Halloween

It’s that time of year again, pumpkin carving, scary costumes, trick or treating, and of course sweets and spooky treats!

So just what is Halloween? When and how did it come to be what it is today?

In the Catholic Church, November 1 st is All Hallows or all saints day, the day that all of the saints are remembered. About 500 years before Christ in Celtic Ireland, the summer ended and the Holliday was called Samhain, the Celtic New Year.

It was believed that all of the spirits that had died during the past year would come back and look for bodies to posses during the next year. Since the living did not want to be possessed, they would dress in ghoulish costumes and noisily and destructively parade around the town to scare away the disembodied spirits.

The Romans adopted the Celtic practices for themselves and Samhain was intermingled with Roman other celebrations that took place in October. One such tradition was to honor Pomona, the Greek goddess of trees and fruit whose symbol was the apple, which might explain where the modern day practice of bobbing for apples.

As time passed and the belief in spirits dissipated, the act of dressing up turned into a tradition and ceremonial role.

Halloween came to America with the Irish in the 1840s when they were escaping their countries potato famine. They “pranked” people by tipping over outhouses and unhinging gates which is where the modern tricking comes from.

Trick or treating began with the 9th century European practice of souling. On November 2nd, all souls day, Christians would walk around to villages asking for “soul cakes,” small pieces of bread topped with currants. The seekers of the cakes would say prayers for the souls of the deceased family members of the cake givers. The more cakes they collected, the more prayers they would say. It was believed that the souls, at the time of death would remain in purgatory for a certain amount of time, and those prayers would get them into heaven.

The history of the jack-o-lantern comes from an evil man named Jack who tricked the devil into climbing a tree and them carving a cross on it so the devil couldn’t come down unless he would take temptation away from Jack. When Jack died, he was denied access to heaven because of his evil ways, but was also denied entrance to hell because of what he did to the devil. The devil gave him a single burning ember to light hi way through cold, dark purgatory. The ember was placed in a hollowed out turnip to keep it burning longer. The Irish also used turnips as “Jack’s lanterns” but when they came to America, they found that there were many more pumpkins than turnips, so the pumpkin, lit with an ember became the American jack-o-lantern.

Even though some cults have adopted the day as an “evil Holliday”, it really began as rituals of the Celts celebrating the New Year, and European prayer rituals.

Today, Halloween is a fun Holliday when people dress in costumes and have a good time with their friends, family and sweets. So have a fun and safe Halloween this year. We have put together a collection of recipes and safety tips for you and your family so you can have a great, safe, and delicious Holliday! Happy Halloween.

Safety Tips:

• Children should carry a flashlight or bright glow stick
• Make sure the costumes are made of flame retardant materials
• Check to make sure eye holes in masks are large enough to safely see through
• Watch for traffic and follow traffic signals
• Children should wear sturdy shoes and temperature appropriate clothing under their costumes
• Young children should ALWAYS be accompanied by an adult
• Older children should be in groups of 3 or more and parents should give them specific rules to follow
• Only go to familiar safe neighborhoods that are well lit
• Walk on the sidewalk
• Never approach a car or accept rides
• Only go to houses that are lit
• Parents should check the candy that is brought home to make sure it hasn’t been tampered with
• If these rules are followed, then you and your children should have a fun, safe Halloween

Click here for some of our HALLOWEEN RECIPES