Halloween Did You Knows....

Have you ever wondered how and when we ever had a day known as HALLOWEEN?  Or how about all those symbols that you see in costumes, posters, stickers and on cards?    Here are some tidbits that you can use for a Halloween Trivial Pursuit!

evolved from the Christian calendar as “ALL HALLOWS EVE”, which was the night before their holy day of All Saints Day and two days before All Souls’ Day.  Coupled with this were the ancient Celtic traditional superstitions.  The Celts believed that the dead spirits returned to the earth on this night.  People remained in their homes to avoid evil spirits and would light bonfires, put on costumes and/or masks to fool the evil spirits into thinking they were one of them.

Medieval folklore described BATS as witches’ helpers and seeing a bat on Halloween was considered to be quite an ominous sign.  One myth was that, if a bat was spotted flying around a house three times, someone in that house would soon die.  Another ancient belief stated that, if a bat flew into your house on Halloween, your house was haunted because ghosts had let the bat in.  In other mythology, Dracula became a bat to fly from his open coffin to find his next victim.

The concept of BEGGING FOR TREATS dates back to Europe.  In England, “soul cakes” were given on the eve of All Saints’ Day.  Spain bribed evil spirits by putting cakes and nuts on graves.  In Belgium, children would go door-to-door begging for money to buy these cakes.  They would eat as many as possible so that one soul would no longer suffer.  

BLACK CATS were considered a symbol of bad luck in Europe, especially  if they crossed the path in front of you.  In Japan, however, they were recognized as the bringer of good luck and in Egypt they were sacred.  In the Plymouth Colony, Puritan Pilgrims considered the black cat to be an extension of witches and sorcery, thus often appearing with the witches with arched backs and green eyes spooking trick-or-treaters.       

BOBBING FOR APPLES was an ancient tradition because apples were a sacred fruit used to predict the future.  It became a traditional fortune telling game on Halloween.  The first person to successfully get the apple from the water without using hands would be the first to marry.   

          

BROOMSTICKS were not exactly like what you would see at a Quiddich match in Harry Potter.  Rather, they were associated with elderly, eccentric women who were poor and had no horse to ride.   They traveled on foot with a walking stick, sometimes a broom.  Superstitious folklore made the broomsticks synonymous with witches.  Since fall was the rainy season, women would use the broomstick to vault themselves over the mud, thus appearing as though they were soaring above the ground.  The broomstick then evolved into the mode of transportation for the witch.

CANDY APPLES evolved from a sugary fruit on a stick being given out during the early Trick or Treating in North America.  The Celtic hallows eve celebration and the Roman festival for the goddess of fruit trees were combined.  The goddess was symbolized by an apple.

CANDY CORN was invented in the 1880s.  It represents the corn kernel from the harvest and is the candy most identified with Halloween.

The CAULDRON dates back to the 13^th Century, and was originally used as a cooking tool with a curved handle on top, mounted over the hearth.  Most often a cauldron was made of cast iron and was used to burn loose incense on a charcoal disc, to make black salt (used in banishing rituals), for mixing herbs, or to burn petitions (paper with words of power or wishes written on them).  As a stereotype, it was used by witches to mix their potions inside, but in Irish folklore, it was used to store a leprauchan’s gold or treasure.

DEVIL'S NIGHT originated with the Celtic tradition of bonfires, games, and pranks.  To prevent vandalism, treats were given by the adults to costumed pranksters.  Hence the phrase “Trick...or...Treat”.  In modern day, it is the night before Halloween when car or door windows may be soaped, doused with eggs, or trees being toilet papered.

GHOSTS were symbols of those who had died.  On All Hallow’s Eve, the spirits roamed the earth waiting to cross over to the hereafter.   They were definitely NOT thinking of Casper, the Friendly Ghost with these spirits!!!!

 
The HALLOWEEN COLORS of orange and black stem from the pagan celebration of the harvest.  Orange symbolized the crops with the leaves changing and the black symbolized the end of the season.  Black became a symbol of evil due to its darkness. 

  

The Irish brought the custom of carving pumpkins into JACK-O-LANTERNS to America.  They didn’t have pumpkins back in Ireland so they carved turnips.  They would put a candle inside to ward off any evil spirits.

MASKS were worn to ward off evil spirits, witches, and ghosts.  The more frightening the mask was, the less likely the spirits would be to haunt you.

Unlike Hedwig and other Harry Potter owl messengers, OWLS were a symbol of death and disaster with their glassy stares and screeches at night.

SKELETONS and bones were used as symbols of death.

SPIDERS are also creepy, crawly Halloween critters.  Just like bats and black cats, they were seen as the evil companions of the witch in the Medieval Ages.  One belief was that if a spider fell into a candle-lit lamp and was consumed by the flame, it was an omen of a witch being near.  Another superstition was that if you saw a spider on Halloween,  the spirit of a deceased loved one was watching over you.

WITCHES were not depicted as Samantha of the Bewitched TV series or Kim Novak from Bell, Book, and Candle.  Instead, they were shown as elderly, solitary women accused of demonic practiices.  Their cat was said to be a gift from the devil and became a constant companion.  Pagan practices referred to witches as “the crone”, who was honored during the feast of Samhain.  She was also called “the old one” or “Earth Mother” and symbolized wisdom, change, and seasonal changes.  Today the kindhearted crone has morphed into a menacing, cackling witch.

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!!!