October means... Costumes, Trick Or Treat, Halloween
On October 31st each year ghosts and goblins roam from house to house knocking on doors and ringing bells, hoping that they’ll get some treats instead of being tricked. This day is known as Halloween. And while many Christians deem it the devils birthday, many folks around the world simply join in the fun with costumes and going from door to door hoping to get as much candy in their sacks as their sacks can hold. In the retail world Halloween happens to be one of their most profitable days. There are stores that sell nothing but costumes so there is much to choose from. The origins of Halloween date as far back as ancient Celtic times. Let’s take a look at Halloweens humble beginnings over 2000 years ago.
The Celtics were a people who lived 2000 years ago in what is now called Ireland. That also covered the areas of the United Kingdom, and Northern France. Every year The Celtics celebrated the New Year on November 1st, which meant the end of their summer harvest and the beginning a long and cold winter. The Celtics believed that on the eve of Nov. 1st the world of the living and the dead collided. On October 31st they celebrated with the festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). This was an evening of intense suspicion as they believed that the ghosts of the underworld rose to try and haunt them. Along with their unwanted disturbance, they also damaged the crops. But their presence wasn’t all negative. These spirits also made it possible for the Celtic priests to predict the future. During an age of uncertainty they depended on these predictions.
The Druids celebrated with huge bonfires in which they gave animals and some of their crops as a sacrifice to these Celtic spirits. During the festival the Celtics wore costumes and danced around the bonfire. Many of these costumes were made of animal skins and animal heads. They also tried to tell each other fortune. Eventually the Romans had conquered the Celtic territory after 43 AD. For the next 400 years that they ruled over the land the Romans combined their festivals with the Celtic celebration of Samhain.
In 1846 a group of Irish immigrants would sail to America fleeing from the Great Potato Famine. These immigrants introduced many customs to Americans, one of which was Halloween.
The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated with a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, Christians would walk from town to town begging for "soul cakes," made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say for the dearly departed souls of those who gave. During this time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a short period after death, and even a simple prayer could help them reach heaven in a more expedite fashion.
The Irish also brought with them the tradition of pumpkin carving. There’s an old wise tale that tells a story of a man named Jack (also the town drunk) who tricked the devil into climbing a tree. He then carved an image of a cross into the trunk of the tree, trapping the devil up in the tree. He then told the devil if the devil never tempted him again that he would let him down from the tree. Eventually Jack died and the devil was still trapped up in that tree. When Jack died he was too wicked in his ways to enter heaven, and the devil himself refused to let him even enter hell. So he gave him a hollowed out turnip with a light inside so he Jack could see his way through the cold darkness between heaven and hell. Hence, the name “Jack Lantern”. When the Irish arrived to America they found it much easier to use pumpkins instead of turnips for their Jack-o-lanterns.
So where did the name Halloween come from? The word itself, "Hall It comes from the Catholic Church meaning All Hallows Eve, the eve before November 1st-which is All Hollows Day or better known as “All Saints Day”.
Now that you know all about Halloween, it’s time to start planning for next year. It’s never too early to think of scaring the bats and ghouls with a scary costume. Or maybe you can think of some fun tricks to play on the kids as they ring your door bell waiting for some tasty treats. No matter what you plan or how you celebrate, All Hallows Eve is here to stay!