It’s that time again. The time when the veil between the worlds is thinnest. The time when spirits of our dead as well as mischevious sprites find it pretty easy to pop over for a visit and cause trouble.
This celebration has deep roots and varied offshoots. Originally, it evolved from the ancient Celtic celebration called Samhain (pronounced Sowen), a celebration of the harvest and the end of the Celtic calendar year. Bonfires were lit to remind the sun to return after the long, hard winter was over. Dressing up on this night began when Celtic townspeople would disguise themselves as demons and spirits in the hopes of escaping the notice of the real wandering spirits.
When the Romans swung over to England, they brought with them their own harvest festival, Paloma, and their celebration of the dead, Feralia, both of which they combined with the pagan celebrations. But it doesn’t stop there.
On 1 November, the Catholic Church celebrated All Saint’s Day or Hallowmas, a day dedicated to those saints who were feeling left out and didn’t have a special day of their own. Hence Hallowe’en (means Hallow’s Eve), which assimilated (not unlike the Borg) all the aforementioned traditions.
The Protestants then decided, instead of ignore this by now very mixed tradition, to celebrate it in the form of Guy Fawkes Night on 5 November (more about this in a future blog).
Trick-or-treating’s Celtic root is the tradition of putting out treats and food to appease the spirits who roamed the streets on this night. In medieval times, the poor would go ‘souling’. This involved travelling from door to door offering to pray for the dead in exchange for a sweet bread treat, called soul cake.
It is believed that on this night, if a person wears his or her clothes inside out then walks backwards, they will see a witch at midnight. In Scotland, girls believed they could see images of their future husband if they hung wet sheets in front of the fire on Hallowe’en, or see their boyfriend’s faces if they looked into mirrors while walking downstairs at midnight. Don’t try these at home, though. ☺
This magical night is not limited to these few cultures, though, but is celebrated in varied ways around our planet.
Mexico celebrates the Days of the Dead or Días de los Muertos on 1 November and All Souls’ Day on the 2nd. The townspeople dress up like ghouls and parade down the street.
In China, at Teng Chieh, the Lantern Festival, lanterns are hung in houses and on the streets to show the spirits the way back to their earthly homes. Family members will leave food and water at the portraits of their ancestors as a sign of respect.
Hong Kong’s Yue Lan is the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts. Fires are lit and food and gifts are offered to placate any angry ghosts who might be back seeking revenge.
So whatever your root beliefs (if any) be safe and, most important, have fun with it!
This mainly British celebration commemorates the foiling of an assassination plot against King James the First in 1605. The monarchy at the time was very anti-Catholic and, in protest, this group of renegade Catholics hatched a dastardly plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament as well as the king. As the tale goes, this Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellars below the Houses, guarding the barrels of gunpowder, and was arrested and sent to the torture chamber.
