The Roots of Halloween (All
Hallow's Eve)
The true origins of Halloween lie with the
ancient Celtic tribes who lived in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany. For
the Celts, November 1 marked the beginning of a new year and the coming of
winter. The night before the new year, they celebrated the festival of Samhain,
Lord of the Dead. During this festival, Celts believed the souls of the
dead—including ghosts, goblins and witches — returned to mingle with the living. In order
to scare away the evil spirits, people would wear masks and light bonfires.
When the Romans conquered the Celts, they added
their own touches to the Samhain festival, such as making centerpieces out of
apples and nuts for Pomona, the Roman goddess of the orchards. The Romans also
bobbed for apples and drank cider—traditions which may sound familiar to you.
But where does the Christian aspect of the holiday come into play? In 835, Pope
Gregory IV moved the celebration for all the martyrs (later all saints) from May
13 to November 1. The night before became known as All Hallow’s Even or “holy
evening.” Eventually the name was shortened to the current Halloween. On
November 2, the Church celebrates All Souls Day.
The purpose of these feasts is to remember those
who have died, whether they are officially recognized by the Church as saints or
not. It is a celebration of the “communion of saints,” which reminds us that the
Church is not bound by space or time.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says
that through the communion of saints “a perennial link of charity exists between
the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are
expiating their sins
in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on
earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things”
(#1475).
Carving the Turnip?
Many of the customs we now associate with
Halloween are also derived from ancient celebrations.
For example, the current custom of going
door-to-door to collect treats actually started in Ireland hundreds of years
ago. Groups of farmers would go door-to-door collecting food and materials for a
village feast and bonfire. Those who gave were promised prosperity; those who
did not received threats of bad luck. When an influx of Irish Catholic
immigrants came to the United States in the 1800s, the custom of
trick-or-treating came with them.
Does your family carve a pumpkin to place on your
porch for Halloween? If so, then you can once again thank the Irish for the
tradition. Actually, the custom began with a turnip. People would hollow out the
turnips and place lighted candles inside to scare off the evil spirits. When the
Irish came to America, they discovered the pumpkin as a larger substitute for
the turnip. And so, we now carve pumpkins instead of turnips for Halloween.
The Tale of the Jack-o'-lantern
So
now you know why we carve pumpkins instead of turnips, but why do we call them
jack-o’-lanterns? The name actually comes from the legend of an Irishman named
Jack who was forced to roam the earth with only a burning coal inside a pumpkin
to light his way because he had never performed a single selfless act throughout
his life. The story goes like this:
Jack, the
Irish say, grew up in a simple village where he earned a reputation for
cleverness as well as laziness. He applied his fine intelligence to wiggling
out of any work that was asked of him, preferring to lie under a solitary
oak endlessly whittling. In order to earn money to spend at the local pub,
he looked for an "easy shilling" from gambling, a pastime at which he
excelled. In his whole life he never made a single enemy, never made a
single friend and never performed a selfless act for anyone.
One
Halloween, as it happened, the time came for him to die. When the devil
arrived to take his soul, Jack was lazily drinking at the pub and asked
permission to finish his ale. The devil agreed, and Jack thought fast.
"If you really have any power," he said slyly, "you could transform
yourself into a shilling."
The
devil snorted at such child’s play and instantly changed himself into a
shilling. Jack grabbed the coin. He held it tight in his hand, which
bore a cross-shaped scar. The power of the cross kept the devil
imprisoned there, for everyone knows the devil is powerless when faced
with the cross. Jack would not let the devil free until he granted him
another year of life. Jack figured that would be plenty of time to
repent. The devil left Jack at the pub.
The
year rolled around to the next Halloween, but Jack never got around to
repenting. Again the devil appeared to claim his soul, and again Jack
bargained, this time challenging him to a game of dice, an offer Satan
could never resist, but a game that Jack excelled at. The devil threw
snake eyes — two ones — and was about to haul him off, but Jack used a
pair of dice he himself had whittled. When they landed as two threes,
forming the T-shape of a cross, once again the devil was powerless. Jack
bargained for more time to repent.
He kept
thinking he’d get around to repentance later, at the last possible
minute. But the agreed-upon day arrived and death took him by surprise.
The devil hadn’t showed up and Jack soon found out why not. Before he
knew it Jack was in front of the pearly gates. St. Peter shook his head
sadly and could not admit him, because in his whole life Jack had never
performed a single selfless act. Then Jack presented himself before the
gates of hell, but the devil was still seething. Satan refused to have
anything to do with him.
"Where
can I go?" cried Jack. "How can I see in the darkness?"
The
devil tossed a burning coal into a hollow pumpkin and ordered him to
wander forever with only the pumpkin to light his path. From that day to
this he has been called "Jack o’ the Lantern." Sometimes he appears on
Halloween!
Even though Halloween may seem like a very
secular holiday, and in many ways it has become so, there are distinctly
Christian aspects to the holiday [...]
Sources:
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https://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Oct2001/Family.asp
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https://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Halloween/jack-o-lantern.asp
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