All About Halloween

Hollow-cheeked skeletons; warty-nosed witches; werewolves with blood-stained muzzles and vampires with swishing black capes.

Halloween wears many disguises, each more terrifying than the last – but why do we dress up on Halloween? Why do we carve pumpkins and accept candy from strangers? Many of the traditions we embrace on this spooky holiday come from surprising sources. Let’s take a look at a few of them now.

Jack-o-lanterns

If Halloween could be summed up in just one image it would be the jack-o-lantern. Can you imagine Halloween without jack-o-lanterns grinning at you from every porch you pass? I can’t!

I love the hunt for the perfect pumpkin… stomping through the fields as we compare size and color, imagining all the fun we’ll have stabbing it and ripping its guts out… then the fun of choosing just the right face to adorn it with; something a little sinister and a little jolly.

We all love the Halloween tradition of carving jack-o-lanterns – but do you know where the tradition comes from? Well, rumor has it that the ancient Celts carved faces into vegetables like turnips and beets to ward off witches and evil spirits (though some now debate the validity of that claim.)

The name ”jack-o-lantern” comes from an old Irish tale of a man called ”Stingy Jack” who made the mistake of trying to trick the Devil. You can read a full account of the story here.

Dressing Up

Modern Halloween costumes range from super scary to super sexy – but what were the first Halloween costumes like and where did the tradition begin?

The earliest Halloween costumes were designed to frighten, not entice. It was believed (and still is by modern pagans!) that the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead was thinnest on Halloween. On that one night of the year, the dead could go for a wander.

Chances were, if you had to go out on Halloween night, you might just bump into a wandering spirit – which is where the Halloween costume originated. Ancient people took to hiding behind horrible guises in the hopes that any ghost they passed would think they were just a fellow spook.

Trick-or-treating

No Halloween night would be complete without a trip around the neighborhood, spooking neighbors and strangers alike into forking over handfuls of candy and chocolate bars. This behavior goes against everything our parents ever taught us about safety; every other day of the year accepting candy from strangers is a no-no – so why is it okay on Halloween?

The earliest trick-or-treaters were called ”soulers”. They were children and poor adults who went from home to home, asking for food in exchange for a prayer for the dead.

Strangely, an alternative version of trick-or-treating saw it as a Christmas tradition, in which local children would visit their neighbors in disguise and earn treats if no one could identify them.

So… this year, when you paint your face a ghoulish green and head out for a night of pranks and parties, past leering jack-o-lanterns and laughing children, spare a thought for the ancient traditions that led to the frightful fun that is our modern Halloween.

Always remember to stay safe on Halloween, especially while driving.  But more importantly, embrace the holiday, the season and the family and friends you have this year to spend it with.

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