The Origins of Halloween

I love this time of year. Have you ever wondered why you bother getting your kids all dressed up for Halloween and carve Jack 'O Lanterns? Well, I'm going to give you a little history lesson tonight. Yes...history, not myth.

Halloween, or Samhain (Sow-en) began with the ancient Celts. Probably before them, but that's when things started getting recorded. The Pagan and Celtic tribes of Europe, Northern England, Scotland and Ireland saw this time of year as the beginning of a new year. It was the time of year to finish harvesting and laying in food stores that would see them, their families, and their entire tribe through the coming winter months. (They lived in a tribal society--it wasn't an "Every-man-for-himself" society.) They often worked through the night harvesting the last of their crops, so bonfires where lit throughout the land. There was a celebratory air to it all. The crops could not be harvested after this night. Probably weather driven, but also, the Pagans believed very much in The Little People, or Faeries.

These were not cute little winged things for them. The Little People could be very mischievous and vindictive at times. Many societies believed in them in one form or another, even in the Americas. If any part of your crop remained after Samhain, the faeries believed it was being left for them. If one dared to harvest it afterwards, they believed something that belonged to them was being stolen and punishment was meted out. One's family, home, livestock or the whole tribe could suffer in one way or another.

What about sacrifices to the Gods, you ask? Yes, much of the livestock was slaughtered at this time, simply because there would be no way for them to survive the winter months in the hard-scrubbed lands of the North. The meat was cured and stowed away for the winter. The remaining livestock lived in the house with the family it belonged to, so keeping a whole herd through the winter months was not feasible. Livestock living in the house provided extra warmth and fuel for the fires. No one ever had a herd of cattle, sheep, or goats that numbered more than twenty. They just didn't need that many.

Nothing was ever wasted. Not a single part of a slaughtered animal was ever just thrown away. Every part had some use. Our society could learn much from the ancients.

When Christianity--and more specifically, Catholicism--began to take hold, these practices could not be halted, for they were not only tradition, they were a means of survival. They couldn't just put their "devil worshipping" stamp on it and sweep it under the rug. So, it was Christianized with the addition of All Saints Day on the first day of November--a day of honoring the dead, a tradition that is carried out most thoroughly in Mexico today.

What about the masks and disguises? Well, it is said the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is very thin on this night, the last night of October. One needed to disguise themselves in order to confuse the wandering spirits on this night. Jack 'O Lanterns were placed in windows to scare off spirits--originally carved in turnips! Divination was used to ask the souls of the dearly departed for advice for the coming year--but caution always had to be used lest a soul that was not a "dearly departed" came through instead. Thus, such things should never be played with. Don't believe it? Well....tonight, after the little ones have gotten all their treats and are tucked into bed, just step outside for a minute or two.

Still your mind. Listen. You'll start to feel that the air feels...different. Be careful though; don't stay out too long. You never know who may be standing there listening beside you.