There are so many Halloween traditions in America. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Carving Jack O’Lanterns: This originated from Ireland. They used turnips instead of pumpkins. It is based on a legend about a man named Stingy Jack who allegedly and reportedly trapped the Devil. He only let him go on the condition that he would not go to Hell.
When Jack died, he learned that Heaven did not want his soul either. So, that meant that he was forced to wander the Earth as a ghost for eternity.
The Devil decided to give Jack a burning lump of coal in a carved turnip to light his way. Locals decided that they wanted to start carving some scary faces on their own turnips to scare the evil spirits away.
Seeing Ghosts: There used to be a festival called The Festival of Samhain that merged a tradition of the new year at the end of Harvest and the beginning of Winter. People called Celtics beloved and during the festival, the spirits walked the Earth. Later, Christian Missionaries decided to introduce All Souls’ Day on November 2. This represented the idea of the living coming into contact with the dead around the same time of year.
Wearing Scary Costumes: The Celts decided to disguise themselves so that they could not end up being mistaken for spirits themselves and be left alone. This was in order to not be terrorized by the evil spirits that had been roaming the Earth.
Trick-or-Treating: There are three theories about the origin of trick-or-treating. The first theory suggests that around and during Samhaim, Celtic people would end up leaving food out to please the spirits that were traveling the Earth at night.
The second theory speculates that the candy boon stems from the Scottish practice of guising – a secular version of “souling.” Around the time of the Middle Ages, mostly children and poor adults would collect food and money from the local homes. In return, they wanted prayers for the dead on All Souls’ Day. The guisers decided to drop the prayers in favor of non-religious practices. This was with the inclusion of songs, jokes and other “tricks.”
There is a third theory arguing that modern American trick-or-treating could possibly stem from “belsnickeling.” This is a German-American Christmas tradition when children would dress in costumes and then ask their neighbors to see if the adults could guess the identities of all the disguised. There is one version where children were rewarded with treats or food if they were not identified by anyone.
Pranking: Playing pranks can vary by region. This pre-Halloween tradition is known as “Devil’s Night.” Some say that these pranks started as a part of Merry Day Celebrations. Both Samhaim and All Souls’ Day included good-natured mischief. When Irish and Scottish immigrants came to America, both cultures brought traditions of celebrating Mischief Night as part of Halloween.
Black & Orange: The colors of Halloween trace back to the times of the Celtic Festival of Samhaim. For the Celtics, black is about representing “death”, and the color “orange” symbolizes the Autumn Harvest Season.
Lighting Candles and Bonfires: The early history of Halloween was when towering bonfires were used to light the way to souls seeking the afterlife. Nowadays, lighting candles has generally replaced the large traditional blazes.
There are many Halloween traditions that people like to celebrate and many have begun in other countries and evolved here in America. If you have a favorite, be sure to remember that they started long, long ago.