The holiday we call Halloween
originated with the ancient Celtic tribes who lived in Ireland, Scotland, Wales
and Brittany. For the Celts, November 1 marked the beginning of the New Year
and the coming of winter. The night before the New Year, they celebrated the
festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead, when they believed that the souls of the
dead, including ghosts, goblins and witches, returned to walk among the living.
In order to scare away the evil spirits, people would wear masks and light
bonfires.
When the Romans conquered the Celts,
they added a few rituals to the festival. They bobbed for apples and drank
cider. However, in 835, Pope Gregory IV moved the celebration of what would be
later called All Saints Day to November 1. The night before became known as All
Hallow’s Eve. Eventually, the name was shortened to Halloween.
Stories of ghosts first became
associated with Halloween in Ireland. The Irish believed that, if someone you
knew had died the previous year and you were still holding a grudge against
them, that person would appear to you on Halloween, startling you so badly that
you would do anything to get rid of your grudge.
Our custom of trick-or-treating
began in Ireland too. Groups of farmers would go door-to-door collecting food
and materials for a village feast and bonfire. Those who gave were promised a
good year; those who did not give got threats of bad luck.
Costumes were symbolic; they were
meant to scare away the evil spirits so that the next day, on All Saints Day,
the saints could celebrate without fear. And, the following day, All Souls Day,
people could remember those who had died, especially in their immediate
families, secure in the knowledge that they were at peace. When a large number
of Catholic immigrants came to the United States, they brought the custom of
trick-or-treating with them.
The custom of carving a pumpkin for
Halloween also came from the Irish. People would hollow out turnips and place
lighted candles inside to scare off the evil spirits. When the Irish came to
America, they discovered the pumpkin and, because it was bigger, we now carve
pumpkins instead of turnips for Halloween. We call the carved pumpkins
jack-o-lanterns due to the legend of an Irishman named Jack who, as punishment
for never having performed a single selfless act in his life, was forced to
roam the earth with only a burning coal inside a pumpkin to light his way.
Happy Halloween!
