Filed under Baton Rouge Living on October 1st, 2008:
The History of Halloween
It’s a time of ghosts, goblins, witches and more. Halloween has become a huge commercial holiday in the United States and a source of so much fun, but do you know your Halloween history?
Where Did Halloween Originate?
The word “Halloween,” has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from All Hallows Eve. November 1, “All Hollows Day” (or “All Saints Day”), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31.
One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. The villagers did not want to be possessed so on the night of October 31, they would dress up in ghoulish costumes and parade noisily around the neighborhood, to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
Why Do We Trick or Treat?
It’s also said that the American tradition of “trick-or-treating” likely dates back to the England parades for All Souls’ Day. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them “soul cakes” which are pastries. In return for the soul cakes, the poor citizens would promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives.
The church encouraged handing out the soul cakes as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, called “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the neighborhood houses and be given ale, food and money.
How Did Jack-O’-Lanterns Come to Be?
Hollowed-out turnips with embers or candles inside, became a popular Halloween decoration in Ireland and Scotland a few hundred years ago. It is said they would ward off spirits on Halloween, and they also represented the souls of the dead. Irish families who emigrated to America brought the tradition with them, but they replaced the turnips with pumpkins. Since pumpkins are a lot easier to carve than turnips, people began pumpkin carving, adding frightening faces and other designs into their jack-o’-lanterns.
Why the Costumes and Big Bowls of Candy?
The tradition of dressing in Halloween costumes began long ago. The townspeople thought they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.
The moral of the story? If you plan to leave your Baton Rouge Apartment on Halloween night, leave a bowl of goodies on your doorstep and don’t forget to wear your mask!