Etymology Etymology Pre-Christian Influences Christian Influences
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Hallowe'en (a shortening of All Hallows’ Evening ), [5] also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve ,[6] is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31 , the night before All Saints' Day . Much like Day of the Dead celebrations, the Christian feast of All Hallows' Eve, according to some scholars, incorporates traditions from pagan harvest festivals and festivals honouring the dead , particularly the Celtic Samhain ;[6][7][8] other scholars maintain that the feast originated entirely independently of Samhain. [9] Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known as " guising "), attending costume parties , carving jack-o'-lanterns , lighting bonfires , apple bobbing , visiting haunted attractions , playing pranks , telling scary stories, watching horror films , as well as the religious observances of praying , fasting and attending vigils or church services .[3][2][4][1] Etymology The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows'-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Hallows' Day .[10] Although the phrase All Hallows' is found in Old English ( ealra h ālgena mæssedæg , mass-day of all saints), All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556. [10] PrePrePre-Pre ---ChristianChristian influences According to some scholars, the observance of Halloween or All Hallows' Eve combines pre-Christian and Christian traditions; [11] other scholars maintain "that Hallowe'en, as the eve of All Saints' Day, originated entirely independently of Samhain and some question the existence of a specific pan-Celtic religious festival which took place on 31st October/1st November." [9] Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona , the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia , it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-an or sow-in )", derived from the Old Irish Samuin meaning "summer's end". [12] Samhain was the first and by far the most important of the four quarter days in the medieval Irish and Scottish [13] calendar [14][15] and, falling on the last day of autumn, it was a time for stock-taking and preparation for the cold winter months ahead. [12] There was also a sense that this was the time of year when the physical and supernatural worlds were closest and magical things could happen. [14][15] To ward off these spirits, the Gaels built huge, symbolically regenerative bonfires and invoked the help of the gods through animal and perhaps even human sacrifice. [12] Christian influences Snap-Apple Night (1832) by Daniel Maclise . Depicts apple bobbing and divination games at a Halloween party in Blarney , Ireland . Halloween is also thought to have been heavily influenced by the Christian holy days of All Saints' Day (also known as HallowmasHallowmas, All HallowsHallows, and HallowtideHallowtide) and All Souls' Day .[16] Falling on November 1 and 2 respectively, collectively they were a time for honoring the saints and praying for the recently departed who had yet to reach heaven. By the end of the 12th century they had become days of holy obligation across Europe and involved such traditions as ringing bells for the souls in purgatory and " souling ", the custom of baking bread or soul cakes for "all crysten [ christened ] souls". [17] 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 onto the next world .[18] To avoid being recognised by a soul, Christians would wear masques and costumes to disguise themselves, following the lighted candles set by others to guide their travel for worship the next day. [18] Today, this practice has been perpetuated through trick-or-treating .[18] In Britain the rituals of Hallowtide and Halloween came under attack during the Reformation as Protestants denounced purgatory as a " popish " doctrine incompatible with the notion of predestination .[16] In addition the increasing popularity of Guy Fawkes Night (5th November) from 1605 on saw Halloween become eclipsed in Britain with the notable exception of Scotland .[19] There and in Ireland , they had been celebrating Samhain and Halloween since the early Middle Ages ,[13] and the kirk took a more pragmatic approach towards Halloween, viewing it as important to the life cycle and rites of passage of local communities and thus ensuring its survival in the country. [19] North American almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was recognized as a holiday. [20] The Puritans of New England , for example, maintained strong opposition to the holiday [20] and it was not until the mass Irish and Scottish immigration during the 19th century that the holiday was introduced to the continent in earnest. [20] Initially confined to the immigrant communities during the mid-19th century, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and by the first decade of the 20th century it was being celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial and religious backgrounds. [21] Symbols Jack-o'-lanterns in Kobe , Japan Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time. For instance, the carving of jack-o'-lanterns springs from the Christian souling custom of carving turnips into lanterns as a way of remembering the souls held in purgatory .[22] The turnip has traditionally been used in Ireland and Scotland at Halloween, [23][24] but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin , which is both much softer and much larger – making it easier to carve than a turnip. [23] Subsequently, the mass marketing of various size pumpkins in autumn, in both the corporate and local markets, has made pumpkins universally available for this purpose. The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837 [25] and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century. [26] The imagery of Halloween is derived from many sources, including national customs, works of Gothic and horror literature (such as the novels Frankenstein and Dracula ), and classic horror films (such as Frankenstein and The Mummy ). [27] Among the earliest works on the subject of Halloween is from Scottish poet John Mayne in 1780, who made note of pranks at Halloween; "What fearfu' pranks ensue!" , as well as the supernatural associated with the night, "Bogies" (ghosts), influencing Robert Burns ' Halloween 1785. [28] Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins, corn husks , and scarecrows , are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of symbols around Halloween. Halloween imagery includes themes of death , evil , the occult or mythical monsters .[29] Black and orange are the holiday's traditional colors. TrickTrick----orororor----treatingtreating and guising Main article: Trick-or-treating Trick-or-treating in Sweden Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a (mostly idle) "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. In some parts of Scotland children still go guising . In this custom the child performs some sort of trick, i.e. sings a song or tells a ghost story, to earn their treats. The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays dates back to the Middle Ages and includes Christmas wassailing . Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of souling , when poor folk would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls' Day (November 2). It originated in Ireland and Britain ,[17] although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy.[30] Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas." [31] In Scotland and Ireland, Guising – children disguised in costume going from door to door for food or coins – is a traditional Halloween custom, and is recorded in Scotland at Halloween in 1895 where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit and money. [24] The practice of Guising at Halloween in North America is first recorded in 1911, where a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario reported children going "guising" around the neighborhood. [32] American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book length history of the holiday in the U.S; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America"; The taste in Hallowe'en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Burn's poem Hallowe'en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used. In short, no custom that was once honored at Hallowe'en is out of fashion now. [33] Halloween in Yonkers , New York, US In her book, Kelley touches on customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its best days overseas. All Halloween customs in the United States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries". [34] While the first reference to "guising" in North America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920.