So you're going to the Halloween parties. You're wearing the slutty costumes. You might as well learn something about it.
First thing's first.
Originally, October 31st wasn’t even called Halloween. Halloween is in fact the result of the original name being shortened and slurred together. October 31 was first “All Hallow’s Evening,” which was then shortened to “All Hallow’s Even,” to “All Hallow ‘en,” and finally to what we call it today, Halloween.
Halloween can be traced back 2000 years, to the Celtic people of France and the British Isles. For them, the night of October 31, which marked the last day of summer, was one of fear. They celebrated the festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead, and believed that the realm between the dead and the living became blurred, but on this night only. The Celtics were afraid of Samhain and went to great lengths to please him. The Druids (Celtic priests) made huge bonfires to make sacrifices to the gods. They burned animals, criminals and prisoners alive. Those were the days.
By watching the victims die, the Druids could perceive omens to predict the future; they believed that on this night the spirits of the dead were allowed to roam free about the earth. If the spirits were treated correctly they would help with the predictions of the future, however, if they were ignored, they would punish the Celtic people. Many of the spirits were believed to be evil. So in an attempt to scare the spirits and make sure they wouldn’t recognize them, the Celtics wore costumes. And voila, we have the creation of the costume tradition. Pretty self-explanatory, right?
Except not so much. It gets more confusing.
The Romans deserve some credit, too. You see, in 43 A.D. the Romans conquered the Celtics, and ruled over them for 400 years. Some of the Roman soldiers started to convert to the Druid beliefs, which didn't look so hot in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church. In an attempt to make the Druid and Roman Catholic beliefs blend together, Pope Gregory III moved “All Saints Day” from May to November 1. He believed that eventually people would forget about “All Souls Day” on October 31, and just celebrate All Saints Day. Unfortunately for the pope, his plan didn’t work out so well. And thus, Halloween is created.
Ok. Get it? Got it? Good.
Now for the Halloween symbols.
Trick-or-treating
Conflicting accounts here. Some believe that trick-or-treating stems from an old European custom called “souling.” Beggars walked the streets, from village to village, to gather “soul cakes,” square piece of bread with currents in them. At this time it was believed that the souls of the dead remained in limbo for a period of time after death, but through prayer, they could pass on to heaven. Thus, the more bread that the beggars got, the more prayers they would say for the deceased members of the donor’s family.
Others claim that it originates from an old Celtic tradition. Peasants went from house to house on Halloween to ask for money to buy food. The food was for the ghosts, which they would receive at a feast prepared for them. Prosperity was promised to all those who contributed. For those who refused to give a penance or treat, were threatened with tricks, either having a spell cast on them or serious injury. Thus, they were given the option of “trick” or “treat” and results in the tradition we have today.
Jack-o’-lantern
Long ago the Irish carved out turnips or beets and made them into lanterns. These lanterns were then used as representations of souls of the dead. When the Irish immigrated to America they discovered that it was hard to find turnips, but there was an abundance of pumpkins. The pumpkins were deemed a suitable alternative to turnips, and ever since then, pumpkins have been an integral part of Halloween. Okay, but why called Jack O'Lanterns? Like most good things in life, it has to do with alcohol.
Jack O’Lantern was a deceitful drunk who tricked the devil into climbing up an apple tree. Jack carved a cross into the tree, which meant that the devil could not climb down. He made the devil promise that he would not take his soul and the devil agreed. But, like any mortal, Jack’s life came to an end. He was not allowed into heaven because of his days as a lush, and the devil could not take him in hell because of the promise he made in the apple tree. Jack asked the devil where he should go, and the devil told him to go back where he came from. As Jack was leaving the devil threw a live coal from the fire of hell at him. Jack used the coal to light his way, but because it was so windy he had to make sure it wouldn’t blow out. So he put it in the turnip he was eating. Ever since that day his “lantern” has been traveling the earth looking for a place to rest.
Orange and Black
Both are connected to the occult and the masses that were held for the dead in November. The candles that were used in the ceremonies were made from unbleached beeswax, and were in orange in color. Black cloths were draped over the caskets of the dead in the ceremonies.
Witches
Witches, which means “wise one,” were followers of the ancient Pagan religion Wicca and believed that Halloween was a festival of the dead. For them, this is the beginning of winter, a time of death and destruction. The witches were able to tell the future, and made potions, believed to be magical, because only the “wise one” knew what was in it. Now, you're probably wondering how from this witches are usually depicted as being ugly and looking like Linda Cohn. Rightfully so, because originally they were often very beautiful, and even considered seductive. Well, believe it or not, there is a reason. At this time women were only granted equality in a witch cult. The Roman Catholic leaders, who were all men, did not want beliefs about Catholicism to be altered, and they most certainly did not want to lose control over the women, so as a result, they deemed witchcraft evil and banned it.
