Halloween.  What do you think of when you hear that word?  Of course, most people think of trick-or-treating and the candy that goes along with it.  Sure, going house to house dressed up in costumes collecting candy from strangers is fun, but does anyone really know the true meaning of the history behind Halloween?  What about Jack-o-lanterns, witches on broom sticks, and all the other symbols of Halloween?  Halloween, also known as Samhain, All Saint’s Day, and All Hallows Eve, has many origins.

            One story of how Halloween started took place 2,000 years ago.  Of course, then it wasn’t called Halloween, it was called the Eve of Samhain.  On the Eve of Samhain evil spirits were thought to roam the earth.  The Celtics believed that charms and spells had more power on this day.  Rituals were performed by Celtic priests and Druids to please the Lord of the Dead, to be spared from harm.  The day of Samhain, November 1, was a joyful day celebrating the death of an old year and the birth of a new one.  The day itself was to pay homage to the sun god, Baal, who provided the Celtic people with grain and other crops.      

On October 31 through November 2, Celtic society believed that they needed a time where order and structure no longer existed.  These days were chosen for a time when chaos could reign.  There was no comprehension of time for these three days and the members of the Celtic group did many crazy things.  Men and women changed roles and clothes.  As jokes, people unhinged farmer’s gates and left them in ditches, moved people’s horses to other fields, and children would knock on doors looking for food and treats.

            Even before October 31 was recognized as Halloween, Europeans wore masks during droughts and other disasters to scare away the demons that were causing their problems.  The Europeans have always felt uneasy around the time of Halloween and stored their food for upcoming disasters.  They felt that as they sat in their warm houses, during the winter, that cold and envious ghosts were waiting outside to get them.  So if they needed to go outside during the night, they wore masks so that the ghosts wouldn’t recognize them.  Children dressed up, but not for treats, only to scare their neighbors.  Only about 40 years ago, did trick-or-treating become a fad.

            A symbol of Halloween, the witch on a broomstick, came about a weird way.  Witches, setting out looking for a Sabbath, would smear a sacred ointment on their skin.  This ointment gave them the feeling of flying.  If the witches happened to be fasting at this time, which many of them did, the ointment affected them even more and hightened the effect of flying.  Some set out on horseback, but poorer witches went out on foot.  They often carried a broom or other large stick to aid them in getting over streams and obstacles in their way.  In England, when new witches were initiated, they were bathed in the flying ointment and placed on a broomstick.  The ointment confused their mind, sped up their pulse, and numbed their feet.  When told that they were flying, they often believed it.

            The Jack-o-lantern, another symbol of Halloween, comes from an Irish myth, a man named Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him.  He convinced the Devil to change himself into a sixpence in order to pay for the drink, but instead of paying for the drink with that sixpence, (the Devil), Jack put the sixpence in his pocket beside a silver cross, which didn’t allow the Devil to change back into his original form.  With the Devil under his control, Jack made a deal with him.  Jack would let him go, as long as he wouldn’t bother him for a whole year.  Jack died before one year came up and was turned away from the gates of Heaven because he made a deal with the Devil.  Jack got sent to Hell, and even the Devil wouldn’t claim him, due to the deal they made.  Everything was dark and Jack was scared, so the Devil tossed a glowing coal to Jack and he then placed it into a pumpkin.  Ever since, Stingy Jack has been roaming the earth with his Jack-o-lantern by his side.

            No one knows for sure just how Halloween came about, it is left to myths, speculation, and stories.  There are many stories and I’m sure more that I haven’t even heard, but somehow, people have become accustomed to the traditions of Halloween.  Some symbols and their meanings have been twisted and I’m sure, thought up in order to make sense of this holiday and the mystery behind it.

Back

Current Issue

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June