Date: 29th of October, 2021
Publisher: GreatwolfmanHalloween is by far one of the most celebrated holidays today. Today I will be taking you on a ride into the origin of this celebration. We will also have a look into the symbolism of the "Jack-o'-Lantern" and "trick-or-treats". By the end of this article, you should learn at least a thing or two that you didn't know before today. Let us begin.
Samhain
Samhain was a popular holiday tradition among the Celts held every October 31st. It signified "Summers end". The night of October 31st also marked the Celtic New year, the end of summer, and the beginning of winter. It was believed that on this day the veil which separated the land of the living from the dead was at its thinnest granting permission for the dead spirits to come into the land of the living.
Families who lost their loved ones would invite the spirits of their dead relatives to join in the celebration, they would wear a guise with a mask to protect their identity and avoid harm from evil spirits.
The druid and Celts villages would then light huge bonfires to prevent the evil spirits from causing harm as well as honor the dead. Animal sacrifices were made as a ritual to mark this celebration.
All-Saints-day (Hallowmas)
During the Roman invasion, Christianity took its hold as it began to spread. The Christians believed Samhain to be a pagan holiday and condemned it, tagging the Celts and druids as devil worshippers, forcing the pagans to either dissolve or evolve.
The Vatican made a smart move to merge this holiday with a church holiday as they were trying to convert the pagans with ease. A lot of pagan practices were twisted to suit the church-sanctioned holidays, but that would be an article for another day.
Samhain was soon changed to Hallowmas which meant " All-saints-day" coined from the word "Hallow" meaning saint. Instead of the celebration of pagan gods as the celts did, it became a day to celebrate all the Christian saints and martyrs.
November 1st became the day for this celebration. Church bells would ring out loud to signify the beginning of this celebration.
October 31st, the night before Hallowmas was celebrated as Halloween from the merging of the word "Hallows-eve". Just like that, Halloween was born.
The Puritans
Trying to explain the Puritans from a theological view might only make this article boring so I'll summarize. There were the members of Protestant churches which means that they didn't agree with the Pope of Rome controlling all the church activities in the world.
H.L Mencken defines A Puritan as:
"Someone fearful of someone somewhere else having fun and will do everything to stop it"
Growing up who would refer to those people who hate having fun as Puritans although it was completely out of context.
The Puritans who were responsible for the colonization of America were Protestants and did not celebrate the Catholic Church holidays as they believed them to be the worship of Idols. Due to this, the tradition of celebrating Hallowmas and Halloween soon faded away in America.
Halloween is back
In the mid 19th century, something happened that definitely changed the course of history. We have this even to thank for the Halloween celebration today.
In the 1840s there was a potato famine which saw a lot of Irish immigrants move to America and they didn't come alone, they brought some of their customs with them one of which was "Halloween".
Jack-o'-Lantern (carved Pumpkin)
This myth behind this symbol dates back to the 17th century when it meant "man of a lantern", which signified the Nightwatchmen. There was a folklore that goes thus
There was a man named Jack, he was a very stingy man. When he died he was not allowed into heaven, he wasn't allowed into hell either because he had done something to anger the devil too. He was then sent into eternal darkness with only a turnip filled with coal to guide him.
The link to the full story can be found in the reference section
The Irish people would carve creepy faces in pumpkins to scare Jack and other spirits away.
After the immigration to America, it was discovered that there was an abundance of Pumpkins and soon it became a better substitute for turnips.
Today the Pumpkin is regarded as the symbol of Halloween.
Trick-or-Treat
The origin of this practice dates back to Britain's celebration of "all-souls-day". A day where the poor and needy would move from house to house to beg for food, they would often be given " soul cakes", a snack made from sacred flour and water, and in return, they would pray for relatives who had passed away.
Children would also dress in costumes and mask collecting food or fruits sometimes even money in return they would entertain the household through songs or jokes. This tradition was revived by the Irish Immigrant as "Trick-or-Treat"
At this inception of this tradition for Halloween, there were more tricks than treats, it gave room for hooliganism and Vandalism and so it had to stop. To dissuade such practices adults would have to offer treats to kids as bribery and that was how Trick-or-Treat was born.
I think Threat-or-Treat feels better since the word "Trick" was actually a threat or a form of mischief.
"If you don't give us sweets we will destroy your property"
Oh! The intimidation and Horror
Closing thoughts
The origin of Halloween is surrounded by a lot of beliefs and practices which date back to about 2000 years ago. Regardless of its origin, it has soon grown to be one of the favorite holidays of the year. An evening where you can be whoever you want to be, you are only limited to your imagination. Of course, you can always stay at home and binge on Horror movies, I have a list, you can check my articles for notable suggestions.
Did you know?
Allhallowtide is a combination of Hallows-eve, All-saints day, and all-souls-day spanning from October 31st to November 2nd.
What a fun time! If you were to choose a nice Halloween costume for a party, what would you go as and why?
References
A book of Prefaces by H.L Mencken
The myth behind Jack-o'-lantern
The History of Halloween by National Geographic
The History of Halloween - Traditions explained
Lead Image Soure : Unsplash
Test for plagiarism
Wow this is so interesting .this is what Halloween is so happy to have this insight .thank dear for this powerful and interesting information.