Why we celebrate Halloween and why do kids go trick-or-treating?
Halloween, or Hallowe'en or Hallows Eve, the latter two being contractions of Hallows' Even or Hallows' Evening, also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, Witches Night, Lamswool, Snap-Apple Night, Samhain, and Summer’s End or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in many countries around the globe on October 31st - the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year (the Christian church year) dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.
In the US, it is the 2nd most anticipated holiday for kids – only Christmas gets your youngsters more excited.
It is commonly believed that many of our Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, in particular the Gaelic festival Samhain.
During medieval times in Ireland and Scotland, the Samhain festival was held at sunset on October 31st and lasted through daylight on November 1st. It marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the ‘dark season’.
In the 16th century, people were highly superstitious and believed that during Samhain, a door was opened from the underworld and it let the spirits or ghosts into our world. So, during Samhain people would put out food and drinks in front of their homes for the spirits and ghosts to take. The food and drinks were offerings to please the spirits and ghosts. Also, people would go mumming, guising (dressing up in costumes to disguise themselves) or souling during Samhain. They would drift from door to door, singing songs in exchange for food. Whereby troupes of male amateur actors impersonated the souls of the dead and received offerings on their behalf. Impersonating these beings, or wearing a disguise, was believed to protect oneself from them.
In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve or All Saints' Day, followed by All Souls' Day on November 2nd, includes attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.
It was in 1911, when kids for the first time went trick-or-treating in North America, where a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada reported children going "guising" around the neighborhood. The tradition became popular in the US in the 1930s.
When kids originally were trick-or-treating, they would receive fruits and nuts. In Scotland and Ireland kids originally would be rewarded with cakes and money.
Wishing you and your kids a safe Halloween.
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A jack-o'-lantern is a carved pumpkin, turnip, or other root vegetable lantern associated with Halloween. Its name comes from the phenomenon of a strange light flickering over peat bogs, called will-o'-the-wisp or jack-o'-lantern. The name is also tied to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a drunkard who bargains with Satan and is doomed to roam the earth with only a hollowed turnip to light his way.