What's with the Tricks and the Treats?

Halloween is the second most popular holiday after Christmas. Retailers absolutely love it because of the amount of revenue that they bring in on decorations and costumes and candy. I love it as well, not because of the revenue (I'm far from owning my own company....someday, though!), but because of the chocolate (of course!) and the creativity that it brings out in everyone. How to decorate? Which costume to wear? My apartment is decked out with candy corn lights and a jack o'lantern grinning on the front steps, and my costume is in a box waiting to be altered. But what started these crazy traditions? Why do kids dress up and knock on strangers' doors for candy?

The name "Halloween" came from a religious holiday called "All Hallow's Even", which is the night before "All Hallow's Day", a day in which Catholics honored the Saints. Being the lovers of short-cuts that we are, the name eventually was shortened to "Halloween" and the religious festivities celebrated that night eventually mixed with the pagan ones and became what it is today. A lot of our traditions, such as wearing costumes and carving pumpkins, come from Ireland where they believed October 31st ended the harvest season and the dead came alive to cause mischief to their winter stores and livestock.

The jack o'lantern is a huge staple of Halloween decorations. Driving home through the neighborhoods, I see so many unique and creative pumpkin carvings, lit from the inside with tea lights. The one that I carved is very simple: 2 triangles for eyes and a grinning, gap-toothed smile. This tradition came from the story of a greedy Irishman named "Stingy Jack", who had tricked the devil into climbing a tree, and then trapped him there by carving a cross into the trunk. For his punishment, he was doomed to wander the earth with only a lantern made from a candle inside a carved out turnip. Thus the jack o'lantern. We use pumpkins now because pumpkins are very prevalent in North America and much easier to carve. Ever try a butcher knife on a turnip?

Trick-or-Treating originated in the old Celtic holiday of Samhain (celebration of the end of harvest). Because the Celts believed the dead would create havoc, they appeased them by offering them food when they visited their homes. Also, around the 9th century, on November 2nd, European Christians would walk from house to house asking for "soul cakes". The more cakes they received, the more prayers they would say for the souls of the dead relatives of the person who gave them the cake. It was believed that souls lingered in Limbo until prayers were said that sent them to Heaven. Later on, as Halloween became more of a holiday, children actually did perform little songs and performances in order to receive a treat from the home they were visiting, meaning they tricked for their treat. As modern times advanced, though, humanity and teenagers being what they are, this turned into vandalism; the tricks becoming toilet papering yards and egging houses. These crimes have diminished, and now saying "trick-or-treat" just means you get candy for wearing a costume.

Why do we wear costumes at Halloween? Because it's fun! Who doesn't like to dress up and be someone else entirely for a night? There is a reason behind this madness. Returning to the belief that souls wandered the earth on October 31st, people tried to blend in to prevent the ghosts from playing tricks on them. So they would don masks and dress up as ghouls and goblins to pretend to be a soul also wondering the earth. These days people dress up as everything under the sun, from their favorite celebrity to their favorite animal. We do still get the ghosts and the witches and goblins, which are my personal favorite. It's amazing how creative people can be.

Witches are very central to Halloween as well. Witches were once thought of as wise beings, the word "wica", which "witch" comes from, means "wise one". They would gather when the seasons changed, meaning on or around the end of October. A sacred ointment was rubbed on their skin during these meetings, causing the sensation of light-headedness and flight. Brooms were carried to help them walk and jump over streams, and once the ointment was adminstered, the witch mounted the broom and her companions would tell her she was flying over land and sea. Witches and black cats have always been associated with each other. Witches could turn into cats, and it was also believed that black cats were spirits of the dead. Unfortunately witches met with tragic ends in Salem, MA, where the Puritans thought they were messengers of the devil. Other countries as well, both earlier than Salem and after, burned those they thought were "witches" at the stake. Joan of Arc was thought to be a witch because of her modern ideals.

I'm pretty sure that covers most of the popular traditions of Halloween. If you think of any more, let me know and I'll include it here. Halloween is celebrated in many countries across the world besides the United States: Ireland, Scotland, England, the Netherlands, and Mexico to name a few. It is a fun and exciting holiday, which brings out creativity and community involvement wherever you are. It's a holiday for both kids and adults, so everyone can have a good time. And how can you not love a holiday like that?