You are sitting at home on October 31st watching a little television, when there is a knock at the door, followed by children saying, “Trick or Treat.” You open the door to find Lady Gaga, Captain America, Lightening McQueen and a Princess standing there with bags open. You drop in candy and they run off to the next house decorated with spiders, ghosts and hallowed out pumpkins. How did this holiday we celebrate, known as Halloween, evolve into what we have today?
The name Halloween, originally spelled Hallowe’en, is a contraction of All Hallows Even, which means the eve of All Saints Day. All Saints Day is a Catholic holiday commemorating Christian saints and martyrs on November 1st each year. The origins of Halloween can be traced to ancient Ireland as the end of summer festival, an important time because of the crop harvests and the change of season and lifestyle. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the lining and the dead became blurred. Early celebrations in America included “play parties” where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other’s fortunes, dance and sing.
Trick or Treating dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades where citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promises to pray for their dead. The practice was eventually taken up by children who would visit homes and were given ale, food, and money. In Ireland Trick or Treat was referred to as “guising” where the children would perform a trick, such as singing, in order to earn their treat. American tradition is that if you do not give a treat there is a threat of a “trick” upon the owner or his property, such as throwing eggs or toilet paper.
The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago winter could be a frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of autumn and winter were trying. During Halloween, it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world since the line between the two worlds was blurred. People thought that they would take them back to the world of the dead so to avoid being recognized by these ghosts, they would wear masks when they left their homes after dark. They felt the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits.
From these vast traditions our modern day Halloween has emerged. Now it is not a serious holiday as it was hundreds of years ago, but a playful one. Many feel that it has become like Mardi Gras or other countries Carnivals – a time to be something else and have a little fun before returning back to the realities of life.
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