As soon as we feel a breeze from the crisp fall air, decorations come out from the attic. Ghosts decorate your windows, and pumpkins are laid on your porch steps. These are classic American traditions for the spooky season, but where did these customs stem from, and how do other places celebrate?
The Celts’ Contribution to Halloween
Some of the earliest roots of Halloween come from the six Celtic nations: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, and the Isle of Man. The main ancestor of Halloween comes from the Celtic observance named Samhain (SAH-wen). Halloween was first seen as the New Year since the calendar year was divided into two halves based on weather changes: the Dark Half and the Light Half. November 1st and May 1st marked the transition into these two halves. November 1st was referred to as Samhain and was the most important of these two dates because the Celts harvested crops, slaughtered livestock, and prepared for the Dark Half. Similar to how we view January 1st as a new start, the Celts viewed November 1st as their new beginning.
Some believe Samhain translates to “Summer’s End” while others argue that it means “Lord of Death.” During these stressful transitions, the Celts believed that spirits and the real world crossed over. Ghosts and fairies would come over to haunt humans. They would hold bonfires, do traditional dances, and wear frightening masks to scare such spirits away. Forbes writes in America’s Favorite Holidays, “November 1, approaching winter, in what was believed to be the brief time each year when ghosts or spirits inhabit the human realm, a special time combining boisterous celebration and darker themes of fear and death” (Forbes). The Christian belief of All Saints Day ended up blending with the Samhain belief which created the name of Halloween.
From Samhain to Halloween
All Saints Day was a day worshiping the Christians who were persecuted in the Roman Empire for not focusing their beliefs on Roman gods. The Christians would gather their bones and pray to those known in their region on May 13. They proceeded to change the date to November 1 to rival the Samhain belief or just because that date made more sense to them. In the 1300s, Christians added a day called All Souls’ Day on November 2. All Saints’ Day also adopted the name of All Hallows so the evening before on October 31 was called All Hallows Eve. Later on, the name got shortened to Halloween as we know it today.
Halloween Mythology
Two events happened in Medieval times that even further play into the Creepiness associated with Halloween: The Black Death and the Witch Craze. The Black Death was an outbreak of the Bubonic Plague that started in October 1347. The bubonic plague is a disease that causes victims to develop black boils that would ooze blood. The victim would usually die in six to ten days. More than 50 million people died in Europe from this disease. Artists would describe this scene with morbid paintings of skeletons dancing in the street. Secondly, the witch craze in the 1500s to the 1600s played a role in the culture of Halloween. During the Medieval period, also known as the Dark Ages, people often looked for an explanation to what was going on in the world through religion due to their lack of scientific knowledge. The people of the time would blame misfortune on heretics, sorcerers, and the Devil. Witches became a part of these beliefs and the number of witch trials peaked in the 1580s. Over 100,000 people were convicted of being witches and 80% were women.
Trick or Treat!
After the Irish brought the tradition of Halloween to America in the 1800s, children started celebrating the festivities by pranking their neighbors and people in their town. One example of this occurred in the town of Anoka where someone let a herd of cows out and the next morning they were found in the county jail and a classroom. Trick or Treating was developed to prevent this. At first, children would go from neighbor to neighbor and they would get handed an apple or popcorn. Later, in the 1940s, children started to wear homemade costumes and in the 1950s the apples and popcorn were replaced by candy.
Not Just Candy and Costumes
Halloween has a long, vast history and hasn’t always been the fun holiday that we know today. Starting as a holiday associated with death, the Devil, and evil spirits wreaking havoc on the living, Halloween has transformed into a lively night full of excitement and lots of candy!
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