With Halloween on the horizon, you may be thinking about what kind of a costume will you wear for trick or treating, or for that Halloween Party you are invited to. Or you may be out shopping for candy to give to the trick or treaters coming to your door. But do you ever wonder where the holiday actually originated? Why would people dress up and go out asking for candy, and what does "Trick or Treat" mean when the children all chime in when you answer your door? First of all, if you refuse to give a treat, the kids in the costume will trick you in some way, encouraging you to just give them a treat. I don't know if anyone actually does these tricks, but that's what Trick or Treat means today.
But what is the origin of this bizarre tradition, and why is it held every year on October 31st? Well, you are about to find out! The Halloween tradition was a Celtic tradition, signifying the end of the year's harvest. It was held at a religious celebration called Samhain (SAH-win) where the people of the villages would dress up as goblins, ghouls and other scary things to ward off the ghosts during the harvest.
In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III named Nov. 1 as a time to honor the saints. Soon after, All Saints Day came to incorporate some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before All Saints Day was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween.
But where do today's traditional Halloween activities come from?
The traditions of carving pumpkins into Jack O' Lanterns originated in Ireland, using turnips instead of pumpkins. As the story goes, it all started with a man called Stingy Jack. Jack was said to have trapped the Devil several times, and would only let him go after the Devil promised not to take him to Hell when he died. But when Jack died, he found that Heaven didn't want his soul either, so he was forced to wander the Earth for all eternity as a ghost. The devil gave Jack a burning lump of coal inside a carved out turnip to light his way. The locals started carving scary faces into their own turnips to scare the evil spirits away.
The festival of Samhain marked the transition from the end of the year (harvest) to the beginning of winter. The Celts believed this was when spirits walked the Earth. Later on, Christian missionaries introduced All Saints Day on Nov 2nd, which started the idea that the living would come into contact with the dead around the same time of the year. In order to keep the evil spirits from terrorizing the Celtic people, they came up with the idea of wearing disguises so the evil spirits wouldn't bother them.
There are several versions of why people dress up and go door to door, but the most popular one says that during the time when the evil spirits came to Earth, people began to put food outside their doors to appease the bad spirits, and the spirits would leave them alone. This evolved into folks dressing up as scary entities and asking for a treat at every home in return for not playing tricks on the household.
Black cats are another symbol of Halloween. Back in the Middle ages, dark felines were considered a symbol of the Devil. It didn't help that, centuries later, accused witches were often found to have cats, black ones in particular. People began to believe that cats were a "witches familiar", supernatural entities that would assist in the practice of dark magic, and the cats and spells have been linked ever since.
The black and orange colors associated with the holiday also trace back to Samhain. Black symbolized the "death" of summer, and orange symbolized the autumn harvest season because of the fall colors.
The game of bobbing for apples has long been associated with Halloween parties, but the origin is actually more rooted in love and romance. The game goes back to a courting ritual that was part of a Roman festival honoring Pomona, the Goddess of agriculture and abundance. The gist was that young men and women would be able to predict their future relationship based on the game, but I haven't been able to find the rules to the game. When the Romans conquered the British Isles, the Pomona Festival blended with Samhain, and that's why we bob for apples in this day and age!
Lighting candles and bonfires was done to light the way for souls seeking the afterlife, and now most people just burn candles instead of bonfires.
Bats were likely present at the earliest prototype of Halloween celebrations, because large fires were built to keep the bad spirits from interrupting the harvest celebration. Fires attract insects, which in turn attract bats, so seeing bats became a part of the festival. Medieval folklore expanded on the eeriness of bats with a number of superstitions built around the belief that bats were the harbinger of death. Well, at least for the insects!!
Well, there are more things associated with Halloween, but these are the most common. Now that you have acquired all this new knowledge, be sure to go out and celebrate the end of summer, gardens, and swimming pools, and be prepared for the mittens, boots and coats. There are several Trunk or Treat options for safe trick or treating, and one of them is in Oronoco on October 28th from 11 am to 1 pm. It will be held at the Presbyterian Church at 20 3rd Street SW. There will be a photo booth, a craft/bake sale and lunch available. Be sure to dress up and have some fun, and be safe! Happy Halloween!!
