By Elaine Rassel
Halloween is October 31 a few days away from us. Do you know the meaning of Halloween? Are you ready for what Halloween brings to your door? The masked characters that come trick or treating do so in fun however when Halloween was first observed, there was a meaning behind what the people dressed up as and as well as hiding their face behind a mask of sorts. Let’s find out more about Halloween!
Halloween, All Hallows’ eve, or All Saints’ Eve is a celebration observed in many countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints’ Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, martyrs, and all the faithful departed.
One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, which are believed to have pagan roots. It has been suggested that Samhain may have been Christianized as All Hallow’s Day; along with its eve, by the early Church. Some believe Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday. Ireland and Scotland took many Halloween customs to north America in the 19th century.
Since the time of the early church, major feasts in Christianity (such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost) had vigils that began the night before, as did the feast of All Hallows’. These three days are called Allhallowtide and are a time when Western Christians honor all saints and pray for recently departed souls who have yet to reach Heaven. Commemorations of all saints and martyrs were held by several churches on various dates, mostly in the spring. Now, it is the first of November.
By 800, there is evidence that churches in Ireland were holding a feast commemorating all saints on November 1. In 835 it became the official date. Some say the Germanic and Celtic-speaking peoples commemorated the dead at the beginning of winter. They may have seen it as the most fitting time to do so, as it is a time of ‘dying’ in nature. It is also suggested the change was made on the practical grounds that Rome in summer could not accommodate the great number of pilgrims who flocked to it, and perhaps because of public health concerns over Roman Fever, which claimed a number of lives during Rome’s sultry summers.
By the end of the 12th century, the celebration had become known as the holy days of obligation in Western Christianity and involved such traditions as ringing church bells for souls in purgatory. It was also customary for criers dressed in black to parade the streets, ringing a bell of mournful sound and calling on all good Christians to remember the poor souls. The Allhallowtide custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for all christened souls, has been suggested as the origin of trick- or0treating. The custom dates back at least as far as the 15th century and was found in parts of England, Wales, Flanders, and Austria. Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door during Allhallowtide, collecting soul cakes, in exchange for praying for the dead, especially the souls of the givers’ friends and relatives. This was called “souling”. Soul cake were also offered for the souls themselves to eat, or the soulers would act as their representatives. As with the Lenten tradition of hot cross buns, soul cakes were often marked with a cross, indicating they were baked as alms.
While souling, Christians would carry “lanterns made of hallowed-out turnips”, which could have originally represented souls of the dead; jack-o’-lanterns were used to ward off evil spirits. On All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day during the 19th century, candles were lit in homes in Ireland, Flanders, and Bavaria where they were called “soul lights”, that served to guide the souls back to visit their earthly homes. In many pf these places, candles were also lit at graves on All Souls’ Day. In Brittany, there was the ritual of pouring milk on the graves of kinfolk or food would be left overnight on the dinner table for the returning souls.
Christian minister Prince Sorie Conteh linked the wearing of costumes to the belief in vengeful ghosts: It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints’ day, and All Hallows’ Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. In order to avoid being recognized by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would wear masks or costumes. In the Middle Ages, churches in Europe that were too poor to display relics of martyred saints at Allhallowtide let parishioners dress up as saints instead. Some Christians observe this custom at Halloween today. Some believe this could have been a Christianization of an earlier pagan custom.
Many Christians in mainland Europe, especially in France, believed that once a year, on Halloween, the dead of the churchyards rose for one wild, hideous carnival that was depicted in church decoration. This wild carnival urged Christians not to forget the end of all earthly things. This carnival was sometimes enacted in European village pageants with people dressing up as corpses from various societies, and this may be the origin of Halloween costume parties.
State-sanctioned ceremonies associated with the intercession of saints and prayer for souls in purgatory were abolished during the Elizabethan reform, though All Hallow’s Day remained in the English liturgical calendar to “commemorate saints as godly human beings”. For some Nonconformist Protestants, the theology of All Hallows’ Eve was redefined—souls cannot be journeying from Purgatory on their way to Heaven, as Catholics frequently believe. Instead, the so-called ghosts are thought to be in actuality—evil spirits. In some localities, Catholics and Protestants continued souling, candlelit processions, or ringing church bells for the dead.
It has been written that barns and homes were blessed to protect people and livestock from the effect of witches, who were believed to accompany the malignant spirits as they traveled the earth. After 1605, Hallowtide was eclipsed in England, which appropriated some of its customs. In England, the ending of official ceremonies related to the intercession of saints led to the development of new, unofficial Hallowtide customs. In 18th-19th century, rural Lancashire Catholic families gathered on hills on the night of All Hallows’ Eve. One held a bunch of burning straw on a pitchfork while the rest knelt around him, praying for the souls of relatives and friends until the flames went out. This was known as “teen’lay”.
In parts of Italy until the 15th century, families left a meal out for the ghosts of relatives, before leaving for church services. In 19th-century Italy, the churches staged theatrical re-enactments of scenes from the lives of the saints on All Hallow’s day, with participants represented by realistic wax figures. In Italy, parish priests went house-to-house, asking for small gifts of food which they shared among themselves throughout the night. In Spain, they continue to bake special pastries called “bones of the holy” and set them on graves. At cemeteries in Spain and France, as well as in Latin America, priests lead Christian processions and services during Allhallowtide, after which people keep an all night vigil.
Today’s Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by folk customs and beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries, some of which are believed to have pagan roots.
Popular Halloween activities today include trick-or-treating (related to souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins or turnips into jack-o’-lanterns, lighting bonfires, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, or watching horror Halloween-themed films. There are some people who practice the Christian observances of All Hallows’ Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead. Some Christians abstain from meat on All Hallows’ Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.
On Halloween night, if you want to celebrate with those who come to your door, turn you light on and let them know you welcome them.