HALLOWEEN
The Celts and the Romans
Halloween can be traced back some 2,000 years to the ancient celtic festival known as ‘Samhain’ which, traditionally, was celebrated on 1 November. Literally, Samhain means ‘summer’s end’ and marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. This day marked also the beginning of the dark, cold winter.
Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
When the Romans conquered Britain, they combined two of their festivals with Samhain. The first was ‘Feralia’, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honour Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees.
Trick or Treat
In England, from the medieval period up until the 1930s, people practiced the Christian custom of ‘souling’ on Halloween. This involved people going from parish to parish and begging the rich for ‘soul cakes’ in exchange for prayers for the souls of the givers and their friends.
In Scotland and Ireland, ‘guising’ – children disguised in costume going from door-to-door for food or coins – is a traditional Halloween custom. It was recorded in Scotland during Halloween in 1895, when people in costumes carried lanterns made out of scooped-out turnips and visited homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit, and money.
In Ireland, the most popular phrase for kids to shout (until the 2000s) was ‘Help the Halloween Party’. The practice of guising during Halloween in North America was first recorded in 1911 in Canada.
Costumes
Dressing up in costumes and going ‘guising’ was prevalent in Scotland and Ireland at Halloween by the late 19th century. A Scottish term, the tradition is called ‘guising’ because of the disguises or costumes worn by the children. In Ireland, the masks are known as ‘false faces’.
From at least the 16th century, the Festival included people going house-to-house in costume (or in disguise), usually reciting verses or songs in exchange for food. It may have originally been a tradition whereby people impersonated the souls of the dead and, received offerings on their behalf. Impersonating these beings, or wearing a disguise, was also believed to protect oneself from them. It has been suggested that the wearing of costumes imitated the old spirits of the winter, who demanded a reward in exchange for good fortune.
Bobbing for Apples
When the Romans conquered Britain, they brought their traditions with them and combined many with existing Celtic festivals. One of these might be bobbing for apples. The Roman goddess of fruit and trees was known as Pomona, whose symbol was the apple. The apple tree is not native to Britain; it was brought here by the Romans.
In Scotland, bobbing for apples might be called ‘dooking’.
During an annual celebration, young unmarried romans would try to bite into an apple floating in water or hanging from a string on a line, rather than in a bowl of water. The first person to bite into the apple would be the next one to be allowed to marry.
Black Cats
We avoid crossing paths with black cats, afraid that they might bring us bad luck. This idea has its roots in the Middle Ages, when many people believed that witches avoided detection by turning themselves into black cats.
One tradition states that if a black cat walks towards someone, it is said to bring good fortune but, if it walks away, it takes the good luck with it. This tradition was reversed at sea where 18th century pirates came to believe that a black cat would bring bad luck if it walks towards someone, and GOOD luck if it walks away.
Sailors considering a ‘ship’s cat’ would want a black one because it would bring good luck. Fishermen’s wives would keep black cats at home too, in the hope that they would be able to use their influence to protect their husbands at sea.