Happy Halloween!

This ancient festival originated far from the North American continent, centuries before the first Europeans set foot here.  The ancient Druids of what is now Great Britain placed great importance on the passing of each season. They held "Fire Festivals" which were celebrated for three days straight.  One of these festivals was called Samhaim (sha-von) and took place on Oct 31.  During this festival, the Druids believed that the boundaries between our world and the world of the dead were weakened, allowing spirits of the recently dead to cross over and possess the living.  They would dress up in bizarre costumes and parade through their villages causing destruction in order to scare away any recently departed souls who might be prowling around, looking for bodies to inhabit. Also, they would sacrifice animals and make other offerings to the Druidic deities.  Because everyone was in bizarre costumes, the villagers had no way of knowing who was actually alive and who was a recently departed soul. They would leave a bowl of fruit and nuts on their doorstep as an offering to any recently departed souls that might come around to reclaim the home they lived in while alive.  This could be the origin of the modern day custom of "trick or treat"  This yearly festival was later adopted by the Roman invaders, who helped to propagate it throughout the Roman Empire. In 834 A.D., the Catholic Church designated Nov. 1 as All Saints Day, or All Hollows Eve. It was a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints who had died. The word "Halloween" is a derivation from All Hallows Eve.  Halloween came to North America largely due to the Irish immigrants escaping the Potato Famine in Ireland. The Jack 'O Lantern is one of the customs brought with them.  Irish Folklore states that there was once a man named Jack who tricked the devil into climbing a tree and then trapped him there by carving a cross on the trunk. Jack made the devil promise to never tempt him to sin again. The Devil agreed.  Due to his mischievous life, upon his death, Jack was barred from heaven and, because of his earlier trick with the devil, he was barred from Hell, as well.  Jack was forced to wander the earth until the end of time, with only a single ember (carried in a hollowed out turnip) to warm him and light his way.  In Ireland, they originally used turnips for their Jack'O Lanterns but upon arriving in the new world, they discovered pumpkins to be more abundant and far easier to carve out.

 

Happy Halloween, Happy All Saints Day!