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The Halloween Story

Here it comes again – the time of carved pumpkins, scary faces, and kids going out trick-or-treating. Since the times of paganism, people have been worshipping evil spirits and honoring the deceased in very somber ways. But the meaning and ways of celebrations have been evolving throughout the centuries. Let’s look at some of the sources and traditions of Halloween a little closer.

The foundations of what is known today as Halloween were laid about 2000 years ago when the pre-Christian Celtic tribes began celebrating Samhain (pronounced sah-win), also known as “the end of summer”.  In those days, the ancient Celts gathered to pray for rich harvest and to commune with the dead.   That was the day when the dead spirits were believed to cross into the other world, a tradition that always had a special supernatural meaning.  Together with the dead spirits, nature was also preparing for winter dormancy, so people followed this symbolism by dressing up as dead bodies or tombstones.   Later, All Hallows’ Mass (or All Saints’ Day) started to be observed on November 1, so these two adjacent calendar days (October 31 and November 1) merged into a larger celebration of paying tribute to the deceased ancestors and worshipping the spirits.

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Among numerous traditions of Halloween is the so-called trick-or-treating.  People were believed to disguise themselves and go door-to-door asking for food.  Some of them, particularly children, were indeed genuinely poor, so it was a way for them to obtain some food from their wealthier neighbors without actually showing their faces.  Most of the traditional costumes were woven out of straw and special rituals and dances were also performed as children knocked on the doors.  Another similar custom, often referred to as souling, may have been related to people asking for food in exchange for prayers for the dead.  While originating in Britain and Ireland, these traditions traveled around the world and reached the United States by the early 19th century with the increasing Irish immigration across the Atlantic.  Much later, after the Second World War, Halloween started to be observed informally by many Europeans and even in such faraway places as Asia, South America and Africa. 

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Playing pranks on Halloween is also a centuries-old tradition often involving such tricks as opening farmers’ gates, pelting houses with eggs, etc.  These pranks, however, were mostly abandoned as time went on because many people believed that they were getting out of hand and frequently resulted in vandalism and even occasional violence.  That was when town leaders and party organizers began to encourage revelers to engage in safer activities, such as street parties, costume celebrations and pumpkin-carving.  Apples were also strongly associated with Halloween, not only as a treat but also as a part of the rituals of fortune-telling and marriage prophecy.  One such ritual, for instance, was for young women to peel an apple into one continuous strip and throw it over her shoulder. The apple skin would then supposedly land in the shape of the first letter of her future husband's name.

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Modern Halloween has become quite commercialized, particularly in the United States.  While many kids still dress up as ghosts and witches, most of these costumes are now mass-produced, and shops are filled with masks, candy, pumpkin faces and other Halloween attributes. Yet, carnivals and rituals are still very much a part of the celebration although these days people disguise not just as monsters, but also as superheroes, cartoon characters and even politicians. Times change, ideas evolve, science and technology are challenging old beliefs, but Halloween is very much alive and kickin’, and so it will likely remain.  Hopping across the world, it has also reached the meadows and mountains of Austria, where most children now have the whole week off from school. 

Happy trick-or-treating, everyone!


Paul Nogid, MA, English Language Trainer