Halloween, a Trick or a Treat

I love everything about Halloween. The leaves changing from green to brilliant yellow, fiery orange and flaming reds. The musky scent of the leaves laying on the ground giving the summer green landscape an explosion of color everywhere.

Neighbors and friends with jack-o-lanterns and happy or ghoulish ghosts adorning their front porches. Smells of stews, soups, breads and good ol' fashioned comfort foods wafting from everyone's windows. Hot apple cider, hot chocolate, Carmel apples and football games.

Seems like everyone's mood is a little brighter, maybe it's the fact they are trying to enjoy the last bit of good weather before summers end and the bitter winter sets in.

Halloween brings all those senses back to me and more. But my curious nature and contentment at being snuggled up in front of my computer gets the better of me, I need to know more.

Halloween, shortened from "All Hallows Eve". An old English term "All Saints Evening" because it's the eve of "All Hallows Day" which is also known as "All Saints Day".

All Saints Day was a day of religious festivities in Northern European pagan traditions. This old Christian feast was originally celebrated on May 13th, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved it to another date, which even older named "Feast of Lemures" to November 1st.

Feast of Lemures, ancient Romans would exorcise ghosts of the dead from their homes on this day. Vestals (virgin holy female priests) would prepare salt cakes from the first ears of wheat of the season.

Originally celebrated by the Julian Calendar (a roman calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC) on May 9, 10 and 13th. It was custom to appease or expel evil spirits by walking barefoot and throw black beans over your shoulder at night. Don't ask me why black beans, I have no idea, maybe they didn't care for them. It was the head of households responsibility to wake up at midnight to do this while chanting. The household would clash bronze pots and repeat "Ghost's of my fathers and ancestors be gone!" Both were done 9 times each.

In fact they thought the whole month of May was unlucky, they had a saying "They wed ill who wed in May."

Around 609 or 610 this ancient custom was Christianized and called "All Saints Day" in order to de-paganize it. With time this custom faded and was later shifted as I said before to November 1st to coincide with the Celtic Samhain, around 731-741.

Samhain, Irish and Scottish Gaelic meaning "Summers end". A festival which celebrated the end of harvest.

The Celts believed on October 31st, boundaries between the living and the dead vanished. The dead would haunt the living by causing sickness and destroying crops. They would burn bonfires and wear costumes and masks to resemble the evil spirits in order to make them happy so they wouldn't cause mischief.

Samhain resembles another feast celebrated by many cultures around the world known as "Festival of the dead."

Celebrated after harvest, August, October or November, Festival of the Dead is held for 3 days to honor deceased ancestors and community members.

Catholics as well had something similar "All Saints Day" marking the end of summer and the end of harvest.

There are many different beliefs and celebrations for Halloween.  Different cultures, different origins.  I think we take something from each of them.

Ancient Celts on "All Hallows Eve" used to place a skeleton on the window sills, this represented the departed.

Jack-o-lanterns seem to have originated in Europe, but it wasn't pumpkins they used. The first lanterns were carved from turnips and rutabagas. Celts believed the head was the most powerful of the body and contained the spirit. They used these lanterns to ward off evil spirits not for decoration.

The term Jack-o-lantern dates back to an ancient Irish legend of a rough and tumble farmer named "Stingy Jack", he apparently tricked the devil and trapped him in a tree trunk. The devil, in an act of revenge cursed Jack to forever wander the earth at night with the only light coming from a candle inside a hollowed out turnip.

In America pumpkins date back to the Great Famine Period of the Irish immigration(1845-1852). Pumpkins in America were more available and larger making them easier to carve. Pumpkins were not associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century.

When you think of Halloween images of Vampires, Frankenstein, Werewolves, Witches and Ghosts come to mind. These images of course came mostly from the movie industry, making Halloween take on a dark and ominous feel. Conjuring images of death, evil, magic and mythical monsters.

 So this Halloween, when the kids are jumping through piles of leaves, when your taping your cardboard skeletons to the windows, when your lighting your Jack-o-lanterns at night, stop and think how much history is behind such a thing.

Tis the season!