Halloween
Origins
If you track Halloween to its roots you find that it dates back all the way to the days of the Celts where it was celebrated as the day of summers end, also known as Samhain in the Celtic religion. Samhain was the most important out of all the quarter days in Celtic society. Great feasts were held as the day marked the end of the harvest season. This day, being on the 31st of October or the first of November was when all of the livestock were brought in from the pastures and slaughtered. At the great feasts families would leave out places and food for their dead ancestors believing that Samhain opened up a portal just big enough for the dead and fairies to come through. Harmful fairies and spirits were also thought to get through, resulting in small practices to ward them off; this may have led to some customs of Halloween today. Dressing up may have come from disguising one’s self from cruel spirits and fairies, young boys also went door to door collecting fuel for the great Samhain bonfire. This is where trick-or-treating is thought to come from. Jack-O-Lanterns are also believed to come from an old Celtic myth where a prankster angered both God and the Devil. When he died neither wanted him so we was doomed to walk the earth forever holding a turnip lit candle before him to light his way. Villagers would then carve scary faces in pumpkins and light them up around their houses in hope of warding off this unwelcome visitor. Human sacrifices might have also taken place based on evidence left from old Gaelic villages, (consisting of the Irish Scottish and Manx.) Halloween also has a Christian background, being called All Saints Day or All Hallows. On this day people honored the saints and prayed for the recently departed. Bells would be rung for souls in purgatory and people would bake soul cakes and share them with christened souls and poor children who would come by collecting them. This is where trick or treating is also thought to come from. The Christians also believed that on Hallows Eve, the spirits of the dead had there one chance to exact revenge upon those they have had conflict with. On this night people would wear masks to prevent getting recognized by the dead. This is probably why we all dress up today. All Saints Day began to diminish with the reformation to the protestant religion in England, only staying alive in the Celtic regions. It got to America with the Scottish and Irish as well, due to the strong opposition held by the early Puritan Americans.
Symbols
There are many symbols that come with the holiday of Halloween. Jack-o-Lanterns, bats, and ghosts are some of the more prominent ones. Jack-O-Lanterns came from an early practice in Ireland of carving turnips and putting candles inside of them to light the way. This turned into pumpkins as they are larger and softer, being easier to carve. This then became more of a decoration than a tool for light. When the early Celts had massive bonfires, this would attract mosquitos and moths which would in turn attract many bats. Bats are also associated with the nighttime because of them being nocturnal. Ghosts are a large symbol because of the relation to death on Halloween. Spirits were believed to be able to come through to our world and therefor would be in the form of a ghost. Since Hallows Eve was considered the only time spirits could come into our world, ghosts are represented during every Halloween.
Deity
There are a few myths that have to do with a deity for Halloween, a Celtic God being one of them, but had been proven fake in the 18th century. There is also the Roman Goddess Pomona of fruits and trees who is said to have a feast held in her honor on the 31st of October. However, if there really has to be a deity associated with Halloween I would say it’s the Devil or God himself. If you focus on Halloween in the respect of how spirits may find their way into our plane of existence, and how some of those spirits may be dangerous or revengeful, then I would say the Devil is who directs these spirits. There are many old witch stories about their connections with demons, and Hallows Eve is when a witch is fabled most powerful. So in that sense Halloween may be the Devils one time to send minions or “evil fairies” into the realm of mortals. However, when you focus on the origins of Halloween in the Christian background, it was a time to respect the saints (those chosen for being the most pious and close to God) and to pray for the recently deceased. When you pray you are in a sense talking to God, so if that is the case the original Deity for Halloween is in fact God and the Holy Spirit.
Good V.S. Evil
There is a very good aura about Halloween as well as an evil one. The Good side of Halloween involves the old Christian practices of praying for the recently deceased and respecting the saints. The baking of soul cakes were also a good side for Halloween as they were meant to feed the Christened souls and the poor. The Celtic Pagans who were the earliest of Halloween celebrators also treated Halloween as a holiday in which great feasts were held and the dead were honored. However, the early Pagan holiday also had an evil side to it. Dark rituals were held, as well as hints of human sacrifices. Halloween was also known as a time where dark spirits could come through and harm humans, or pixies were sent by the devil to punish those who repented him. As much as Halloween was created in the name of God in the Christian religion there is no denying the dark shade that comes with it.
Ethics
As much as Halloween is about ghosts, witches, and ghouls there is an ethical sense about it. People construct giant haunted houses for children to enjoy, scary late night T.V. shows may have no commercials on Halloween night, and most importantly people give out free candy all night! There is also a silent code people follow on Halloween, teenagers refrain from stealing candy from young kids, and at costume parties everyone with a costume is welcome. I would have to say that on ethically Halloween is up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Afterlife
One of the biggest parts about Halloween is the spooky, scary, and dark side of it. A huge question is where this all comes from. When you research the origins of Halloween you find that it began with the Celts, and the holiday was originally called Samhain. One of the largest factors about Samhain was that recently deceased spirits and harmful souls could make their way back into our world. This obviously states that there is an afterlife because souls don’t perish after they die. Some may come back to seek revenge, as well as some “evil fairies.” So there must be a place where these all of these things come from. The only question is; where?
Texts
The book of Halloween is probably the most legitimate text on the holiday. This book explains the earliest origins of Halloween as well as how much the sun had to do with it, as it was created for the summer’s end, when the sun would be at its weakest point. It also explains how some Halloween traditions came about, from telling the practices of old Halloween celebrators. One of the most important things about this book I believe, however, is that it explains how Halloween is related to or celebrated by many different peoples, including the Irish, Scottish, early Celts, England, and even France. It also explains the link between Halloween and religion. This book is very important for someone who is interested with Halloween traditions.
Specials (People, Places, Times, and Traditions)
By reading the origins part of my essay you have already learned about the traditions of Halloween (trick-or-treating, dressing up, carving pumpkins etc.) and the places in which it came from (Gaelic Celtic regions in and near Britain, and the early Christian provinces.) However, I have yet to tell about the times and people. Halloween practices go all the way back to 5 B.C. when the Celts celebrated Samhain. It was also declared a Christian holiday by the Pope as far back as 600 years ago. Speaking of the Pope, two different popes had a very large effect on Halloween. Pope Boniface IV made “All saints day” (the beginning of Halloween for Christians) an official holiday on May 13th. However, it wasn’t until Pope Gregory the Third that Halloween was pushed to October 31st to ease the transition of the Pagan Samhain into a Christian holiday. There is an important Pagan person as well that has to do with Halloween, Celtic myths state that there was once a man called Stingy Jack who was a trickster and somehow made both God and the Devil angry. When he died neither wanted him, so he was cast out to walk the days of earth as a ghost forever holding a turnip with a candle in it to light his way. This may also have led to the headless horseman an important Halloween villain in American tradition.
Halloween as an American Religious Holiday
As America’s largest religion is Christian, and some of Halloweens main roots come from Christianity, it only seems fit that the two would be strongly linked. However, as far as I’ve learned this is not the case, many hard core Christians dislike the holiday based on its dark and scary atmosphere. They also tend to believe that it is the time of the devil, just as the early puritans believed. The only reason I have learned this is from going to Alpine Christian Academy as a young boy, anything linked to Halloween or ghosts was prohibited. This is extremely odd to me because of the fact that Halloween practically came from Christianity! Though there is the reality that all things change as did the Catholic Church during the reformation. Saying this you will probably find Christians who know Halloween for what it is, and those who just see it as a time to enjoy dark and evil things.
My Halloween
I honestly wish my Halloween experience could be more traditional, or at least more innocent. As I am obviously too old to trick or treat, I had two choices for an eventful Halloween; go to a big Halloween concert, or go to a costume party. I don’t have a lot of money, and the money I do make from work goes either to my savings or seeing my girlfriend in college. So an expensive concert was out of the picture. I decided to go to a costume party in Carbondale, I knew most of the people at the party but they weren’t necessarily my friends. I wish that I was acquainted with more kids my age, but our experiences sent us in different directions. So because there wasn’t anything to do in Glenwood, or anything I was welcome to at least, the party in Carbondale was my only option of doing something. I went with my friends Connor and Alex. Upon arriving we were instantly given shit for no costumes. There were actually more old friends of mine there then I’d expected, who were nice to see since I’d moved from Carbondale in fifth grade. I was given a cup for jungle juice and directed to the tub in the kitchen. One thing unfortunate I noticed at this party was that barely anyone looked happy, Except for those who went to the bathroom every ten minutes in groups of two or three. Amusing myself’ at the possibility of what these kids were doing was half the fun that night. After about four cups of the “juice” it was easy to talk too just about everyone. I started to really enjoy reminiscing about elementary events with my long lost friends. Then all of a sudden one of my friends came down stairs explaining a fight that was raging outside between some Serrano’s or whatever kind of gang they were and some of my old baseball teammates. I rushed outside just in time to see the gang members running from the scene with my buddy’s yelling after them. The party slowed down quite a bit as most of the guys hopped into a car to meet these gang bangers up on a mountain for a brawl. I’ll fight when my friends are in one or when it comes to me but going and chasing one isn’t my style. I stayed back and found a place to sleep at a girl’s house I knew. For the rest of the night I sat in a basement, sipped a little absinth and listened to my friend get into a terribly dramatic fight with two of her other friends. If drama doesn’t annoy me it amuses me, so after some snide comments to the group upstairs having pitiful pillow talk, I threw up in my friend’s toilet and passed out. In the morning I instantly decided that next year, Halloween is going to be a much more special time for me. That’s just a summary of what happened in my life on the 31st of October, hopefully one day I’ll have more interesting stories of my Halloween.
Origins
If you track Halloween to its roots you find that it dates back all the way to the days of the Celts where it was celebrated as the day of summers end, also known as Samhain in the Celtic religion. Samhain was the most important out of all the quarter days in Celtic society. Great feasts were held as the day marked the end of the harvest season. This day, being on the 31st of October or the first of November was when all of the livestock were brought in from the pastures and slaughtered. At the great feasts families would leave out places and food for their dead ancestors believing that Samhain opened up a portal just big enough for the dead and fairies to come through. Harmful fairies and spirits were also thought to get through, resulting in small practices to ward them off; this may have led to some customs of Halloween today. Dressing up may have come from disguising one’s self from cruel spirits and fairies, young boys also went door to door collecting fuel for the great Samhain bonfire. This is where trick-or-treating is thought to come from. Jack-O-Lanterns are also believed to come from an old Celtic myth where a prankster angered both God and the Devil. When he died neither wanted him so we was doomed to walk the earth forever holding a turnip lit candle before him to light his way. Villagers would then carve scary faces in pumpkins and light them up around their houses in hope of warding off this unwelcome visitor. Human sacrifices might have also taken place based on evidence left from old Gaelic villages, (consisting of the Irish Scottish and Manx.) Halloween also has a Christian background, being called All Saints Day or All Hallows. On this day people honored the saints and prayed for the recently departed. Bells would be rung for souls in purgatory and people would bake soul cakes and share them with christened souls and poor children who would come by collecting them. This is where trick or treating is also thought to come from. The Christians also believed that on Hallows Eve, the spirits of the dead had there one chance to exact revenge upon those they have had conflict with. On this night people would wear masks to prevent getting recognized by the dead. This is probably why we all dress up today. All Saints Day began to diminish with the reformation to the protestant religion in England, only staying alive in the Celtic regions. It got to America with the Scottish and Irish as well, due to the strong opposition held by the early Puritan Americans.
Symbols
There are many symbols that come with the holiday of Halloween. Jack-o-Lanterns, bats, and ghosts are some of the more prominent ones. Jack-O-Lanterns came from an early practice in Ireland of carving turnips and putting candles inside of them to light the way. This turned into pumpkins as they are larger and softer, being easier to carve. This then became more of a decoration than a tool for light. When the early Celts had massive bonfires, this would attract mosquitos and moths which would in turn attract many bats. Bats are also associated with the nighttime because of them being nocturnal. Ghosts are a large symbol because of the relation to death on Halloween. Spirits were believed to be able to come through to our world and therefor would be in the form of a ghost. Since Hallows Eve was considered the only time spirits could come into our world, ghosts are represented during every Halloween.
Deity
There are a few myths that have to do with a deity for Halloween, a Celtic God being one of them, but had been proven fake in the 18th century. There is also the Roman Goddess Pomona of fruits and trees who is said to have a feast held in her honor on the 31st of October. However, if there really has to be a deity associated with Halloween I would say it’s the Devil or God himself. If you focus on Halloween in the respect of how spirits may find their way into our plane of existence, and how some of those spirits may be dangerous or revengeful, then I would say the Devil is who directs these spirits. There are many old witch stories about their connections with demons, and Hallows Eve is when a witch is fabled most powerful. So in that sense Halloween may be the Devils one time to send minions or “evil fairies” into the realm of mortals. However, when you focus on the origins of Halloween in the Christian background, it was a time to respect the saints (those chosen for being the most pious and close to God) and to pray for the recently deceased. When you pray you are in a sense talking to God, so if that is the case the original Deity for Halloween is in fact God and the Holy Spirit.
Good V.S. Evil
There is a very good aura about Halloween as well as an evil one. The Good side of Halloween involves the old Christian practices of praying for the recently deceased and respecting the saints. The baking of soul cakes were also a good side for Halloween as they were meant to feed the Christened souls and the poor. The Celtic Pagans who were the earliest of Halloween celebrators also treated Halloween as a holiday in which great feasts were held and the dead were honored. However, the early Pagan holiday also had an evil side to it. Dark rituals were held, as well as hints of human sacrifices. Halloween was also known as a time where dark spirits could come through and harm humans, or pixies were sent by the devil to punish those who repented him. As much as Halloween was created in the name of God in the Christian religion there is no denying the dark shade that comes with it.
Ethics
As much as Halloween is about ghosts, witches, and ghouls there is an ethical sense about it. People construct giant haunted houses for children to enjoy, scary late night T.V. shows may have no commercials on Halloween night, and most importantly people give out free candy all night! There is also a silent code people follow on Halloween, teenagers refrain from stealing candy from young kids, and at costume parties everyone with a costume is welcome. I would have to say that on ethically Halloween is up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Afterlife
One of the biggest parts about Halloween is the spooky, scary, and dark side of it. A huge question is where this all comes from. When you research the origins of Halloween you find that it began with the Celts, and the holiday was originally called Samhain. One of the largest factors about Samhain was that recently deceased spirits and harmful souls could make their way back into our world. This obviously states that there is an afterlife because souls don’t perish after they die. Some may come back to seek revenge, as well as some “evil fairies.” So there must be a place where these all of these things come from. The only question is; where?
Texts
The book of Halloween is probably the most legitimate text on the holiday. This book explains the earliest origins of Halloween as well as how much the sun had to do with it, as it was created for the summer’s end, when the sun would be at its weakest point. It also explains how some Halloween traditions came about, from telling the practices of old Halloween celebrators. One of the most important things about this book I believe, however, is that it explains how Halloween is related to or celebrated by many different peoples, including the Irish, Scottish, early Celts, England, and even France. It also explains the link between Halloween and religion. This book is very important for someone who is interested with Halloween traditions.
Specials (People, Places, Times, and Traditions)
By reading the origins part of my essay you have already learned about the traditions of Halloween (trick-or-treating, dressing up, carving pumpkins etc.) and the places in which it came from (Gaelic Celtic regions in and near Britain, and the early Christian provinces.) However, I have yet to tell about the times and people. Halloween practices go all the way back to 5 B.C. when the Celts celebrated Samhain. It was also declared a Christian holiday by the Pope as far back as 600 years ago. Speaking of the Pope, two different popes had a very large effect on Halloween. Pope Boniface IV made “All saints day” (the beginning of Halloween for Christians) an official holiday on May 13th. However, it wasn’t until Pope Gregory the Third that Halloween was pushed to October 31st to ease the transition of the Pagan Samhain into a Christian holiday. There is an important Pagan person as well that has to do with Halloween, Celtic myths state that there was once a man called Stingy Jack who was a trickster and somehow made both God and the Devil angry. When he died neither wanted him, so he was cast out to walk the days of earth as a ghost forever holding a turnip with a candle in it to light his way. This may also have led to the headless horseman an important Halloween villain in American tradition.
Halloween as an American Religious Holiday
As America’s largest religion is Christian, and some of Halloweens main roots come from Christianity, it only seems fit that the two would be strongly linked. However, as far as I’ve learned this is not the case, many hard core Christians dislike the holiday based on its dark and scary atmosphere. They also tend to believe that it is the time of the devil, just as the early puritans believed. The only reason I have learned this is from going to Alpine Christian Academy as a young boy, anything linked to Halloween or ghosts was prohibited. This is extremely odd to me because of the fact that Halloween practically came from Christianity! Though there is the reality that all things change as did the Catholic Church during the reformation. Saying this you will probably find Christians who know Halloween for what it is, and those who just see it as a time to enjoy dark and evil things.
My Halloween
I honestly wish my Halloween experience could be more traditional, or at least more innocent. As I am obviously too old to trick or treat, I had two choices for an eventful Halloween; go to a big Halloween concert, or go to a costume party. I don’t have a lot of money, and the money I do make from work goes either to my savings or seeing my girlfriend in college. So an expensive concert was out of the picture. I decided to go to a costume party in Carbondale, I knew most of the people at the party but they weren’t necessarily my friends. I wish that I was acquainted with more kids my age, but our experiences sent us in different directions. So because there wasn’t anything to do in Glenwood, or anything I was welcome to at least, the party in Carbondale was my only option of doing something. I went with my friends Connor and Alex. Upon arriving we were instantly given shit for no costumes. There were actually more old friends of mine there then I’d expected, who were nice to see since I’d moved from Carbondale in fifth grade. I was given a cup for jungle juice and directed to the tub in the kitchen. One thing unfortunate I noticed at this party was that barely anyone looked happy, Except for those who went to the bathroom every ten minutes in groups of two or three. Amusing myself’ at the possibility of what these kids were doing was half the fun that night. After about four cups of the “juice” it was easy to talk too just about everyone. I started to really enjoy reminiscing about elementary events with my long lost friends. Then all of a sudden one of my friends came down stairs explaining a fight that was raging outside between some Serrano’s or whatever kind of gang they were and some of my old baseball teammates. I rushed outside just in time to see the gang members running from the scene with my buddy’s yelling after them. The party slowed down quite a bit as most of the guys hopped into a car to meet these gang bangers up on a mountain for a brawl. I’ll fight when my friends are in one or when it comes to me but going and chasing one isn’t my style. I stayed back and found a place to sleep at a girl’s house I knew. For the rest of the night I sat in a basement, sipped a little absinth and listened to my friend get into a terribly dramatic fight with two of her other friends. If drama doesn’t annoy me it amuses me, so after some snide comments to the group upstairs having pitiful pillow talk, I threw up in my friend’s toilet and passed out. In the morning I instantly decided that next year, Halloween is going to be a much more special time for me. That’s just a summary of what happened in my life on the 31st of October, hopefully one day I’ll have more interesting stories of my Halloween.