Trick or Treat? The lowdown on Halloween

I was never was a fan of Halloween, and this is largely attributed to its cinemographic depiction – but that was then. Now, I look forward to the celebration because it not only gives us reason to dress up and play pretend, have horror movie marathons, eat too much candy, carve jack-o-lanterns, and generally just have some good ol’ fun. I’ve recently learned that it’s also celebrated for religious reasons.

Halloween’s roots stems from the Celtic (Gaelic) harvest festival, Samhain (pronounced sah-win). Gaels celebrated the end of harvest season, and stocked supplies to prepare for winter. Their superstitious lifestyle led them to believe that the veil separating the living and the dead would drop during this period (31 October), allowing the dead to walk amongst the living, wreaking havoc by bringing sickness and tarnishing crops. Halloween is celebrated parallel to the Christianised pagan celebration, Hallowmas. Hallowmas is a three-day celebration to honour the dead. It starts on the 31st October and ends on the 2nd of November.  During the Middle Ages many pagan celebrations where merged with Christian ones, as missionaries tried to convert pagans to Christianity. Easter is another celebration that’s celebrated in accordance with the pagan celebration of spring, to honour the pagan Goddess of Fertility, ?astre.  The traditional Halloween activity of trick-or-treating also dates back to the early 15th century. Beggars would knock on people’s doors on Hallows’ Eve, promising to pray for the dead in exchange for food.

Interesting Facts about Halloween

• Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the celebration to North America in the 19th century
• Other Western countries embraced the tradition during the late-20th century. Halloween is now largely celebrated in the Middle East, South America, Africa, the UK, Europe, Australia and Oceania
• The Christian celebration is observed over three days, and is known as the Triduum of All Hallows or Triduum of All Saints:
  • Day 1 is All Hallows’ Eve (31 October): the veil between the material world and the afterlife drops. People wear masks and costumes to disguise themselves, to mimic and appease the spirits
  •  Day 2 is Saints’ Day: principal feast of the church year and recommended as one of the four holy days allocated to baptism. This day is celebrated in honour of saints and martyrs – both known and unknown
  • Day 3 is All Soul’s Day: celebrated to help deceased, faithful Christians find peace, forgiveness and a righteous path to heaven.
  • Bats are associated with Halloween because bonfires lit during celebrations would attract insects, and bats hunting for prey would soon follow
    

    Jack and his turnip lantern.

  • Jack-o-lantern is a tradition that stems from an Irish folktale about Jack, a local thief, who would constantly trick the Devil, bind him with a cross and take away his powers. Eventually, Jack made a deal with the Devil, Jack promised to leave him alone as long as the Devil allowed Jack to keep his soul in death. The Devil agreed, and when Jack eventually passed on he wasn’t allowed to enter Heaven, because he was a scoundrel. He then pleaded with Devil for some appeasement, but he was barred from Hell through their deal. The Devil took pity on Jack’s soul, and gave him an ember from Hell’s fire to shed light on Jack’s path, as he endlessly wanders earth looking for a resting place. Jack took the ember, and placed it in a makeshift lantern, made from his favourite food, turnip. Today, pumpkins are primarily used to mimic Jack’s lantern. The carvings are said to represent evil goblins and spirits. Jack-o-lanterns were also used to ward off evil spirits and keep vampires away.
  • Trick-or-treating: modern-day tradition sees many children knocking on doors chanting trick-or-treat, giving home owners a choice between the two. If the home owner fails to provide treat, the trick-or-treater is permitted to play a prank on the home owner. However, “tricking” is largely frowned upon by parents, local residents and police.

Traditional Halloween Activities

• Trick-or-treating
• Bonfires
• Costume parties
• Visiting “haunted house”
• Telling scary stories
• Carving jack-o-lanterns
• Watching scary movies
• Apple-bobbing

So, now you know too – for the most part, Halloween’s nothing like the movies. But I suppose that will depend on the movie plot itself. Popular Halloween movies would include Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Children of the Corn, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist and It. I haven’t chosen a costume yet, and with just under two weeks left, I better get a move on!

If Halloween isn’t your thing, having a costume party for any other occasion, can be just as fun! But if it is, simply Google “Halloween 2013 South Africa” for a list of hip and happening Halloween parties in and around your city. PriceCheck also lists an extensive range of Halloween costumes, too.

Happy Halloween – muahahahahaha