October 30, 2007

The Story of Halloween

Halloween is one of the oldest holidays with origins going back thousands of years. The
holiday we know as Halloween has had many influences from many cultures over the
centuries. From the Roman's Pomona Day, to the eltic festival of !amhain, to the hristian
holidays of "ll !aints and "ll !ouls Days.
Hundreds of years ago in what is now #reat $ritain and %orthern France, lived the elts. The
elts worshi&&ed nature and had many gods, with the sun god as their favorite. 't was (he(
who commanded their work and their rest times, and who made the earth beautiful and the
cro&s grow.
The elts celebrated their %ew )ear on %ovember *st. 't was celebrated every year with a
festival and marked the end of the (season of the sun( and the beginning of (the season of
darkness and cold.(
+n +ctober ,*st after the cro&s were all harvested and stored for the long winter the cooking
fires in the homes would be e-tinguished. The Druids, the eltic &riests, would meet in the
hillto& in the dark oak forest .oak trees were considered sacred/. The Druids would light new
fires and offer sacrifices of cro&s and animals. "s they danced around the the fires, the season
of the sun &assed and the season of darkness would begin.
0hen the morning arrived the Druids would give an ember from their fires to each family
who would then take them home to start new cooking fires. These fires would kee& the
homes warm and free from evil s&irits.
The %ovember *st festival was called !amhain .&ronounced
(sow1en(/. The festival would last for , days. 2any &eo&le
would &arade in costumes made from the skins and heads of
their animals. This festival would become the first
Halloween.
During the first century the Romans invaded $ritain. They
brought with them many of their festivals and customs. +ne
of these was the festival know as Pomona Day, named for
their goddess of fruits and gardens. 't was also celebrated around the *st of %ovember. "fter
hundreds of years of Roman rule the customs of the eltic's !amhain festival and the Roman
Pomona Day mi-ed becoming * ma3or fall holiday.
The ne-t influence came with the s&read of the new hristian religion throughout 4uro&e
and $ritain. 'n the year 5,6 "D the Roman atholic hurch would make %ovember *st a
church holiday to honor all the saints. This day was called "ll !aint's Day, or Hallowmas, or
"ll Hallows. )ears later the hurch would make %ovember 7nd a holy day. 't was called "ll
!ouls Day and was to honor the dead. 't was celebrated with big bonfires, &arades, and
&eo&le dressing u& as saints, angels and devils.
$ut the s&read of hristianity did not make &eo&le forget their early customs. +n the eve of
"ll Hallows, +ct. ,*, &eo&le continued to celebrate the festivals of !amhain and Pomona
Day. +ver the years the customs from all these holidays mi-ed. +ctober ,*st became known
as "ll Hallow 4ven, eventually "ll Hallow's 4ve, Hallowe'en, and then 1 Halloween.
The Halloween we celebrate today includes all of these influences, Pomona Day's a&&les,
nuts, and harvest, the Festival of !amhain's black cats, magic, evil s&irits and death, and the
ghosts, skeletons and skulls from "ll !aint's Day and "ll !oul's Day.
Contemporary Customs
2ost Halloween festivities are based on folk beliefs concerning su&ernatural forces and
s&irits of the dead. Halloween decorations ty&ically feature imagery associated with
su&ernatural beings such as witches, werewolves, vam&ires, and ghosts. 'mages thought to
symboli8e bad omens9such as black cats, bats, and s&iders9are also commonly featured in
Halloween decorations.
The most celebrated Halloween decoration is the 3ack1o:1lantern, traditionally a hollowed1out
&um&kin carved to resemble a grotes;ue face and illuminated by a candle &laced inside. The
3ack1o:1lantern derives its name from a character in $ritish folktales. "ccording to these tales,
the soul of a deceased &erson named <ack +:=antern was barred from both heaven and hell
and was condemned to wander the earth with his lantern. +range and black, colors associated
with &um&kins and darkness res&ectively, figure &rominently in most Halloween decorations.
Dressing in costume is one of the most &o&ular Halloween customs, es&ecially among
children. Traditional costumes usually re&resent witches, ghosts, and other su&ernatural
beings. However, costumes ins&ired by contem&orary &o&ular culture, such as &oliticians or
movie characters, have become increasingly common in recent years. "dults often favor
costumes with satirical or humorous overtones.
Trick or treat tradition
The custom of 'trick or treat' &robably has several origins. "gain
mostly 'rish."n old 'rish &easant &ractice called for going door to
door to collect money, bread cake, cheese, eggs, butter, nuts, a&&les,
etc., in &re&aration for the festival of !t. olumbus >ill. )et another
custom was the begging for soul cakes, or offerings for one's self 1
&articularly in e-change for &romises of &ros&erity or &rotection
against bad luck. 't is with this custom the conce&t of the fairies came
to be incor&orated as &eo&le used to go door to door begging for
treats. Failure to su&&ly the treats would usually result in &ractical
3okes being visited on the owner of the house.
!ince the fairies were abroad on this night, an offering of food or milk
was fre;uently left for them on the ste&s of the house, so the
houseowner could gain the blessings of the (good folk( for the coming year. 2any of the
households would also leave out a (dumb su&&er( for the s&irits of the de&arted.
'risleabhar na #aedhilge, ii, ,?@, states that in &arts of ount 0aterfordA 'Hallow 4'en is
called oidhche na h1aimlBise, (The night of mischief or con(. 't was a custom which survives
still in &laces 11 for the (boys( to assemble in gangs, and, headed by a few horn1blowers who
were always selected for their strength of lungs, to visit all the farmers' houses in the district
and levy a sort of blackmail, good humouredly asked for, and as cheerfully given. They
afterward met at some &oint of rende8vous, and in merry revelry celebrated the festival of
!amhain in their own way. 0hen the distant winding of the horns was heard, the bean a' tigh
Cwoman of the houseD got &re&ared for their rece&tion, and also for the money or builEn
.white bread/ to be handed to them through the half1o&ened door. There was always a race
amongst them to get &ossession of the latch. 0hoever heard the wild scurry of their rush
through a farm1yard to the kitchen1door 11 will not ;uestion the &ro&riety of the word aimilBis
CmischiefD a&&lied to their &roceedings. The leader of the band chaunted a sort of recitative in
#aelic, intoning it with a strong nasal twang to conceal his identity, in which the good1wife
was called u&on to do honour to !amhain...( "ccording to Tad Tule3a's essay, (Trick or TreatA
Pre1Te-ts and onte-ts,( in !antino's &reviously mentioned anthology,Halloween's modern
trick or treating .&rimarily children going door1to1door, begging for candy/ began fairly
recently in the F!, as a blend of several ancient and modern influences. 'n *Gth entury
"merica, rural immigrants from 'reland and !cotland ke&t gender1s&ecific Halloween
customs from their homelandsA girls stayed indoors and did divination games, while the boys
roamed outdoors engaging in almost e;ually rituali8ed &ranks, which their elders (blamed(
on the s&irits being abroad that night. 'ts entry into urban world can &robably traced back in
mid1*Gth entury %ew )ork, where children called (ragamuffins( would dress in costumes
and beg for &ennies from adults on Thanksgiving Day. Things got nastier with increased
urbani8ation and &overty in the *G,@'s. "dults began casting about for ways to control the
&reviously harmless but now increasingly e-&ensive and dangerous vandalism of the (boys.(
Towns and cities began organi8ing (safe( Halloween events and householders began giving
out bribes to the neighborhood kids as a way to distract them away from their &revious
anarchy. The ragamuffins disa&&eared or switched their date to Halloween.
The term (trick or treat,( finally a&&ears in &rint
around *G,GH Pranks became even nastier in the
*G5@'s, with wides&read &overty e-isting side1by1
side with obscene greed. Fnfortunately, even
bored kids in a violence saturated culture sli& all
too easily from harmless (decoration( of their
neighbors' houses with shaving cream and toilet
&a&er to serious vandalism and assaults. $laming
either %eo&agans or Halloween for this is rather
like blaming &atriots or the Fourth of <uly for the
many firecracker in3uries that ha&&en every year
.and which are also combatted by &ublicly
s&onsored events/. #iven this ha8ardous backdro&
town councils, school boards and &arents in the
*G,@'s invented this custom as it is being celebrated today to kee& their kids out of trouble.
"s far as the custom across the "tlantic goes, by the mid1 7@th century in 'reland and $ritain,
the smaller children would dress u& and &arade to the neighbors' houses, do little
&erformances, then ask for a reward. "merican kids seem to remember this with their chants
of (<ingle bells, $atman smells, Robin laid an egg,( and other classic tunes done for no
reason other than because (it's traditional.(
Halloween Symbols
The most &rominent Halloween symbol is the carved &um&kin with a lit
candle inside. This is an 'rish tradition of carving a lantern which goes back
centuries. These lanterns are usually carved from a turni&s or &otatoes. The
&umkin carving was first associated with Halloween in %orth "merica,
where the &um&kin was available, and much larger and easier to carve. The 3ack1o'1lantern
can be traced back to the 'rish legend of !tingy <ack.
The imagery surrounding Halloween is largely an amalgamation of the
Halloween season itself, nearly a century of work from "merican filmmakers
and gra&hic artists, and a rather commerciali8ed take on the dark and
mysterious. Halloween imagery tends to involve death, magic, or mythical
monsters. ommon Halloween characters include, skeletons, ghost stories,
ghosts, ghouls, witches, vam&ires, bats, owls, crows, vultures, haunted houses,
&um&kinmen, black cats, aliens, s&iders, goblins, 8ombies, mummies, skeletons,
werewolves and demons.
Particularly in "merica, symbolism is ins&ired by classic horror films, which contain fictional
figures like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, The 0olf 2an, and The 2ummy. 2ore modern
horror antagonists like Freddy >rueger, 2ichael 2yers, =eatherface, <ason Ioorhees, and the
<igsaw >iller have also become associated with the holiday. Homes are often decorated with
these symbols around Halloween.
Black and orange are the traditional colors of Halloween. 'n modern Halloween images
and &roducts, &ur&le, green and red are also &rominent. The use of these colors is largely a
result of holiday advertising dating back over a century, and tends to be associated with
various as&ects of Halloween tradition.
The Great Pumpkin
4verything )ou 4ver 0anted To >now "bout Pum&kins $ut 0ere "fraid To "sk...
1 Pum&kins are fruits. " &um&kin is a ty&e of s;uash
and is a member of the gourd family .ucurbitacae/,
which also includes s;uash, cucumbers, gherkins, and
melons.
1 The largest &um&kin &ie ever baked was in 7@@6 and
weighed 7,@7@ &ounds.
1 Pum&kins have been grown in %orth "merica for
five thousand years. They are indigenous to the
western hemis&here.
1 'n *65J, after French e-&lorer <ac;ues artier e-&lored the !t. =awrence region of %orth
"merica, he re&orted finding (gros melons.( The name was translated into 4nglish as
(&om&ions,( which has since evolved into the modern (&um&kin.(
1 Pum&kins are low in calories, fat, and sodium and high in fiber. They are good sources of
Iitamin ", Iitamin $, &otassium, &rotein, and iron.
1 The largest &um&kin ever grown was *,K5G &ounds. 't was grown by <oe <utras of %orth
!cituate, Rhode 'sland.
1 Pum&kin seeds should be &lanted between the last week of 2ay and the middle of <une.
They take between G@ and *7@ days to grow and are &icked in +ctober when they are bright
orange in color. Their seeds can be saved to grow new &um&kins the ne-t year.
History Of The Jack-O'antern
Pum&kin carving is a &o&ular &art of modern "merica's Halloween
celebration. ome +ctober, &um&kins can be found everywhere in the
country from doorste&s to dinner tables. Des&ite the wides&read
carving that goes on in this country every autumn, few "mericans
really know why or when the 3ack o'lantern tradition began. +r, for that matter, whether the
&um&kin is a fruit or a vegetable. Read on to find outH
Peo&le have been making 3ack o'lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The &ractice originated
from an 'rish myth about a man nicknamed (!tingy <ack.( "ccording to the story, !tingy <ack
invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, !tingy <ack didn't want to &ay
for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that <ack could use to buy
their drinks. +nce the Devil did so, <ack decided to kee& the money and &ut it into his &ocket
ne-t to a silver cross, which &revented the Devil from changing back into his original form.
<ack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother <ack for one
year and that, should <ack die, he would not claim his soul. The ne-t year, <ack again tricked
the Devil into climbing into a tree to &ick a &iece of fruit. 0hile he was u& in the tree, <ack
carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the
Devil &romised <ack not to bother him for ten more years.
!oon after, <ack died. "s the legend goes, #od would not allow such an unsavory figure into
heaven. The Devil, u&set by the trick <ack had &layed on him and kee&ing his word not to
claim his soul, would not allow <ack into hell. He sent <ack off into the dark night with only a
burning coal to light his way. <ack &ut the coal into a carved1out turni& and has been roaming
the 4arth with ever since. The 'rish began to refer to this ghostly figure as (<ack of the
=antern,( and then, sim&ly (<ack +'=antern.(
'n 'reland and !cotland, &eo&le began to make their own versions of <ack's lanterns by
carving scary faces into turni&s or &otatoes and &lacing them into windows or near doors to
frighten away !tingy <ack and other wandering evil s&irits. 'n 4ngland, large beets are used.
'mmigrants from these countries brought the 3ack o'lantern tradition with them when they
came to the Fnited !tates. They soon found that &um&kins, a fruit native to "merica, make
&erfect 3ack o'lanterns.
The !itches" Caldron
(4ye of newt, and toe of frog,
0ool of bat, and tongue of dog(
("dder's fork, and blind1worm's sting,
=i8ard's leg, and owlet's wing(
(For a charm of &owerful trouble,
=ike a hell1broth boil and babble(
(Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and caldron bubble(
William Shakespeare
0itches have had a long history with Halloween. =egends tell of witches gathering twice a
year when the seasons changed, on "&ril ,@ 1 the eve of 2ay Day and the other was on the
eve of +ctober ,* 1 "ll Hallow's 4ve.
The witches would gather on these nights, arriving on broomsticks, to celebrate a &arty
hosted by the devil. !u&erstitions told of witches casting s&ells on unsus&ecting &eo&le,
transform themselves into different forms and causing other magical mischief.
't was said that to meet a witch you had to &ut your clothes on wrong side out and you had to
walk backwards on Halloween night. Then at midnight you would see a witch.
0hen the early settlers came to "merica, they brought along their belief in witches. 'n
"merican the legends of witches s&read and mi-ed with the beliefs of others, the %ative
"mericans 1 who also believed in witches, and then later with the black magic beliefs of the
"frican slaves.
The black cat has long been associated with witches. 2any su&erstitions have
evolved about cats. 't was believed that witches could change into cats. !ome
&eo&le also believed that cats were the s&irits of the dead.
+ne of the best known su&erstitions is that of the black cat. 'f a black cat was
to cross your &ath you would have to turn around and go back because many &eo&le believe if
you continued bad luck would strike you.
Common Halloween Superstitions
0hen it's the time for Halloween celebration, it is then that the &eo&le tend to
become more su&erstitious. There are many su&erstitions and myths about
Halloween and most of the &eo&le have a strong belief in them. 'n the
reservoir of common Halloween su&erstitions, there are distinctive kinds of
su&erstitionsA animal su&erstitions, witch su&erstitions, bats in house
su&erstitions and many more.
Presented a few general Halloween su&erstitionsA
L #oing in for dumb su&&er, meaning that nobody will talk while having su&&er, encourages
the s&irits to come to the table.
L 't is believed that if an unmarried girl kee&s a rosemary herb and a silver si-&ence under her
&illow on Halloween night, it is ;uite likely that on that very night, she would dream of her
future husband.
L 't is said that if you hear someone's footste&s behind you on the Halloween night, you
should not turn back because it may be a dead following you. "nd if you commit the mistake
of looking back, it is likely that you might 3oin the dead very soon.
L Peo&le believe that if on the Halloween night, a girl carrying a lam& in her hand goes to a
s&ring of water, she will see the reflection of her life &artner in water.
L Peo&le have a su&erstition that if an unmarried girl carries a broken egg in a glass and takes
it to a s&ring of water, she will be able to catch the glim&se of not 3ust her future husband, by
mi-ing some s&ring water in the glass, but also she can see the reflection of her future kids.
L There is the old saying that (black cats are bad luck(. 't was once believed
that black cats were the devil, or consumed by evil s&irits.
L Peo&le used to believe that !atan was a nut1gatherer. %uts were also used as
magic charms on the day of Halloween festival.
L 'f you &ut your clothes on inside out as well as outside walk backwards on Halloween night.
"t midnight you will see a witch in the sky. Peo&le used to believe witches were the devil, or
that they were consumed by evil.
L There is also an old saying (if the flame on your candle goes out on Halloween celebrationM
it gives you the meaning that you are with a ghost(.
L 'f you ring a bell on Halloween it will frighten evil s&irits away.
L 2any &eo&le used to consider that owls would dive down to eat the souls of the dying on
Halloween. They used to think if you &ulled your &ockets out, and left them hanging, they'd
be safe.
L 't has been said if a bat flies into your house on Halloween, it is a
sign that ghosts or s&irits are very nearer, and maybe they are in your
home and let the bat in.
L Peo&le used to believe that if bats are out early on Halloween, and
they fly around &layfully, then good weather is to come.
L 'f a bat flies around your house three times on Halloween, death is very soon to come
L To ward off evil s&irits on Halloween, you can bury all the animal bones in your front yard,
or even &ut a &icture of an animal very close to your doorway.
L Peo&le used to believe you could walk around your house three times
backwards before sunset on Halloween, and that would take care of all
evil.
L 't could be the s&irit of a dead loved one watching you if you watch a s&ider on Halloween.
#uotes on Halloween
+n Hallowe'en the thing
you must do
's &retend that nothing
can frighten you
"n' if somethin' scares you
and you want to run
<us' let on like
it's Hallowe'en fun.
- - - from an Early Nineteenth Century Halloween Postcard
+ne need not be a chamber to be hauntedM
+ne need not be a houseM
The brain has corridors sur&assing
2aterial &lace.
- - - Emily Dickinson

'Tis the night 1 the night
+f the grave's delight,
"nd the warlocks are at their &layM
)e think that without
The wild winds shout,
$ut no, it is they 1 it is they.
- - - Arthur Cleveland Coe

'f a man harbors any sort of fear, it makes him landlord to a ghost.
- - - !loyd Dou"las

!hadows of a thousand years rise again unseen,
Ioices whis&er in the trees, (Tonight is HalloweenH(
- - - Deter #o$en

Fear is nature's warning signal to get busy.
- - - Henry C% !ink

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear
is fear of the unknown.
- - - H% P% !ovecraft

$e wary thenM best safety lies in fear.
- - - Shakespeare &Hamlet&
Double, double toil and troubleM fire burn and cauldron bubble.
- - - Shakespeare &'ac(eth&

HarkH Hark to the windH 'Tis the night, they say,
0hen all souls come back from the far away1
The dead, forgotten this many a dayH
- - - )irna Sheard

From ghoulies and ghosties and long leggety beasties and things that go bum& in the night,
#ood =ord, deliver usH
- - - Scottish sayin"

2en say that in this midnight hour,
The disembodiNd have &ower
To wander as it liketh them,
$y wi8ard oak and fairy stream.
- - - William 'otherwell

"t first cock1crow the ghosts must go
$ack to their ;uiet graves below.
- - -*heodosia +arrison

'Tis now the very witching time of night, 0hen churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
ontagion to this world.
- - -William Shakespeare

2en fear death as children fear to go in the darkM and as that natural fear in children is
increased with tales, so is the other.
- - -Sir ,rancis -acon. Essays /01234. &5f Death&

To suffering there is a limitM to fearing, none.
- - -Sir ,rancis -acon. Essays /01234. &5f Seditions and *rou(les

#hosts, like ladies, never s&eak till s&oke to.
- - -6ichard Harris -arham

For as children tremble and fear everything in the blind darkness, so we in the light
sometimes fear what is no more to be feared than the things children in the dark hold in
terror and imagine will come true.
- - -*itus !ucretius Carus /77-33 -%C%4. De 6erum Natura. (k% 888. l% 9:
0here there is no imagination there is no horror.
- - -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

There is a sacred H+RR+R about everything grand. 't is easy to admire mediocrity and hillsM
but whatever is too lofty, a genius as well as a mountain, an assembly as well as a
master&iece, seen too near, is a&&alling.
- - -)ictor Hu"o

The dream reveals the reality which conce&tion lags behind. That is the horror of life9the
terror of art.
- - -5ne of the (est ;uotes (y ,ran$ #afka

From ghoulish and ghosties and long leggety beasties and things that go bum& in the night,
#ood =ord, deliver usH
- - - Scottish sayin"

4ye of newt, and toe of frog, 0ool of bat, and tongue of dog, "dder's fork, and blind1worm's
sting, =i8ard's leg, and owlet's wing, For a charm of &owerful trouble, =ike a hell1broth
boil and bubble.
- - -William Shakespeare <a ;uote from &'ac(eth&=

0hat fearful sha&es and shadows beset his &ath, amidst the dim and ghastly glare of a snowy
nightH 0ith what wistful look did he eye every trembling ray of light streaming across the
waste fields from some distant windowH How often was he a&&alled by some shrub covered
with snow, which, like a sheeted s&ecter, beset his very &athH How often did he shrink with
curdling awe at the sound of his own ste&s on the frosty crust beneath his feetM and dread
to look over his shoulder, lest he should behold some uncouth being tram&ing close behind
himH and how often was he thrown into com&lete dismay by some rushing blast, howling
among the trees, in the idea that it was the #allo&ing Hessian on one of his nightly scouringH
1 1 1 0ashington 'rving .a ;uote from (The =egend of !lee& Hollow(/

$ring forth the raisins and the nuts1 Tonight "ll1Hallows' !&ecter struts "long the moonlit
way.
- - ->ohn #endrick -an"s