Halloween...All Hallow's Night... The night of the dead. Halloween has a very old history, starting with the Celts about 2000 years ago. The Celts inhabited Great Britain, Ireland, and parts of northern France (Brittany). Their religion has been called Druidism, and so their religious leaders were the druids (pretty self-explanatory...). The Celtic New Year's Eve was at the time of year when nature goes to sleep for the winter, i.e. at the end of October. They believed that the Lord of Death allowed the spirits of those who had died during the past year to roam the earth and enjoy the world of the living once more from sunset till dawn on the last night of the year.

The dead were jealous of the living and would therefore try to play pranks on them. This may later have evolved into children, especially younger boys, playing pranks on people, blaming the dead. In order to please the dead and prevent them from playing pranks on a household, people would put food outdoors to offer the bypassing spirits. Great bonfires would be lit, in honor of the sun god and in order to frighten away evil spirits. People would dance, sing, and play around them, wearing grotesque masks. If they went outside they would soot their faces to disguise themselves to look like monsters (or however they thought that monsters looked like). Witches, bats, elves, fairies, and even the Devil himself were supposed to be flying around in the night during this night. An interesting Irish tradition was the "new fire" kindling, which took place at the New Year's Eve. In every house the fire in the hearth was put out. The Druid priests had a ritual that started a holy fire and each family father carried home a new fire taken from this fire. It was to last for a whole year.

People believed in all kinds of superstition. Blessed bells were put on cows and crossed branches of juniper and ash wereplaced over stable doors in order to protect the animals from the evils abroad. Fortunetelling was a big business during this night. The druids could read the future in animals' entrails and in weirdly shaped fruit. Blowing of candles, opening and closing of doors, eating the crust of bread...all these were important signs of the time to come. Naturally, young men and women could find out who they were going to marry if they went through certain rituals.

In the 7th or the 8th century A.C. the Christian church decided that they needed a day to celebrate all the saints who didn't have a day of their own and those who were unknown. They decided that November 1st would be that day. The evening before All Saints' Day was called All Hallowed's Eve, which later on became Halloween. Enemies of the church decided to make fun of Christianity and started to celebrate Pagan traditions and Devil worshipping on the night of Halloween. Old traditions were mixed with new ideas. Many of the old traditions slightly reformed to fit in a different world.

Halloween is not only celebrated, as Halloween (unlike All Hallow's Eve), in the United States. The tradition came there with Gaelic and Brittish immigrants. And it is still celebrated in Ireland and Great Britain. Other names for it there are: Nutcrack Night, Bob Apple Night, Duck (or Dookie) Apple Night, Crab Apple Night, Thump-the-door Night, and Apple and Candle Night (Wales). Clearly connected with apples, as you can see! However, in the US it has evolved into something very specifically American (for better and for worse!). In the 1840s enough Gaelic people had immigrated in the United States that a little more common celebration of Halloween could be noticed. Bonfires were lit and people got together to share harvest suppers. In the late nineteenth century, Halloween was used as a reason to have parties and get-togethers for adults. As it became more and more popular, businesses started to produce Halloween articles for party decorations. From there it has developed to today's commercial but yet amazing celebration of harvest's ending.

In the first part of this century Halloween celebrations went a little too far. People went from playing pretty harmless tricks on people to committing violent acts and destroying property. Around mid-century, most people had had enough. The police issued warnings and organizations such as the PTA (Parent Teacher Organization) and UNICEF organized events of a more family and community nature. This seems to have actually worked! Today's Halloween celebrations mostly evolve around parades, festivals, football games, parties, and the likes. Trick-and-treating has survived, of course, but it is something the younger children do in company of some grown-up. Halloween is one of the major commercial holidays. Party decorations, garden decorations, foods, candy, trick-and-treat outfits, and everything else that the business people can come up with are successfully sold. Garden decorations can include everything from dried cornstalks and carved pumpkins to animated tombstones and glow-in-the-dark skeletons. Haunted houses is another popular Halloween past time. People with access to an abandoned building of some sort set up a path through it, along which people and other scarying stuff are placed. Then they charge people to go through it and get scared. An excellent idea, in my opinion!

Some of the American Halloween traditions actually originate in the ancient Rome. They had a fruit goddess; Pomona. When the Romans conquered Britain, some of their customs to honour the goddess were mixed with the Druidic customs. Those customs include fruit center pieces, apples, and nuts. And as you will notice, many of the Brittish names for Halloween include apples in some way. Jack-o'-lanterns used to be made out of turnips. But as American pumpkins turned out to be so excellent to carve, they soon replaced the turnips. The story behind jack-o'-lanterns is about how this stingy Irishman named Jack loved to play pranks on the Devil. He was therefore punished by the Devil to wander around the world for the rest of eternity, being condemned neither to Heaven nor to Hell, carrying a lantern to lighten his way.

Halloween is very specifically Celtic. In non-Celtic countries, such as Sweden and the majority of France for instance, Halloween doesn't exist. In Sweden Alla helgons natt (All Hallowed's Eve) is "only" a night to honor the dead and light candles on your dead loved ones' graves. Only recently have commercial interests tried to bring American Halloween customs into the Swedish celebration. Which, in truth, actually makes more people care about All Hallowed's Eve. Same thing in France. But it has no traditional roots to base it on, so the "soul" of Halloween celebration is completely missing. It is really pretty lame. Especially after having parttaken in American Halloween celebrations!

I have been unable to find facts about Brittish and Irish (or French, Brittany) Halloween celebration of today. If any of you readers know anything about it, please e-mail me or sign my guestbook and tell me all about it! Halloween is my 3rd favourite holiday so I want to know all I can about it.

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