It is once again time and month
for celebrating Halloween in North America. I am not sure about Mexico but
Americans and Canadians celebrate it to the utmost extent. If we wish to go into
depth and details, that is how Halloween get started.
America has adopted new trends for fun and activity and the whole world just
follow them blindly. These are the days for celebrating Halloween. They do not
care what the myth behind it is? They just want to have fun. The fun is in
showing death, ghosts and witches, grave yards, Jack-o-lantern, spider webs,
bats and so on. You can imagine about all the scary things to be shown in
Halloween. One can see a lot of Halloween décor around. Then there are candies,
costumes and Halloween parties. Some of the people decorate the whole house in
Halloween theme. I used to work at a fabric store, a month ahead of Halloween by
the end of September all the rolls of black fabric and with spider pattern were
sold out and they ordered a lot more to meet the demand. All the major or small
stores sell out products for Halloween theme. Every year new scary skeletons,
ghosts and dreadful images are invented to attract the consumers and kids. In
fact it is a great marketing strategy to keep the consumers involved in spending
and buying. With all the down turn in economy and recession one do not see any
change for celebrations.
What is Halloween and where did it come from?
Halloween today is defined by children going house to house on the night of
October 31st, dressed up in a variety of costumes collecting treats. Although
Halloween may seem like a time for children to have fun carving pumpkins and
collecting candy, not many know the origins of this ‘festival’ and its
traditions that date back centuries.
The origins of Halloween date back to the time of the Celtics or ‘Celts’. They
were a group occupying the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and
Northern France about 2,000 years ago. This group celebrated their new year on
November 1st. This day marked the end of the summer and was reflected upon as a
time of darkness and cold as winter approached. The Celtics associated this dark
time of year with death.
On October 31st (the Celtic New Year’s Eve) they celebrated a festival called
Samhain. This celebration was supported by the belief that the ghosts of the
dead roamed the earth. Priests (‘Druids’) were believed to be able to
communicate with these ghostly spirits and tell the future by doing so; by
telling the ‘future’ many were given hope for the long, dark winter ahead. The
Priests built large fires on this night and the people gathered to burn crops
and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities/gods. During the festival they
wore animal heads and skins as costumes.
Customs
Dressing up in costumes: This was done so that the ‘spirits of the dead’ would
not recognize people. It was also done by people imitating supernatural beings
that were believed to roam the earth at that time.
Trick-or-treating: The Priests/Druids would go from house to house on October
31st and demand specific types of food (to offer to the spirits in order to calm
them). If their demands were not met, it was believed the people and their homes
would be cursed with trouble, sickness, and death. Prosperity was promised to
those who generously donated (hence the phrase, ‘trick or treat’, implying a
demand for treats or else a certain consequence would have to be given).
Jack-o'-lantern: This started off as a legend associated with a man of Irish
origin named Jack who supposedly enjoyed playing pranks on the Devil. The legend
states that after his death, Jack did not go to Heaven or Hell and therefore,
had to wander the earth carrying a lantern, providing him with some light to see
where he was going. Pumpkins that were hollowed out and had candles lit inside
were representative of this legend. They were also supposed to scare evil
spirits away (this is why odd looking faces are carved on the pumpkins).
Bats & Black cats: These animals were believed to communicate with the dead. It
is also believed black cats were able to house the souls of witches.
How Halloween came into Christianity
By the 800s A.D., the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In
the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1st as All Saints'
Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the
pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related,
but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or
All-hallowmas, (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and
the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be known as All-hallows Eve
or Holly Eve (because it was the eve of a holy celebration the next day) and
eventually, Halloween.
Quick Fact: The word Halloween does not appear in the bible at all. Jeremiah
10:02 clearly warns: “Do not follow the ways of other heathens (pagans)”.
Halloween Today
Each year people spend billions of dollars on candy and costumes at this time of
year. A survey conducted by BIGresearch found that an estimated $3.29 billion
was spent on this holiday in 2005. In a world stricken with poverty and
malnutrition in many underprivileged countries, this amount seems rather
Ridiculous to be spent on candy and costumes.
Quick Facts: In 2003, the major pumpkin producing states in America produced an
estimated 805 million pounds, valued at $81 million.
United Nations World Food Program
- more than 800 million people go to bed without food everyday
- one child dies every five seconds in the world form hunger and other related
causes
Many devil worshippers and occult groups now ritualistically recognize Halloween
as the Devil’s Day. Over 60% of costumes are sold to adults who become
outrageous exhibitionists.
Halloween in America and Canada
European immigrants brought their rituals and customs with them to America.
There are actually few accounts of Halloween in colonial American history due in
part to the large Protestant presences in the Northern colonies and their strict
religious beliefs. However, down in the Southern colonies where larger, more
mixed European communities had settled, there are some accounts of Halloween
celebrations mixing with Native American harvest celebrations.
In the mid 1800s, nearly two million Irish immigrants fleeing potato famine
helped shape Halloween into an even more widely celebrated event. Scottish
immigrants celebrated with fireworks, telling ghost stories, playing games and
making mischief. There were games such as bobbing for apples, dooking, the
dropping of forks on apples without using hands, and Puccini, an Irish
fortune-telling game using saucers. Young women were frequently told if they sat
in dark rooms and gazed into a mirror, the face of their future husbands would
appear, however, if a skull appeared, the poor girl would be destined to die
before marriage. Most pranks and mischief were the work of naughty children
rather than spirits as once believed.
Halloween As A Communal Celebration
By the 1900s, the focus had shifted from a religious holiday to a more communal
celebration. "Guising" was actually a practice dating back to the middle ages,
when the poor would go around asking for food or money. Borrowing from the
English and Irish traditions, children adopted the practice of guising and would
dress up in costumes, but there are only isolated references to children
actually going door to door asking for food or money during Halloween. Instead
parties were held and had a more festive atmosphere with colorful costumes. The
frightening and superstitious aspects of Halloween had diminished somewhat, and
Halloween in America was slowly shedding some of the old European traditions
favoring more light-hearted celebrations.
Trick or Treat
Despite the good natures of some people, Halloween pranks and mischief had
become a huge problem in the 1920s and 1930s, mostly because the pranks often
turned into vandalism, property damage and even physical assaults. Bad kids and
even organizations such as the KKK, used the Halloween as an excuse to engage in
criminal activity. Schools and communities did the best they could to curb
vandalism by encouraging the "trick or treat" concept. The Boy Scouts got into
the act by organizing safe events like school carnivals and local neighborhood
trick or treat outings for children, hoping this would stir troublemakers away.
But the Trick or Treat idea did face some controversy, as some parents and
community leaders would take a stance that Trick or Treat was along the same
lines as extortion, either the homes gave children "treats" or the families
would be maliciously targeted with "tricks" for not complying. Regardless, by
the late 30s, vandalism was decreasing as more and more children opted to
partake in Trick or Treat.
The earliest known print of the words "Trick or Treat" did not occur until 1934,
when a Portland, Oregon newspaper ran an article about how Halloween pranks kept
local police officers on their toes. There would be sporadic instances of the
phrase "Trick or Treat" used in the media during the 1930s, eventually making
its way onto Halloween cards. But the practice we see today, children dressed in
costume, going house to house saying "Trick or Treat" did not really come about
until the mid 1940s. Today, those original vintage Halloween cards depicting the
"Trick or Treat" words are collector's items.
The First Halloween Celebrations
Anoka, Minnesota, a.k.a the "Halloween Capital of the World," was the first city
in America to officially hold a Halloween celebration, in an effort to divert
kids from pulling pranks like tipping outhouses and letting cows loose to run
around on Main Street. The town organized a parade and spent the weeks prior
planning and making costumes. Treats of popcorn, peanuts and candy to children
who participated in the parade, followed by a huge bonfire in the town square.
The event grew over time and has been held every year since 1920 except 1942 and
1943 when festivities were cancelled due to World War II. These days Anoka,
holds elaborate Halloween festivals with a parade, carnivals, costume contests,
house decorating, and other community celebrations, living up to its
self-proclaimed title of "Halloween Capital of the World." Salem, Massachusetts,
associated mostly with witches due in part to its long and sometimes torrid
history, also lays claim to the title. Many historians quietly back away from
that debate leaving the two cities to duke it out for themselves.
Halloween in Modern America
The popularity of Halloween has increased year after year. Television, movies,
and other media outlets have helped Halloween grow into America's second largest
commercial holiday, which brings in an estimated $6.9 billion dollars annually.
Watching horror movies and visiting haunted attractions, real haunts or haunted
theme parks is a popular modern way to celebrate the evening. Just as it was in
the colonial times, Halloween in America is a melting pot of everything that is
Halloween. There is no correct way to celebrate the holiday. Overzealous
religious and social organizations have unsuccessfully tried to squash the
holiday by spreading lies or rumors hoping to tarnish the image of Halloween by
associating it with evil. The truth is there are many unsubstantiated reports
and rare attacks on ordinary citizens in the way of razorblades in apples or
kidnappings and killings for satanic rituals. Most myths are created to simply
prey on human fears, sometimes for fun and sometimes to railroad thoughts and
beliefs to serve the purpose of a select few.
The biggest challenge facing today's 38 million trick or treaters is staying
safe in a world where the criminal types use Halloween as an excuse to act on
deviant behavior. Many school and local communities will organize trick or
treating in shopping malls, especially in neighborhoods where gang activity is
prevalent. Parent worries in even the safe neighborhoods have adopted this
practice as well. It saves money in the long run and is safe for all those
involved and is slowly becoming the preferred way to celebrate in these volatile
times.
Some have argued that Halloween has lost its spiritual meaning due to all the
corporate and media influences. In this technology driven world, it's important
to remember that along with society, even holidays are subject to evolution. No
matter what people choose to do, no matter what cultural, spiritual or material
way, as long as people celebrate in a safe and happy way, the spirit of
Halloween in America will endure for ages. But it's always nice to take a look
back at history and learn how it all began.
That is at least a great idea that at schools and other educational institutes
it is called fall festival and kids are taken for pumpkin patch tours.
All over the world in new and ancient times the change of seasons and crops is
celebrated in different ways. Saving the crops from destruction from uncanny
things was a great concern always because it was there main source of food and
sustenance .Therefore they celebrated their success and happiness for their
fruits and grains. Some of them celebrate in dancing, singing, cooking and other
festivities. In many cultures there are different traditions in different parts
of the world.
I like the change of season or the fall décor with pumpkins, corns and hay.
Candies, sweets and pumpkin pie are not a bad idea either.
When we think about the other countries of the world where death , destruction
and hunger is so much in abundance. Dozens of people are killed innocently every
day all over the countries by so much violence politically, internally and
internationally. We look at Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Kashmir,Pakistan
,Syria and now Egypt for the death toll and wonder if showing death, skulls,
horror and skeletons could be a fun?
But it could be fun for the rich ,safer societies and countries where death and
violence is safe guarded and a lot of protections are taken to save human lives.
There it could be surely fun for a change.