HALLOWEEN HISTORY

        Halloween, like any holiday is inspired by traditions passed down by generation to generation. One tradition in particular is the one followed  by the Celtics of Ireland. In the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en). The Celts believed that disembodied spirits would comeback one day per year looking for living odes to possess for the next year, it was believed to be there only hope after death.  The Celts believed that the laws of space and time were suspended for that one day allowing the spirit world to join the living. Not wishing to be possessed, Celts would  out out the fires in there houses and dress  up in ghoulish costumes and would nosily parade around the neighborhoods to scare the spirits. Some say that the Celts would burn someone at the stake who9 was believed to be already possessed. Some say it's just myth... The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century AD, Samhain was changed  into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which may be the cause of the modern day  tradition, bobbing for apples. The boost of practices also changed over time. As belief in spirit possession lessened, the practice of dressing up as hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches became more ceremonial.

          The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine. In New England during that some favorite pranks included tipping over out houses and unhinging fence gates. The Custom of trick or treating is said to have not originated with the Celts, but with A ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christian would walk from house to house in neighborhoods begging people for "soul cakes"; which are made out of square pieces of bread currants.  The more soul cakes the beggars would receive the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the givers.

            The Jack-o-lantern custom most likely comes from Irish folklore. The tale is told that a man name jack, who was known for being a drunken trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved a cross in the trees trunk, trapping the devil up in the tree. Jack then made a deal with devil saying that if Satan never tried to tempt him again, he would let him down from the tree. The Irish always used turnips for the "Jacks lanterns," but when the Irish immigrant came to America, they found that pumpkins were more useful than turnips. So the Jack-o-lantern was reformed into the one we known today, a hollowed pumpkin with a lit ember.