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The
History of Halloween
Halloween
(Allhallows Even) was observed by some
churches with religious services. However,
most persons regarded it as a secular
festival. In its strictly religious aspect,
it is known as the vigil of Hallowmas or All
Saints' Day, observed on November 1 by the
Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.
The
festival of Halloween is based on a
combination of the Christian commemoration
of the departed faithful (All Saints' Day)
with the pre-Christian Celtic feast
associated with a celebration of the end of
summer and the Celtic New Year. Celts who
lived in what is now known as Ireland,
Scotland and parts of Great Britain
celebrated their new year that began
November 1. Allhallows' Even was observed on
the evening of October 31st. Around 800
A.D., the day became known among Christians
as Allhallomas which eventually
changed to All Hallow E'en, or
Halloween.
Celtic
peoples adopted Christianity quickly,
easily, and strongly. The conversion of
Celtic peoples did not, however, keep them
from celebrating some of their old customs.
Attempts to replace the year-end custom in
the old Celtic calendar were only partially
successful. Some of our Halloween traditions
date back to these early times.
Summer's
end and the celebration of a good harvest
has always been an important event in the
life of agrarian peoples. Samhain "Hallowday"
or Samfuin (sam + fuin) summer's end, marked
the end of the yearly cycle and was
celebrated with both religious and agrarian
rites. It was the period for threshing and
of food preparation for the winter season.
On that evening, so it was believed,
present, past, and future became one. Celts
gave thanks for the safe return of their
cattle to winter quarters, and invoked their
gods for prosperity and good crops for the
coming year.
Samhain
was both the "end of summer" and a
commemoration of the dead. The spirits of
the departed were believed to visit their
kinsmen in search of warmth and good cheer
as winter approached. It was a time
when evil, as well as good, spirits returned
to the living. Fairies were believed to
migrate from one home to another, and
Hallowe'en was the time when humans
kidnapped by elfin folk could reclaim their
lost loves or relatives.
Jack-O'-Lanterns
were scooped out of turnips with skull-like
faces carved into them. This may reflect the
ancient custom of placing skulls around the
tribal fire to keep evil demons away.
Bobbing for apples is a relic of the
"Ordeal by Water," signifying the
passage of the soul to the hereafter over
the waters separating them. To encourage
fertility, the Halloween cat, the black cat,
became a familiar symbol of Halloween. Some
believed that if you held a mirror and ate
an apple at the same time, you would see the
reflection of your future mate in the
mirror.
Immigrants
from Ireland, Scotland and England, brought
secular Halloween customs to the U.S. but
the festival did not become popular until
the latter part of the 19th century, at the
time of the mass immigration from Ireland
after 1840. Halloween grew and changed
over the years, with people, including those
of other ethnic groups, adding (or
subtracting) things from it. The association
with ghosts and spirits goes back to older
pagan customs. Germans took to celebrating
Halloween with gusto. For them dressing up
reminded them of "Fasnacht,"
"Karneval" and "Fasching"
in the old country with masks and costumes;
and witches and black cats reminded them of Walpurgisnacht
and of fairy tales like "Hansel and
Gretel."
Witches
entered Halloween in the 19th century. One
of the most important witches Sabbaths was
held on Halloween. Witches were alleged to
fly to these meetings on broomsticks,
accompanied by black cats, who were their
constant companions. Magical rites and
ceremonies were performed by witches from
all over the region at a sacred spot.
It
is to the role of the witches in Halloween
that Germans could relate especially well.
The most famous sacred spot for witches was
in the Harz* mountain region of Germany.
Until the 18th century, maps of Germany
showed witches hovering over this spot, the Blocksberg/Brocken.
For Germans Halloween blended with the
"Walpurgisnacht," and the Witches
Sabbath on the night leading into May 1st.
On that day, bonfires, the Maifeuer (May
fires) are burnt in the old country, to
drive away the witches and the horned god,
the devil.
Halloween,
as we know it in America, with all the folk
stories and urban legends, is a distinctly
American phenomenon, with the "Trick or
Treat"-bit appearing after 1930. The
"trick or treat"-custom resembles
an old Irish practice associated with
Halloween Eve. Groups of peasants went from
house to house demanding food and other
gifts in preparation for the evening's
festivities. Prosperity was assured for the
liberal donors and threats were made against
the stingy ones. A similar custom was
practiced, and still is in some areas, by
Germans. Knocking on doors for food and
drink is practiced during the Karneval
Season or at New Years. Best known is the
custom of the Star
Singers on Epiphany, carolers going from
door to door, singing and collecting for
poor relief or overseas missions.
Pranks
such as wandering groups of celebrants
blocking doors of houses, carrying away
gates and plows, tapping on windows and
throwing vegetables at doors (corn candy),
also struck a familiar note. In rural areas
and small towns, especially of Bavaria and
Austria, tricks and pranks are to this day
practiced in such customs as "stealing
the Maibaum" in Bavaria.
The
U.S.-style Halloween was returned by the
Irish and the Scots to the countries of
origin and became popular in England since
the late 1960s with one exception,
"Trick or Treat," even the phrase
was not then used (although it seems to
become used now). Nor was it accepted that
failure to offer a "treat" was
grounds for trickery, pranks and even
vandalism.
Halloween
has also entered Germany. It is celebrated
at Burg
Frankenstein where a connection between
the castle and Mary Shelley's novel has been
established. (See "In
Search Of Frankenstein" by Radu
Florescu, Robson Books Ltd. London; and
"Burg Frankenstein - Mythen, Märchen
und das Monster" by Walter Scheele,
Fouque-Verlag, Egelsbach).
Today
some families and even parishes hold group
celebrations, often with costumes of the
saints, poor souls or famous Catholics and
other elements, to reinforce the Christian
side of Halloween's origins.
The
tendency to manipulate (often for commercial
gain) rather than to celebrate folk
festivals reflects the growing influence of
a rational outlook on life and the
progressive loss of folk vitality. The
secular character of American culture is
reflected as well in the public neglect of
the religious significance of Halloween.
Only the children with their costumes, masks
and the "trick or treat" custom,
keep the spooky and irrational--even if only
pretending--from becoming another casualty
of modernity.
Witches
and black cats, ghosts and Frankensteins,
ghosts' heads carved from pumpkins, candles,
bobbing for apples, the "trick or
treat" custom, candy and food, masks,
parties and innocent little pranks also
express joy in the present and the
life-giving harvest that ensured the future.
Cider,
Lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and other herbs
will make a wonderful treat. For a
bewitching cold or hot cider brew add chunks
of dry ice to the cider, after mixing it
with cold water. The mixture will
bubble and steam and provide a delicious
spooky treat.
"Chiller,"
a spooky album from Erich Kunzel with the
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is available as a
CD from Musical
Heritage with selections from
Lloyd-Webber: The Phantom of the Opera,
Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain; Berlioz:
The Damnation of Faust; Waxman: The Bride of
Frankenstein; Goldsmith: Poltergeist and
much more, including digital sound effects.
------
*The Harz Mountains, 2,000 square
kilometers of untouched nature, with woods,
wild romantic valleys, bizarre caves, quiet
streams and roaring waterfalls that inspired
famous poets, such as Goethe
and Heine it is an area with sagas and
legends shrouded in mystery.
Notorious
creatures live on the Brocken
peak - witches. In Germanic history,
witches were once women or goddesses of the
woods, later priestesses, female doctors and
marvelous women of the night who were first
worshipped, then gazed at timidly and
finally damned. In the Harz mountains
the night of the witches, the "Walpurgisnacht,"
is a big event. In popular Christian
beliefs, the Walpurgis night belongs to the
witches and women who can perform magic. It
falls on the eve of May 1, the feast day of
St. Walpurga. She came to Germany from
England in the 8th century to spread the
Christian word and performed many miracles.
According to popular beliefs, St. Walpurga
is pursued by mean spirits, demons and
witches riding on brooms in the Walpurgis
night. Anyone who helps her shall be
rewarded with gold, the tale goes. In
the Harz mountains the Walpurgis night is
always a happy festival. Witches with
pointed noses and hats, with twig brooms
between their legs and wearing a colorful
scarf around their necks hang in the
streets. In the Harz villages,
especially those near the Brocken, people
have a good time celebrating. (FOCUS,
"the Harz", 12, 94, p. 5)
Sources:
Oswald A. Erich and Richard Beitl, Wörterbuch
der deutschen Volkskunde, Alfred Kröner
Verlag Stuttgart, 1996, ISBN 3-520-12703-2.
Britannica, Vol 11, p. 106/107.
Witches,
Pumpkins and Grinning Ghosts: the Story of
the Halloween Symbols by Edna Barth, New
York, Clarion Books 1972 ISBN 0-8164-3087-x.
Interviews
with Claude and Martina Eckert, Lillian
Doane of Jasper, Indiana 12-16 and
12-17-1993.
Ruth
Reichmann
Max Kade German-American Center
Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Indianapolis
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