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The Origins of Halloween
For the Celts of Europe, their New Year began on November 1st. They believed that the turning points between one day to the next, the turning of the tides or the turning of the year were magical times. The time from the old year to the next was the most potent and when the veil between the worlds was at its thinnest. It was a time when the living could communicate with their departed loved ones.
The celebration of Halloween stems from the ancient Celtic fire festival called “Samhain”. The word is pronounced “sow-in” with “sow” rhyming with cow and it means “summer's end”. In these times, there was a common belief that the sun needed to have its power restored when the summer ended and the sun began to wane. All hearth fires were extinguished symbolizing the dark part of the year. The fires were then re-kindled by the Druids, the priests of the Celts. The new fires gave hope for the coming year and were known as the “need fire”.
The transition from autumn to winter on the night of October 31st, meant that the departed souls could revisit their old homes in order to warm themselves by the fire and to comfort themselves. Good cheer and food was provided for them by their kinsfolk. If this was not done, then the spirits could cause harm or mischief. Humans disguised themselves to imitate the spirits so that the real spirits wouldn’t recognize them.
The Christian Church frowned on this pagan custom. To encourage the faithful, the church established November 1st as All Saints Day or All Hallows Day. October 31st came to be called All Hallows Even and eventually it was corrupted to “Halloween”.
The Halloween celebration was brought to North America when the potato crop failure in Ireland precipitated the mass emigration of the Irish in the 1840s. These people were the modern day descendents of the Celts and they brought with them their customs, some of which are the remnants of the Celtic festival observances. By this time, Halloween had evolved into an evening of fun for children who dress in costumes and go from house to house to collect candy.
Jack-O-Lantern
In Ireland, the Jack-O-Lanterns were made by hollowing out large potatoes or turnips. A length of thread covered in wax (called a taper) was attached, and when lit, made a flickering a light. These lighted Jack-O-lanterns were placed in windows as beacons that told the spirits they were welcome in that home. Sometimes faces would be carved into the lantern. The name “Jack” from Jack-O-Lanterns comes from an Irish morality legend. The devil wanted Jack’s soul but Jack tricked the devil by forcing him up an apple tree and then marking the tree with a cross so the devil couldn’t climb down. In return for letting the devil go, the devil promised never to ask Jack for his soul. When Jack died, he was refused entry in to Heaven because in life he had been a drunkard. He was then sent to Hell, but the devil couldn’t accept him either because he promised he would never ask for Jack’s soul. The journey between the worlds was dark so the devil tossed Jack a lump of lighted coal from Hell. Jack placed the coal inside a turnip that he was carrying and used it to light his way. Since that day, he has traveled the world over with his Jack-O'-Lantern in search of a place to rest. The Irish immigrants found that the new world had marvelous new crops, among them the pumpkin. The pumpkin is large, round, great for carving and roomy enough to place a candle inside and so the pumpkin replaced the turnip.
Ducking for Apples
Ducking for apples was a marriage divination. Apples were placed in a tub of water and the players had to try to catch a floating apple with their mouths without being aided with their hands. The first person to bite an apple would be the first to marry in the coming year.
Apple peeling was a prediction to see how long your life would be. The longer the unbroken apple peel, the longer your life was destined to be.
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