Halloween, one of the biggest and most exciting holidays, kids dress up to trick or treat, carve pumpkins, and adults decorate the house full of spooky ornaments. This fantastic and exciting holiday that we celebrate every October 31st dates back to over 2000 years ago.
How did Halloween Come to Be?
Everything began with the kelps, every year on October 31st, they would celebrate the end of the harvest season on a day called ‘Sawin’. This day is also the Celtic new year, which was believed to be a time between the two years when ghosts and spirits can come to the overworld from the underworld. People lit bond fires in the villages to force the spirits back to their world and keep them from roaming the overworld. But, as the culture grew in Catholic Churches in Europe, it started making trouble with the pagan rituals, including Sawin. To solve this, the Vatican's started to merge the holiday with a church-sanctioned holiday as both of these days were about the dead, cause of this November 1st was named 'All Saints Day' to honor the martyrs.
Later on, the day was called 'Hallowmas', which roughly means 'Mass of the Saints'. The night before Hallowmas was named 'All Hallows Eve', which slowly turned into the day we now know as 'Halloween'. In the 1840s, the holiday came to America carried by the mass of Irish immigrants during the potato famine. On this day, people would bob for apples and play tricks on their neighbors, such as removing their fence gates. But as time passed, these harmless pranks and jokes turned into vandalism; the kids wore masks so people couldn’t recognize them. In the 1930s, the holiday was considered dangerous, and people would give out candy to the kids so they wouldn't trash their houses. By the late 30s, Halloween became the holiday we all love and celebrate now.
What’s Up with the Jack-o-Lantern?
Every year we carve pumpkins and put them in front of our houses and wait for kids to come and ask for candy. But why do we carve scary faces on to pumpkins? Centuries ago, people carved turnips instead of pumpkins inspired by an old Irish legend called 'Stingy Jack', Referring to his name 'Stingy Jack', he was the local drunkard of his village, one night the devil wanted to see Jack himself and see if he lives up to his name. As Jack was strolling through the town, he met the devil and realized he was here to collect his soul; he asks the devil if he can have one last drink. The devil foolishly agreed; after they finished their drinks, Jack convinced the devil to turn into a coin to pay so he can turn back after without losing money; after the devil turned into a coin, Jack put it in his pocket with a cross instead of playing the bartender trapping the devil. Jack made a deal with the devil to collect his sole after ten years; the devil agreed.
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After ten years, the devil came back, and jack once again had a request, to have an apple before he left the overworld; once again, the devil agreed and climbed up the apple to retrieve an apple, to his surprise, Jack had placed crucifixes around the tree which trapped the devil once again. This time Jack made the devil promise he would never come to collect his soul if he released him; the devil angrily agreed. Eventually, time took its toll on Jack, and he was found dead; as he couldn't go to the underworld, he waited at the gates of heaven where god told his he might not enter cause of his awful habits and sins. With nowhere to go, the devil sent him off to wander the darkness between the two worlds with a burning piece of coal. With nothing but a bit of coal, Jack found a turnip and hollowed it out to make a lantern, thus having the name 'Jack and the Lantern'. As time went on, the Irish brought this tradition of carving turnips and potatoes to North America, where they found an alternative option to turnips that worked much better; pumpkins. From then on, the tradition continued and is now known as 'Jack-o-Lantern'.
Written by The Lost Man
The Anonymous Helpers (TAH)
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