HAPPY HALLOWEEN

31st October, Halloween, is such a fun celebration. The children, as well as us adults, dress up as witches, ghosts or vampires, and we all play games, eat fun food and watch ‘scary’ movies, and generally dance the night away.

Some call Halloween an American holiday, some say that it ‘comes from the Devil’ and the rest of us just enjoy the day. So, where does Halloween come from? When did it start? Is there any ‘reality’ in it or is it literally just a fun celebration?

The word “Halloween” itself dates back to 1745 and is actually of Christian origin. It means ‘Saints evening’ and comes from the Scottish term ‘All Hallows Eve’ which is the evening before All Hallows Day. The phrase “All Hallows” is found in Old English, although “All Hallows Eve” is itself not seen until 1556.

Wikipedia tells us that Halloween “is a celebration observed --- on the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. It begins the three-day observance of All Hallow tide, the time in the liturgical (worship / holy) year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.”

There is a theory that says that many of the Halloween traditions originated or come from ancient Celtic harvest festivals. This refers, in particular, to the Gaelic festival Samhain (which most of us have heard of), and which may have had its roots in Samhain. It has been said that Samhain itself was ‘Christianized’ to become Halloween by the early church.

We know well the traditions of Halloween: trick-or-treat / carving pumpkins into Jack-o’-Lanterns / lighting bonfires / apple bobbing / etc. etc.

Trick-or-treating: this can be traced back to the ancient Celts, early Roman Catholics and 17th Century British politics. You set off, on Halloween night, in costume and ring doorbells “to demand treats” The trick is usually an idle ‘threat’ to do some mischief if the homeowner doesn’t give any treats. Today, this is looked at as an American tradition, and indeed, over there, Halloween is celebrated by many people. For me personally, it is just a fun evening. I love opening the door to see the children dressed in their costumes, and seeing their little smiles as I hand over sweets and cakes (usually from the Pound shop). It is something for them to look forward to and really enjoy. And it is always nice to see mum or dad standing behind the children.

Carving pumpkins into Jack-o’-Lanterns: the name comes from the very real phenomenon of a strange light flickering over peat bogs which are called ‘will-o’-the-wisp’ as well. Carefully carving the pumpkin into ‘faces’ and putting them next to the front door (outside of course) is fun and looks great. These lighted and carved pumpkins are said to ‘ward off evil spirits.’

Lighting bonfires: from the pagan festival “Samhain”, it means the ‘end of summer.’ The Celts believed that on the eve of Halloween dead spirits would visit the mortal world, and they lit bonfires to keep evil spirits away and they also dressed in disguises (or costumes).

Apple bobbing: I’ve never been very good at this game but it is terrific fun. This was once a powerful symbol of fertility and immortality, but from “Samhain” it celebrates the end of the harvest season, when the apples were stored for winter and, of course, apples are very healthy to eat. It is an interesting fact that when the Romans came over to Britain, they brought the apple tree over --- which is a representation of the goddess of plenty, Pomona.

From Britannica: “During the Samhain festival the souls of those who had died were believed to return to visit their homes, and those who had died during the year were believed to journey to the other world. People set bonfires on hilltops for relighting their hearth fires for the winter and to frighten away evil spirits, and they sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts thought to be present. It was in those ways that beings such as witches, hobgoblins, fairies and demons came to be associated with this day.”

There are many “symbols” associated with Halloween (as mentioned before). Here are five (the research is from an article by Beaver County Auto):

1) Witches = during the Middle Ages, the people who celebrated the ‘pagan’ holiday were accused of being witches. The witch hunters believed that on this night, the veil between worlds thinned, and magical energy increased, making witches extremely powerful.

2) The Black Cat = again, this comes from the Middles Ages. Many of these witches had cats who were ‘said’ to be their familiars (or magical companions), and the ‘black’ cat was feared because of its colour --- because it could move around in the dark undetected. It was believed that witches ‘could change’ into these black cats.

3) The Bat = during Samhain, large bonfires lit up the sky to aid spirits in the afterlife and honour their passing. The large fires attracted flying insects, the prey of many bat species. During this time, bats are the most active, eating as much as possible for hibernation.

4) Ghosts and Skeletons = the veil between the living and dead is thin during Halloween, and this allows the spirits to cross over to our realm. In the past, those who celebrated this festival, left food outside or prepared a special place at the dinner table for the dead spirits of loved ones. Thus, the dead, ghosts and skeletons began to represent this tradition and belief.

5) Jack-O-Lanterns = the Irish carved the first Jack-o-Lanterns out of turnips to frighten the ‘evil’ spirits of Samhain. Jack-o-Lantern got its name (in the 17th Century) from an Irish folktale called “Stingy Jack.” He was a drunkard who tried to con the Devil, jack failed and was sent to the afterlife, forever travelling between planes with only the light of a smouldering ember inside a carved turnip. Today, pumpkins are usually carved, as they are easier to carve and are bigger.

So, there is a lot of “belief” behind Halloween, but for me personally, it is just a fun celebration, when we can all dress up, eat nice food and just generally have a lot of fun.

Happy Halloween!