Ancient Traditions of Halloween

"Bring forth the raisins and the nuts-
Tonight All-Hallows' Spectre struts
Along the moonlit way."
-John Kendrick Bangs, American author (1862-1922)

In the United States, October 31 marks the celebration of the holiday which we call Halloween. Halloween has become our second biggest holiday, in terms of dollars spent, after Christmas. Have you ever wondered how the traditions associated with Halloween first got their start?

The familiar images of apples, pumpkins, and broomsticks remain icons of our modern celebration of this holiday. Many of these symbols have a connection to traditions that have long been forgotten. Long before this holiday became associated with children in costumes asking their neighbors for candy treats this festival was a time of reflection, both of events that had occurred during the past year and of loved ones who had recently passed away.

Why "Halloween"?

Halloween can trace its roots back to Samhain (pronounced sow-in, which rhymes with cow) which was an ancient Celtic festival day that was celebrated throughout Britain in parts of Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales on October 31st. Samhain was a festival that marked the end of the summer harvest and the beginning of the winter season. The Celtic people followed a lunar-based calendar and their days ran from sunset to sunset. Thus the festival of Samhain was celebrated from sundown on October 31st through sundown on November 1st. The Celtic New Year occurred the day after Samhain and was celebrated from sundown on November 1st through sundown on November 2nd.

The Celts were an ancient tribe of people who inhabited parts of central and western Europe including most of Britain and who can be dated back to approximately 400 BC. The Holy Roman Empire eventually conquered the majority of Celtic occupied lands by the first century AD. Many of the Celt's traditions, such as Samhain, became incorporated or adopted into Roman customs.

During the Middle Ages (~5th to 15th century) the Roman Catholic church tried to modify many of the old pagan festivals, such as Samhain, into more acceptable forms of celebration. In the early ninth century, November 1st was designated All Saint's Day in honor of all the Catholic saints. And sometime around 988 AD, November 2nd was designated All Soul's Day as a time to pay respect to and remember the souls of your recently deceased friends and family. This holy day was an attempt by the church at replacing Samhain with a more acceptable festival. People celebrated with a mass, bonfires, and parading through their village after dressing up as angels and saints.

Another name for All Saint's Day was All Hallow's Day. Hallow means sanctified or holy and the mass that was said on All Saint's Day was called All Hallow's Mass. The day before All Saint's Day became known as All Hallow's Eve and was associated with the traditional pagan celebration of Samhain. Over time All Hallow's Eve was shortened to Hallow's Eve, which became Hallows' Evening, which became Hallowe'en, and eventually Halloween.

Jack-o-Lantern

On Samhain in ancient Ireland, revelers hollowed out large turnips or even potatoes or beets, carved them into frightening designs, and lit them from within with either a candle or a piece of smoldering coal. Then they would place these lanterns in the windows and by the doorways of their homes for two reasons. First, they believed the designs carved into them would scare off evil spirits, preventing them from entering their house. Second, the hallowed creations would be a signal to their departed loved ones welcoming them into the house during this time of year.

These turnip lanterns were the precursor to the modern-day Jack-o-lantern. The larger, easier to carve pumpkins found in the New World made ready substitutes for the Irish immigrants arriving in America during the early 1800s especially after the Irish potato famine of 1845-1850.

Halloween can trace its roots back to Samhain (pronounced sow-in, which rhymes with cow) which was an ancient Celtic festival day that was celebrated throughout Britain (Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales) on October 31st. Samhain was a festival that marked the end of the summer harvest and the beginning of the winter season. The Celtic people followed a lunar-based calendar and their days ran from sunset to sunset. Thus the festival of Samhain was celebrated from sundown on October 31stthrough sundown on November 1st. The Celtic New Year occurred the day after Samhain and was celebrated from sundown on November 1st through sundown on November 2nd.

The term jack-o'-lantern, which first appeared in print in the mid 17th century, originally referred to a night watchman, or a man carrying a lantern.

Hazelnut Divination

Halloween was also referred to as Nutcrack Night for the method of love divination using nuts placed into the hearth fire. The name or initials of each of your potential mates was written on a separate nut then the nuts were placed into the fire. The first nut to explode in the fire would foretell the name of the person that you would eventually marry. A charm attributed to the poet John Gay (1685-1732) describes this method of fortune-telling:

"Two hazel nuts I threw into the flame,
And each nut I gave a sweet heart's name,
Thus, with the loudest bounce me sore amazed,
That, with a flame of brightest color blazed.
As blazed the nut, so may thy passion grow,
For 'twas thy nut that did so brightly glow."

Bobbing for Apples

Other forms of divination such as apple peeling or bobbing for apples were also practiced during the festival of Samhain. A large barrel or tub full of water would be filled with apples. Festival participants would take turns, while blindfolded, bobbing for one of the apples using only their teeth. The first person to successfully obtain an apple was thought to be the first to marry in the new year.

Peeling an apple was another form of love divination. The apple was carefully peeled with the goal being to make the peel as long as possible without breaking it. The apple peel was thrown over your shoulder then you quickly spun around to see what letter of the alphabet the peel resembled. This was thought to represent the first initial of the person that you would eventually marry.

Pomona was the Roman goddess of fruits and trees and was associated with fertility and a bountiful harvest. Pomona's symbol was the apple which may explain the Roman's eagerness to adapt the ancient custom of apple divination into their own festivities.

Magical Flying Broomsticks

Today, the broomstick conjures the mood of Halloween for young revelers and is another image with a meaning steeped in history. Farmers often used their broomsticks and pitchforks to perform a sort of imitative magic. They would go out into the fields and dance and leap high into the air while astride their brooms, pitchforks or shovels. It was thought that this would cause the crops to grow as tall as the people were able to jump into the air. Superstitious people, not understanding the brooms association with crop fertility, would label these people witches and were convinced they used the brooms to fly to and from their nightly meetings.

Costumes of Protection

Costumes were once worn in order to fool evil spirits and other malicious entities that were thought to travel throughout the countryside on All Hallows Eve. Superstitious country folk would disguise themselves in a variety of costumes, made out of animal skins, sailcloth, or linen, in order to trick the spirits from recognizing them. In costume, they would go outdoors and make lots of noise in an effort to fool troublesome spirits into thinking that they were one of them or in the hopes that all the noise would scare the spirits away from your home.

Tricks or Treats

Begging for treats may originate from when country folk throughout the British Isles would leave out plates of food during the festival of Samhain. These plates of food were left out for two reasons. First, the plate of treats was seen as an offering of nourishment to recently departed loved ones that traveled the countryside during this time of year. Secondly, the offering of food was a method of appeasing any evil spirits that might be traveling around the country. It was thought that if an evil spirit visited your house and there was no offering of food or beverage left out for them then the spirit would be tempted to pull a variety of tricks on the inhabitants of the household. Leaving fence gates unhinged or tipping over containers of milk were some of the mischievous pranks attributed to these spirits.

The night before Halloween is now known as Mischief Night in many areas. This night is usually celebrated by older children who go out and dose their friends and neighbors with shaving cream, eggs, and reams of toilet paper in lieu of trick-or-treating on the night of Halloween.

Another origin of the custom of trick or treating may originate from the Middle Ages when poor people collected baked goods called "soul cakes" from the wealthy. In exchange for the cakes, the poor promised to pray for the giver's deceased loved ones. The Catholic Church encouraged this practice, which was also called going-a-souling, in the hopes that it would replace the pagan custom of leaving out food for the dead on All Hallow's Eve.

In Conclusion

Halloween has become a decidedly more festive affair over the years. It is an interesting celebration with enduring ties to the folklore and superstitions of our ancestors. Although it is no longer believed that evil spirits wander about at this time of year children still delight in celebrating Halloween by carving out pumpkins, dressing up in costumes and participating in activities such as bobbing for apples and trick-or-treating.

Sources

Smythe, Lynn, "Boo! Scaring up the Ancient Traditions of Halloween." 2006 Old Farmer's Almanac, pages 130-131.
The Book of Holidays by J. Walker McSpadden, pages 148-153.
Festivals, Holy Days, and Saint's Days by Ethel L. Urlin, pages 190-203.
Holiday Symbols by Sue Ellen Thompson, pages 203-210.
The American Book of Days by Jane M. Hatch, pages 968-971.
Death and the Afterlife by Richard P. Taylor, page 163.
The Folklore of American Holidays edited by Hennig Cohen, page 373.
Holiday Symbols and Customs by Sue Ellen Thompson, page 10.
Holidays, Festivals & Celebrations of the World Dictionary.
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