Well, that’s Hallowe’en out of the way.
Now the shops and supermarkets, and pubs and restaurants for that matter, can concentrate fully on Christmas. After all, there’s less than two months to go!
When I was visiting my son recently, I watched my daughter, my son and my daughter in law help their children carve scary faces onto the pumpkins we had collected the previous day. My offspring and I reflected on the fact that I had never done this with them. They’re both in their mid- to late-forties and back when they were small nobody carved pumpkins. And nobody festooned gheir gardens with Hallowe’en decorations.
And yet I can remember going to “hotpot suppers” in our church hall as a child at this time of year. The church hall was decorated with Jack-o’-lanterns and we had fun watching brave or foolish people “bobbing for apples”, trying to catch an apple just with their teeth from a selection apples floating in a barrel of water.
Jack-o’-lanterns were made from turnips, hollowed out and carved and lit from inside with a candle. That sounds like pumpkin carving, does it not? Apparently these lanterns were part of Samhain, the ancient Celtic pagan festival that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the Celtic new year and long winter ahead. (Samhain translates to “summer’s end” in Gaelic.) From sunset on October 31st and continuing through into November 1, Samhain ushered in the transition from the autumn equinox to the winter solstice. During those two days, ancient Celts believed that the veil between life and death was at its narrowest, allowing spirits to roam freely between both realms.
I find it rather odd now that my childhood Church of England community did not flinch at the idea of having pagan symbols at our hotpot suppers. The Church of England school our smallest grandchildren attend recently vetoed any mention or suggestion of the pagan Hallowe’en when the Parents Association organised a “Choose your Pumpkin” event. Everything and everyone is a lot more sensitive and aware of political correctness nowadays.
Here’s something else about Jack-o’-lantern:
“The term jack-o'-lantern has a history connected to mysterious lights seen at night. The name was used for flickering lights that appeared over marshes and other dark landscapes, sometimes known in English folklore as will-o'-the-wisps.
These unexplained lights were associated with supernatural beliefs and stories about wandering spirits. Over time, the term became linked to the carved lanterns made from vegetables.
One popular Irish folktale tells of a man called Stingy Jack, who was said to have tricked the Devil and was ultimately condemned to wander with only a glowing ember to light his way. In the story, Jack places the ember inside a carved turnip, creating a lantern.
Versions of the tale vary, and its precise relationship to the development of the carving tradition is uncertain. Nevertheless, it remains one of the best-known explanations for the name and has helped reinforce the jack-o'-lantern's association with Halloween folklore.”
Anyway, Irish and possibly also Scottish immigrants to the USA took the (Samhain) turnip lantern tradition with them. Pumpkins were found to be larger and easier to carve and so a new tradition evolved. So, what about trick or treat?
Well, it seems that long ago people were afraid of the spirits that could roam the earth at Samhain and wore masks, old clothes or disguises in order to blend in with their supernatural visitors -“guising”. As with so many religious festivals, All Saints’ Day was moved in the 8th century to November Ist, in an attempt to replace Samhain with a Christian festival. And so the eve of All Saints’ (All Hallows) became holy, or hallowed: hence Hallowe’en. By the end of the Middle Ages guising evolved into “souling”. Poor people, especially children, would go door-to-door on the night of October 31 and offer to pray for the souls of people’s loved ones in exchange for money or food. Within a few hundred years costumed visitors started offering to perform a little trick—perhaps a song or dance—in exchange for money or food.
There you go! And we largely forgot about it. Maybe it got mixed in with “mischief night”, November 4th, the eve of Guy Fawkes night, when naughty boys posted “bangers” and “ripraps” through people letter boxes or tied them to the tails of dogs.
But trick or treat became a thing in the USA:
“The rise of Halloween in the U.S.
The phrase trick or treat was first recorded in 1927, and during that decade the pastime caught on in the United States. Early Halloween celebrations leaned heavily toward tricks. During the Great Depression these pranks sometimes turned dangerous—cars were overturned and telephone poles were cut down. Hoping to discourage vandalism, various groups began promoting trick-or-treating.”
And sometime in the late 1980s - 1990s the tradition was re-imported from the USA to the UK. And to most of Europe as well. We’ve seen it in Spain and Portugal. Although in places like Spain, today, All Saints’ Day, remains a day to visit and tidy up family graves.
However, that’s Hallowe’en over with for another year.
In France in all got mixed up with anti-government protestors, some of them in Hallowe’en costumes. French interior minister Laurent Nuñez told demonstrators that Halloween would not be accepted as an excuse to wear masks or trigger street violence.
More than 300,000 people across the country took to the streets to march in what authorities said were largely peaceful demonstrations on Saturday.
But there were violent incidents with molotov cocktails thrown at police and tear gas fired at protestors. This was the third consecutive weekend of nationwide demonstrations. Demonstrations also took place in parts of Germany.
We are living in troubled times.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
