Endless candy, outrageous costumes, glowing jack-o-lanterns, trekking through haunted houses only to get the crap scared out of us by masked strangers... Welcome to Halloween!
Ever wondered where some of these odd traditions came from? Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, so I did a little digging to see if I could find the freaky origins of some of our more bizarre Halloween rituals.
The name "Halloween" originated from the Catholic Church's term "All Hallow's Eve." This holiday was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing the Potato Famine. The holiday itself originated from the Celtic festival, Samhain (pronounced "sow-en") which celebrated the end of the Gaelic harvest season.
The Celts lived 2,000 years ago in what is today Ireland, the United Kingdom (England and Scotland), and parts of Northern France. During Samhain, the ancient pagans would take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped, and the deceased would come back to life and wreak havoc on the living, such as spreading sickness or damaging crops. In addition, the Celts believed that the presence of spirits made it easier for the Celtic priests, or Druids, to make predictions about the future.
So where do silly pumpkin faces fit into this? Carving Jack-O-Lanterns comes from the Irish tradition of carving faces into vegetables. Originally, turnips were used for the carving, and rather than lighting a candle, they placed a hot coal inside.
According to legend, a drunk named "Stingy Jack" invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy the drinks. Once the Devil changed, Jack put the coin it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not claim his soul. Soon after, Jack died.
As the legend goes, God would not allow Jack into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," or simply "Jack O'Lantern." In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits.
With all these undead spirits wandering around on All Hallow's Eve, most ancient cultures believed they could avoid being recognized by these ghosts of Samhain who may seek to harm them by disguising themselves with masks. They would also place bowls of food outside their homes to satisfy the ghosts and prevent them from entering the home, which could be where trick-or-treating originated.
Now that you know a little bit more about this crazy, yet oh-so-fun holiday, I wish you all a pleasantly spooky All Hallow's Eve! I'm sure that while you are gallivanting around town in your wildest costumes, collecting your share of tricks and treats ;) you will all be remembering the historic origins of this October 31st. Yeah...right... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
