Halloween is here and it is the first time I get to
celebrate the Samhain knowing I am now a full time resident in the United
Kingdom, after leaving the beautiful Cape of South Africa for good in mid-July,
2013.
The origins of this fete lies in the ancient Celtic festival
of the end of harvest in the Gaelic culture where they took stock of supplies
and prepare for winter. The Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries
between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would
come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. The
festival would frequently involve bonfires. It is believed that the fires
attracted insects to the area which attracted bats to the area. These are
additional attributes of the history of Halloween. Masks and costumes were worn
in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them.
Where and when did Halloween customs originate? The many
customs we have today in relation to Halloween have their origins in the
religious practices of the Romans and the Druids, therefore dating back many
centuries. The Romans worshiped various gods and on October 31, a special feast
was held in honour of Pomona, goddess of the fruit trees. Later, the Druids, an
ancient order of Celtic priests in Britain, made this feast an even more
extensive celebration by also honoring Samhain, lord of the dead. This was
normally done on November 1 and it was therefore decided to conveniently honor
both Pomona and Samhain on October 31 and November 1.
These Druids believed that on the night before November 1
(October 31) Samhain called together wicked souls or spirits which had been
condemned to live in the bodies of animals during the year which had just
transpired. Since they were afraid of these spirits, they chose October 31 as a
day to sacrifice to their gods, hoping they would protect them. They really
believed that on this day they were surrounded by strange spirits, ghosts,
witches, fairies, and elves, who came out to hurt them. In addition to this,
they also believed that cats were holy animals, as they considered them to
represent people who lived formerly, and as punishment for evil deeds were
reincarnated as a cat. All this explains why witches, ghosts, and cats are a
part of Halloween today.
The custom of trick-or-treating and the use of
"jack-o'-lanterns" comes from Ireland. Hundreds of years ago, Irish
farmers went from house to house, begging for food, in the name of their
ancient gods, to be used at the village Halloween celebration. They would
promise good luck to those who gave them good, and made threats to those who
refused to give. They simply told the people, "You treat me, or else I
will trick you!"
The apparently harmless lightened pumpkin face or
"jack-o'-lantern" actually is an old Irish symbol of damned soul. A
man named Jack was supposed to be able unable to enter heaven due to his
miserliness, and unable to enter hell because he had played practice jokes on
the devil. As a result, he was condemned to wander over the earth with his
lantern until judgment day (i.e., the end of the world). The Irish were so
afraid that they would receive an identical plight, that they began to hollow
out pumpkins and place lighted candles inside to scare away evil spirits from
their home.
When did the modern Halloween celebration begin?
During the Middle Ages (about 600 years ago), the Roman
Catholic Church at that time, decided to make the change-over from pagan
religion to Christianity a bit easier, and therefore allowed the new converts
to maintain some of their pagan feasts. It was agreed, however, that from now
on they would be celebrated as "Christian" feats. So instead of
praying to thwir heathen gods, they would now pray to, and remember the deaths
of saints. For this reason the church decided to call November 1 the "Day
of All Saints," and the mass to be celebrated on that day
"Alhallowmass." In consequence of this, the evening prior to this day
was named, "All Hallowed Evening" which subsequently was abbreviated
as "Halloween." In spite of this effort to make October 31 a
"holy evening," all the old customs continued to be practiced, and
made this evening anything BUT a holy evening!
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