again)—Jack carried the ember inside a
hollowed-out turnip. Jack, with his hollow turnip and
glowing coal, became known as "Jack of the
Lantern," or "Jack-o'-lantern."
A
turnip? Well whadda expect a pumpkin (they
weren’t introduced to Europe until the 16th
century). Yep, the Irish originally used turnips as
their "Jack's lanterns," But when they
reached America (the land of opportunity), they found
that pumpkins were not only more plentiful than
turnips, but were already hollow. The presence of a
jack-o'-lanterns on your front steps on Samhain /
Halloween is said to frighten away ghosts (the
walking dead again!)
Apples
have long been associated with female/fertility
deities, and with immortality, resurrection, and
knowledge. One reason for this may be that when an
apple is cut through its equator, it will reveal a
five-pointed star outlined at the center of each
hemisphere. There are still today several folk
traditions associated with apples. Bobbing for
apples, or attempting to bite an apple suspended from
a string, was originally used to foretell whether or
not a person was destined to soon be wed. The first
person to bite an apple would be the first to marry
in the coming year. Apple peeling was used to foresee
how long your life would be. The longer the unbroken
apple peel, the longer your life was destined to be.
The
Celts believed that at Samhain / Halloween the
spirits of the walking dead sometimes inhabited an
animal -- often a black cat. In the Middle Ages, the
belief arose that meeting a black cat would bring bad
luck. Perhaps because black cats were thought to be
the companions of witches. People believed that a
witch could assume the form of a black cat.
Therefore, all black cats were suspected of being
transformed witches. So, if a black cat crossed your
path, it was considered an omen of bad luck. Thus,
throughout the ages right to the present, black cats
have remained an appropriate symbol for Halloween.
HALLOWEEN
TRIVIA
- All
Saints' Day was created by Pope Boniface IV
in the 7th century CE. There were so many
saints by this time that there were not
enough days in the year to accommodate them.
So, All Saints' Day was to recognize the
saints who were without a unique day, and to
celebrate saints that the Church had failed
to recognize. It originally was held on May
13, but was moved by Pope Gregory in 835 CE
to November 1 in order to distract Christians
from celebrating Samhain.
- Halloween
was originally called All Hallows' Eve which
means the evening before All Saints' Day.
"Hallow" is an Old English word for
"saint". This was shortened to
Halloween and finally to Halloween.
- All
Souls' Day was created for NOV-2 to honor
faithful Christians who had died but were not
saints. The three days from OCT-31 to NOV-2
was given the name Hallow Tide.
- For
many decades, the United
Nations Childrens' Fund
(UNICEF) has distributed boxes to children so
that they can collect money at Halloween
time. During the 1950's, a few US public
schools banned the Unicef boxes, over
suspicions that it might be a Communist plot.
- The
town of Hancock, MD has refused for more than
20 years to declare a specific date for
Halloween. Their rationale is that if they
set a particular date and a child gets hurt
during the trick-or-treating, then the town
might be liable for damages.
- The
school board of Hillsborough NJ bans all
religious celebrations in its schools. So,
they have replaced Halloween with a "Fall
Festival". St.
Valentine's day has become "Special
Person Day."
- Some
Evangelical Christian churches offer
alternative methods of celebrating Halloween.
Some urge their members to distribute Bible
tracts along with or instead of candy treats.
Others have "Trunk or Treat"
parties in which members park their cars in
the church parking lot, distribute treats
from the trunks of their cars and invite the
children into the church hall for a Christian
party. Other congregations hold parties for
their families. Costumes are allowed, but
expected to be appropriate for a Christian
environment.
- An
old tradition in rural England focused on the
lighting of bonfires as fire was believed to
be a great deterrent against evil. Just like
Mid-summer Eve the community would meet
around the fire carrying torches and
chanting, a ritual which was believed to
repel evil and call upon good spirits to help
join the combat against evil protecting their
fields and families through the long winter.
Up until the nineteenth century some folks in
rural England used to practice what was
called 'Lating' or 'Ligting the Witch'.
Groups would meet together on the moors and,
with lighted candles, walk around the hills
between the witching hour, 11pm to midnight.
If the candles burned steadily it was seen as
an indication that the people would be safe
for the season. If a candle blew out
(believed to blown out by witches) then this
was seen to be a bad omen.
- It
was an old belief in England that the best
time to see fairies was between twilight and
midnight with the best days Halloween
(31 October), May Day, Midsummer Day (June
24), Lady Day (25 March) and Christmas Day
(25 December).
- If
you can catch a leaf as it falls you should
be lucky enough not to catch a cold during
the winter, and if caught between Michaelmas
(29 September) and Halloween (31 October) the
following year should be a prosperous one.
- Hazel
nuts were also believed to possess mystical
powers and could be used in divining. The nut
is believed to be at its strongest on
Halloween night, which was traditionally
called 'Nutcrack Night' in England. Lovers
were advised to use this to gain foresight
into the relationship.
- In
America there are two old love superstitions
for young ladies. The young lady should go to
a local spring of water at night carrying a
lantern. She is then to peer into the water
and according to superstition she will see
the face of her husband to be. Alternately,
if the young lady does not like the idea of
wandering around in the dark then
alternatively she can wait until daylight.
She must place a broken egg in a glass when
she arrives at the spring. She must then pour
some of the fresh water into the glass with
the egg. After some time according to
superstition she will then see the face of
her future husband in the mixture along with
any faces of children the couple may have.
- In
England a lady was believed to be able to see
her future husband in the candle light
reflection of a mirror. She should then throw
an apple peel over her shoulder. The initial
that it formed when it landed was said to be
that of her true loves initial.
- Another
popular Halloween game was to place a row of
hazel nuts along the edge of a hot fire
grate. Each nut was then assigned a name,
including that of the one she hoped to wed.
The following rhyme was spoken " "If
you love me pop and fly; if you hate me, burn
and die".
- A
PUMPKIN BY ANY OTHER NAME: Native Americans
called pumpkins "isquotersquash."
Say that one fast--five times fast :-) The
world's largest pumpkin weighed 1,061 pounds.
How many pies could it produce? (You do the
math: A 4-pound pumpkin yields about 4 cups
mashed pumpkin meat.)
- Other
countries have different Fall festivals to
honor the deceased. The Festival of the Dead
is one of the most important happenings in
both Palermo and the rest of Sicily. The
second of November is a festival day for the
children of Palermo as, according to
tradition,they were made to believe that
their dead relatives would return the night
before and leave them traditional sweets and
cakes on the table (Martorana fruit, which is
almond paste made into the shape of different
fruit). They would also receive puppets of
boiled sugar and toys. It's one way of
keeping the memory of their dead relatives
and loved ones alive.
- In
Mexico they celebrate El Dia de los Muertos
or the Day of the Dead. Although celebrated
in all Catholic countries as All Saints' and
All Souls' Days, surely no other peoples have
embraced the festival of The Day of the Dead
to the extent that the Mexicans have. The
celebration begins on the evening of October
31, so the name Los Dias de los Muertos is
also often used. This festival is considered
by many to be the most important holiday of
the year in Mexico.
- The
owl, often considered one of the symbols of
Halloween, was considered by some Native
Americans to herald illness and death. Some
believed that they took on the important job
of escorting the dead to the world of the
spirit. In other cultures owls were believed
to be symbols of wisdom and knowledge or to
be the repositories of the souls of the dead.
- In
some ancient cultures, bats were thought to
be the ghost of a person not yet
reincarnated.
- In
ancient times, women considered to have
special healing powers, witches, assisted
with both birth and death. In the Celtic
tradition, the night we now call Halloween
was the time that the dead were thought to
visit the earth. Witches, tending to both the
passages into and out of life on this earth,
may have been presumed by these ancient
people to play a role in the actual passage.
The riding of a broom through the air is
thought by some to symbolize the ability to
blend domestic life with an ability to visit
other dimensions.