So
here are some facts (that I researched online since I’m no encyclopedia!):
Origin of Halloween
More
than 2000 years ago, its origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of
Samhain (pronounced like sow-in), in the area that is now Ireland, the UK and
northern France, whose New Year was on the 1st November. It marked
the end of the summer and harvest and beginning of the cold and dark winter, a
time associated with death (Why would you
want to start your year on a cold and dreary note?) Anyway, so the last day
of October was considered a day when the lines between the world of the living
and dead became blurred and the dead returned to the world. These ghosts would
then cause trouble and damage crops (Even
during that time, vandalising teenagers existed!) but also helped Celtic
priests make future predictions. Obviously, during those times when everything
was dependent on Mother Nature, prophecies were a source of comfort and
direction during the dark winters.
To
celebrate this time of year and to prevent the ghosts from harming them, the
Druids built huge sacred bonfires and gather to burn crops and animals (I’m not sure why…since the Ghosts obviously
preferring to do that themselves!) They also wore costumes of animal heads
and skins, (like people do cuz of the
fantastic scent) and tried to tell each other’s fortunes (sounds like an old-school carnival!)
By 43
AD, the Roman Empire had conquered quite a lot of Celtic territory and during
the course of the 400 years that they ruled the Celts, 2 Roman festivals was
combined with the Celtic festival of Samhain. First was Feralia, a late October
festival that Romans deemed was important for the passing of the dead. The
second day was to honor Pomona, Roman goddess of fruits and trees, due to the
end of harvest, whose symbol is the apple. The incorporation of this
celebration into Samhain probably explains the modern tradition (what an oxymoron!) of ‘bobbing’ for
apples.
Around
600 years later when Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honour
of Christian martyrs and the catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was establisted
by the Western church. Pope Gregory III later included all saints as well as
martyrs and moved the observance to November 1st (as opposed to
mid-May). The influence of Christianity had moved into Celtic lands by the 9thcentury
where the rituals and believes started to blend and supplement the older Celtic
rites. By 1000AD, the church made November 2nd All Souls’/Saints’
Day, a day to honor the dead in general (in
an attempt to replace old ‘Pagan’ Celtic festival with something similar but
church-sanctioned). All Saints’ Day was celebrated similarly with big
bonfires, parades and dresses up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The
All Saints Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas – from Middle
English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day – and the night before it, the
traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called
All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.
Halloween Traditions Today
The American
tradition of ‘trick-or-treating’ probably dates back to the early All Saints’
Day parades in England when poor citizens would beg for food and richer
families would give them pastries called ‘soul cakes’ in return for their
promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives. The church encouraged this as
it was a way to replace the ancient tradition of leaving food for roaming
spirits (or hobos!). Initially
referred to as ‘going-a-souling’, this practice was eventually taken up by
children who visited their neighbourhood houses to ‘beg’ for ale, food and
money (I can see why many people in
England no longer celebrate this, with such overtones. As a parent, I would
definitely not encourage my children to beg for sweets!)
 |
| Soul Cakes: Still made to celebrate All Saints Day on 1st Nov |
The tradition
of costumes has both European and Celtic roots. As previously mentioned, this
Halloween was the time that the ghosts would roam our earthly world, people
were worried they would encounter said ghosts when they left their houses at
night (and during the short and dark days of winter, nights were long!). To
avoid being recognised by ghosts, people wore masks so ghosts would mistake
them for fellow spirits (I can see so
many things wrong with this belief but LOL will have to suffice!).
Ghost on right says to 'ghost' on left: I bet you can't pass through the banister.
Halloween Superstitions
Halloween
has always been a holiday (I don’t know
why we call it that, considering we go to work and have school!) filled
with mystery, magic and superstition. When it first began within the Celtic
community, it was a time when people felt close to their deceased friends and
relatives. They would set places at the dinner table, leave treats on the
doorsteps and light candles to help them find their way back to the spirit
world (Personally, if I were a ghost, I
would stay. You get food and treats! Also, if you light candles, I’ll go
towards them and not towards the spirit world!)
Today,
ghosts are perceived as fearsome so the customs are scarier too. We don’t cross
paths with black cats in fear they will bring us bad luck – stemming from the Middle
Ages when witches were believed to turn themselves into black cats to avoid
detection. Walking under ladders is supposed to bring bad luck – maybe because
ancient Egyptians believed that triangles were sacred (So walking through a triangle should make you closer to God, right?).
But what about the Halloween traditions and beliefs that today's trick-or-treaters have forgotten all about? Many of these obsolete rituals focused on the future instead of the past and the living instead of the dead. In particular, many had to do with helping young women identify their future husbands and reassuring them that they would someday—with luck, by next Halloween—be married.
- In 18th-century Ireland, a matchmaking cook might bury a ring in her mashed potatoes on Halloween night, hoping to bring true love to the diner who found it.
- In Scotland, fortune-tellers recommended that an eligible young woman name a hazelnut for each of her suitors and then toss the nuts into the fireplace. The nut that burned to ashes rather than popping or exploding, the story went, represented the girl's future husband. (In some versions of this legend, confusingly, the opposite was true: The nut that burned away symbolized a love that would not last.)
- Another tale had it that if a young woman ate a sugary concoction made out of walnuts, hazelnuts and nutmeg before bed on Halloween night she would dream about her future husband.
- Young women tossed apple-peels over their shoulders, hoping that the peels would fall on the floor in the shape of their future husbands' initials
- Women tried to learn about their futures by peering at egg yolks floating in a bowl of water
- They stood in front of mirrors in darkened rooms, holding candles and looking over their shoulders for their husbands' faces.
- Other rituals were more competitive. At some Halloween parties, the first guest to find a burr on a chestnut-hunt would be the first to marry; at others, the first successful apple-bobber would be the first down the aisle.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/halloween
That
was just so hilarious, I just copied it straight from the site.
More Halloween-related
posts coming this week. Where did the concept of Jack-O-Lanterns come from? How
is Halloween similar to other festivals around the world? Coming up soon…
On another Halloween related note, check out Google's search page: https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=iw
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