Like so many when I was young (back in the 1960s-70s) I went trick-or-treating around our neighbourhood. Back then we went out after supper so it was appropriately dark outside for all the little ghouls and whatever to go door-to-door for treats. Most back then went around in groups of friends and/or siblings. Small kids were escorted by either a parent or an older sibling. Yeah, there were store bought costumes, but there were a lot of homemade as well, some simple rough-and-ready and some elaborate. Occasionally we’d hear of a Halloween party and there were usually Halloween themed activities at school. It was fun.
Halloween didn’t seem so elaborate or that big a deal back then. It was mostly a fun event for kids and very few places erected any elaborate displays. Today Halloween gets a lot more attention and distinctly more places are setting up displays of varying elaborateness and often weeks in advance. A lot of fuss for a “holiday” that isn’t actually a holiday in the sense anyone gets any time off.
I aged out of Halloween and later, never having had any kids of my own, it largely fell off my radar. As a kid I was not aware of the historical origins and meanings of Halloween. I learned that decades later given I’m interested in history and how things came to be even if I’m not personally into it. Suffice to say the underlying meaning and spiritual significance of Halloween’s origins is largely gone for the vast majority of those who participate in it. We’re left with symbolic remnants of centuries old practices.
Halloween as we know it is indeed a (relatively) modern contraction/evolution of All Hallows Eve, the night preceding All Hallows Day (Nov. 1st). All Hallows Day led to All Hallows Eve or Evening. In Irish that became All Hollows Ein, then basically Hallows Ein. Of course, from there it eventually became Halloween.
In ancient times the end of summer and beginning of autumn/winter was considered a mystical time (known as Samhein) when the barrier between the mortal world and the supernatural realm was thin and permeable. There were rituals to protect oneself and communities from supernatural entities who might cross over into the mortal world and might do harm or abduct individuals back to the supernatural world. Today’s practice of dressing up in costume on Halloween evolved out of the ancient practice of “guising”—dressing up as animals or creatures to be disguised and hidden from whatever supernatural beings might be on the prowl.
Eventually the spread of Christianity and their observance of All Saints Day (Nov. 1st) and later also All Souls Day (Nov. 2nd) was co-opted with Samhain. All Saints Day eventually became known as All Hallows (essentially all that are holy). The night of Oct. 31st was also known as Mischief Night. From there you can see where Halloween came from.
The trick-or-treating aspect of Halloween descends from the ancient ritual known as solling. In the past people, including children, went door-to-door offering a prayer (for the soul of those departed) in exchange for food or treats often in the form of small cakes known as sol cakes, prepared by those who were able or could afford to make them. Of course, this became predominantly children calling for treats and candy and good-naturedly making a threat of a trick or vandalism if refused a treat. It’s interesting the practice of solling is similar to the wassailing of old Christmas where wassaillers offered songs in exchange for gifts of food and drink and threaten tricks if refused. My, our ancestors were such a good-natured bunch.
So in the past “Halloween” was not only a ritual of protecting oneself from supernatural forces, but also a day of observance and prayer for those (holy and regular folk) who had passed on and to facilitate the passage of their souls into heaven.
All that is largely lost today replaced by an excuse to cosplay, party and collect goodies. There is certainly nothing sombre or spiritually significant about it except perhaps to a very few.
Halloween didn’t seem so elaborate or that big a deal back then. It was mostly a fun event for kids and very few places erected any elaborate displays. Today Halloween gets a lot more attention and distinctly more places are setting up displays of varying elaborateness and often weeks in advance. A lot of fuss for a “holiday” that isn’t actually a holiday in the sense anyone gets any time off.
I aged out of Halloween and later, never having had any kids of my own, it largely fell off my radar. As a kid I was not aware of the historical origins and meanings of Halloween. I learned that decades later given I’m interested in history and how things came to be even if I’m not personally into it. Suffice to say the underlying meaning and spiritual significance of Halloween’s origins is largely gone for the vast majority of those who participate in it. We’re left with symbolic remnants of centuries old practices.
Halloween as we know it is indeed a (relatively) modern contraction/evolution of All Hallows Eve, the night preceding All Hallows Day (Nov. 1st). All Hallows Day led to All Hallows Eve or Evening. In Irish that became All Hollows Ein, then basically Hallows Ein. Of course, from there it eventually became Halloween.
In ancient times the end of summer and beginning of autumn/winter was considered a mystical time (known as Samhein) when the barrier between the mortal world and the supernatural realm was thin and permeable. There were rituals to protect oneself and communities from supernatural entities who might cross over into the mortal world and might do harm or abduct individuals back to the supernatural world. Today’s practice of dressing up in costume on Halloween evolved out of the ancient practice of “guising”—dressing up as animals or creatures to be disguised and hidden from whatever supernatural beings might be on the prowl.
Eventually the spread of Christianity and their observance of All Saints Day (Nov. 1st) and later also All Souls Day (Nov. 2nd) was co-opted with Samhain. All Saints Day eventually became known as All Hallows (essentially all that are holy). The night of Oct. 31st was also known as Mischief Night. From there you can see where Halloween came from.
The trick-or-treating aspect of Halloween descends from the ancient ritual known as solling. In the past people, including children, went door-to-door offering a prayer (for the soul of those departed) in exchange for food or treats often in the form of small cakes known as sol cakes, prepared by those who were able or could afford to make them. Of course, this became predominantly children calling for treats and candy and good-naturedly making a threat of a trick or vandalism if refused a treat. It’s interesting the practice of solling is similar to the wassailing of old Christmas where wassaillers offered songs in exchange for gifts of food and drink and threaten tricks if refused. My, our ancestors were such a good-natured bunch.
So in the past “Halloween” was not only a ritual of protecting oneself from supernatural forces, but also a day of observance and prayer for those (holy and regular folk) who had passed on and to facilitate the passage of their souls into heaven.
All that is largely lost today replaced by an excuse to cosplay, party and collect goodies. There is certainly nothing sombre or spiritually significant about it except perhaps to a very few.
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I still try to dress up.
