Anaelle Jutras-Plante & Sarah Freiberg
For many of us growing up, Halloween just meant dressing up, trick-or-treating, going to bed late, listening to scary stories, and eating more candy than we should’ve. Simply said, it was pure bliss! Some of my best memories revolve around Halloween and it (still) remains a holiday I look forward to every year. Whether it be for the haunted houses, the costumes, the sweets, the stories, the laughs, or the jumpscares, Halloween is a day filled with fun. But Halloween wasn’t always what we know it to be today. It actually dates back thousands of years with tons of different traditions across the world. Depending on the place of origin, the traditions held with Halloween vary from country - to - country, from culture - to - culture, and from custom- to - custom.
Here in North America, and in many places across Europe, the Halloween we refer to comes from two different celebrations; Samhain and All Saints’ Day. Samhain is an ancient Celtic and Gaelic festival where people would wear costumes to blend into the facade to scare off ghosts and would hold large bonfires accompanying the celebrations. Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the coming winter otherwise referred to as the “darker half of the year”. To the people celebrating, Winter signified death so they believed that the transition between October 31st and November 1st created a thin layer between the world of the living and the world of the dead. It was mainly celebrated between sunset (Oct. 31st) to sunrise (Nov. 1st) when the door between the two worlds was believed to be open.
All Saints’ Day originated from Catholic beliefs. It was celebrated on November 1st and celebrated… guess what? All saints! More precisely all saints who were believed to have made their way to heaven. All Saint’s day was also known as Hallow’s day, hence the Hallow’s Eve which would evolve to the Halloween we know today. All Saints’ Day, or la Toussaint in French, remains on November 1st and is still celebrated in Catholic and Christian communities around the world. In France and Germany, people even get a day off and Catholics are strongly encouraged to attend mass.
To go to the very beginning of All Saints’ Day we have to go very far back. It was Pope Boniface lV who created All Saints day, originally celebrated on May 13th. Pope Gregory lll changed the date to November 1st but All Saints’ Day was still limited or celebrated only in Rome so Pope Gregory lV decided to extend the celebration to, not only Rome but the church as a whole. Although All Saints’ Day stems from Catholic roots, it was very quickly adopted by Christian churches as well.
Now, the connection between the two is that it is believed that All Saints’ Day was put on the same day as the Samhain so Christians and Catholics would stop performing such rituals. (Remembering this took place during the Christianization of many places in Europe.) Now, thousands of years later, both holidays have evolved and are both beautifully celebrated across the world. While we took Hallow’s Eve name, Samhain traditions have evolved and are celebrated on Halloween whilst All Saints’ Day is celebrated individually from it, the day afterwards.
Trick-or-Treating
We have the Halloween we know today due to our Irish and Scottish heritage. They were the ones who introduced us to the holiday and the traditions surrounding it. Trick-or-treating actually first started in Scotland. Soon after, Ireland, Mann, and Wales would adopt mumming and guising (or disguising) as a part of the Samhain. People would go from house - to - house in costumes and would usually recite songs or prayers in exchange for food. This evolved from a tradition where people would impersonate spirits and souls and receive offerings on their account. It was believed this practice would protect you from the so-said souls and spirits. Hence the term trick-or-treating, except today, we dress up as whoever we’d like and we get candy without even having to do a trick!
But Halloween and trick-or-treating are far from being the only words we got from our European ancestors. Here are a few more surrounding spooky season…
Spooky
Starting with the question, why is it even called spooky season? Well in Ireland, Halloween is sometimes referred to as Pooky night. This was because of a very mischievous fairy named Pùca which they associated with the holiday. It’s as simple as that! Maybe I’ll start calling it Pooky season now that I know the origin…
Bonfires
If we go back to the Samhain, we can remember that large bonfires were often observed. Where does the word come from, one might ask? Very simple, it comes from bone fires. You read that right, bones of dead animals were cast into fires during the Celtic Halloween celebration to help the dead on their journey from the living world to the dead one. It also celebrated the victory of light over dark.
Jack-O-Lanterns
And finally, here’s my favourite story behind a word that defines one of my favourite Halloween traditions; Jack-O-Lanterns. It is said to have derived from the myth of Stingy Jack. In Irish folklore, Stingy Jack is believed to have been refused both entry into Heaven and Hell. Stingy Jack, therefore, had to roam around between the living and the dead with nothing but an ember from hell itself which he would keep in a carved-out turnip. Hence the name Jack-O-Lantern or Jack of the Lantern… Pretty awesome, right?
Although nowadays we mostly use pumpkins for Jack-O-Lanterns, in Ireland and Britain it was common to use turnips as mentioned in the story but also potatoes and beets. They would carve demonic faces into them and put them in their window or on their doorstep to scare away Stingy Jack. Why would Stingy Jack hurt them? No one knows, but it takes someone quite special to be refused from Hell itself.
Devil’s Night
Speaking of Hell, have you ever heard of the Devil’s Night? It takes place on October 30th and it’s exactly what it sounds like. This “night” was not brought over by the Europeans, it was rather created by our neighbours, the States. It was a night for vandalism, arson (mainly on abandoned buildings), and other similar crimes. Nowadays, Devil’s Night or Mischief Night persists more in throwing toilet paper or eggs on houses or ding-dong ditching. Slightly less serious, but a little mischievous all the same… But it wasn’t always the case, during the 70s, Devil’s Night became a little too popular, especially in certain places in the US where serious crimes were recorded on the days surrounding Halloween. Luckily, crime rates on Devil’s Night soon decreased. It’s never been a big issue in Canada, but in Detroit, people still fear a resurgence in criminal acts during Halloween nights. It got so severe at one point, that the Angels Night movement was created by leaders in Detroit in hopes of putting an end to the wave of crimes. In 1984, approximately 800 fires were reported in the city! Safe to say, I prefer it our way in Canada… I’ll settle for harmless spookiness. (As should we all.)
Now all of this has been very interesting, but we aren’t the only ones to celebrate Halloween… Here are a few other traditional holidays from different places in the world that although very different from ours, still resemble Halloween’s history in more ways than one.
Álfblót
Álfblót is known as the ‘Viking Halloween’, therefore originating from Norse paganism and Norse traditions that were most present in the Scandinavian countries. According to other Pagan variations, this holiday was also referred to as “The Day of the Dead”. While this isn’t exactly Halloween in itself, it’s a major celebration a little later in the year, at the end of autumn when the crops have been harvested and the animals are at their fattest. Álfblót has evolved to this day, but it was originally a sacrifice and ritual delegated towards the elves which, according to Norse Paganism, held a deep connection with their ancestors. The word Álfblót literally translates to elf rituals, where a sacrifice to elves signified a time to worship their ancestors (gods like Freyr the ruler of the realm of the elves; Álfeimr). These sacrifices, also known as Blòt, typically required an animal sacrifice, which consisted of three parts; declaring the offering, sharing the offering, and pouring a drink as another offering. Once the animal was slaughtered, its blood would be spread across the ground. The ritual celebrations were hosted in homes by the woman of the household. As for the particularities of the rituals, not much is known because the rituals were secretive and no strangers were invited into the homestead. Nowadays, people will most likely offer beer or mead to the elves instead of an animal, but it is still to this day a holiday that is celebrated in selected areas. Álfblót remains a private and lowkey celebration, quite the opposite of Halloween in those ways. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to know a little more about this secretive and completely different version of our traditional Halloween!
Hungry Ghost Festival
Moving away from Occidental traditions, the Hungry Ghost Festival is one of the better-known celebrations which ties up with Halloween. This festival is more popular in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is celebrated in Ghost month, which refers to the Chinese Lunar calendar as the seventh month. It is celebrated during the seventh month due to its relation to Taoism and Buddhism. For example, this year the holiday will take place on August 30th. It is believed that the gates between Heaven and Hell and the world of the living are open so people would perform rites to appease the suffering of the dead. Certain rituals include burning incense and joss paper, preparing special meals (often vegetarian) and setting a plate at empty seats for the deceased, and basically just treating the dead as if they were still living. Another adorable tradition is releasing paper boats or lanterns into the water to provide guidance to lost souls and spirits. While the Hungry Ghost Festival is mostly celebrated during the whole of the seventh month and the traditions are different, it still resembles Halloween in the sense that both holidays celebrate the dead.
Teng Chieh
While the ‘Hungry Ghost Festival in Asia is very well known in China, this country also celebrates Teng Chieh which is the leaving of food, money, and offerings to the dead, and additionally uses lanterns to guide the dead and the spirits to their next life. Both holidays are very similar and intertwined.
Obon Festival
The Obon festival of Japan is marked by the honouring of passed ancestors by cleaning the graves of those departed and leaving them offerings such as fruit, rice, green tea and sweets in the shape of a lotus. Unlike Halloween, it usually takes place much earlier than October but includes the same principles as Halloween. Red lanterns are hung on houses or left to float in the rivers to guide the spirits home, and the goal is to connect with those who have passed and honour their memory.
Chuseok
And finally, Chuseok is when family members regroup together to honour the ancestors who have passed by offering rice and flowers in Korea. People wear costumes, celebrate their ancestors, and have big dinners. It is a chance to all come together, to remember the dead, and take a break as a group.
Isn’t it interesting to look at all the different ways to honour the dead and the beautiful ways to do it across the world? While Halloween as we know it might not be celebrated worldwide, in some ways, we all find a way to celebrate our ancestors with traditions that vary from country - to - country yet that always find a way to resemble themselves. Don’t forget to take a moment to honour the ones who can’t be with us this month of October and celebrate them in whatever way you like, we have a variety of traditions you can choose from… I hope you got to learn more about Halloween and its history as well as the other celebrations across the world and I wish you an amazing spooky season!
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