Hallowe’en is celebrated in the UK and the United States (and in some other countries, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan), on the 31st of October, but what is it and where does it come from?
Origins
Hallowe'en probably comes from the Celtic festival of Samhuin (meaning "summer's end"), celebrating the end of summer and the beginning of winter. It was a festival at the end of the harvest season - bonfires (big outside fires) were lit, and people and their animals would walk between them as a cleansing ritual. Cattle (cows, sheep, etc) were slaughtered and preserved for the winter months. Turnips were hollowed out and faces were carved in them, and they were used as lanterns and put in windows to ward off evil spirits. Some people dressed up as evil spirits or as spirits of the dead.
Samhuin is mentioned in several pre-Christian Irish myths and legends, and might have been considered a time of magic and power.
The Catholic religion began to associate it with All Saints' Day from the 8th century, and both sets of traditions have influenced modern day Hallowe'en. The word "Hallowe'en" comes from "All Hallows Even" (the day before All Hallows Day).
Immigrants to America from Scotland and Ireland took their traditional festival and changed some of the traditions, for example, hollowing out and carving pumpkins into lanterns - much easier to do, because pumpkins are much larger, and much softer than turnips!
Trick or treating
Children in America go “trick-or-treating”. Children dress up in a costume and walk around their neighbourhood, knocking on doors and saying “trick or treat!” Often the children are given sweets (AmE: candy). Sometimes if the children are not given sweets (the “treat”), they do pranks (a mischievous action to annoy someone), the “trick”, like throw eggs at the house, or make a mess with toilet paper in the garden, or smash pumpkins outside the house.
Some children in the UK also go trick-or-treating.
Guising
In some parts of Scotland, children do the old-fashioned equivalent of guising – they dress up in a costume, and knock on doors in their neighbourhood, but instead of saying “trick or treat”, they sing a song, or say a poem, in return for a treat. In the past, this was much more common in Scotland and Ireland, but now it is much rarer.
Modern day Hallowe’en
Some modern day Pagans celebrate Samhuin, though how they celebrate it can vary.
Some Christians celebrate it – though some strict Christians think it is “evil”.
People in the UK and the United States, religious or not, often celebrate it by having fancy dress parties – people dress up as cats, witches, devils, vampires, skeletons… or something less traditional, like your favourite tv or film character, e.g. Batman, Jack Sparrow, Hello Kitty....
Decorations are usually orange and black, and may include fake spiders, bats, bones, and other creepy things!
So... what are you going to dress up as for Hallowe'en?
