Halloween

Halloween, orHallowe'en(less commonly known asAllhalloween,All Hallows' Eve,orAll Saints' Eve),is a celebrationobserved in many countrieson 31 October, the eve of theWestern Christianfeast ofAll Hallows' Day. It is at the beginning of the observance ofAllhallowtide,the time in theliturgical yeardedicated to remembering the dead, includingsaints(hallows),martyrs, and all the faithful departed.In popular culture, the day has become a celebration ofhorrorand is associated with themacabreand thesupernatural.
One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced byCelticharvest festivals, particularly theGaelicfestivalSamhain, which are believed to havepaganroots.Some go further and suggest that Samhain may have beenChristianizedas All Hallows' Day, along with its eve, by theearly Church.Other academics say Halloween began independently as aChristianholiday, being thevigilof All Hallows' Day.Celebrated inIrelandandScotlandfor centuries,IrishandScottishimmigrants took many Halloween customs to North America in the 19th century,and then through American influence various Halloween customs spread to other countries by the late 20th and early 21st century.
Popular activities during Halloween includetrick-or-treating(or the relatedguisingandsouling), attendingHalloween costumeparties, carving pumpkins or turnips intojack-o'-lanterns, lightingbonfires,apple bobbing,divinationgames, playingpranks, visitinghaunted attractions, telling frightening stories, and watchinghorror or Halloween-themed films.Some people practice the Christian observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lightingcandleson the graves of the dead,although it is a secular celebration for others.Some Christians historicallyabstained from meaton All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certainvegetarianfoods on thisvigilday, including apples,potato pancakes, andsoul cakes.
The wordHalloweenorHallowe'en('Saints' evening') is ofChristian origin;a term equivalent to 'All Hallows Eve' as attested inOld English.The wordhallowe[']encomes from theScottishform ofAll Hallows' Eve(the evening beforeAll Hallows' Day):evenis the Scots term for 'eve' or 'evening',and is contracted toe'enoreen;(All) Hallow(s) E(v)enbecameHallowe'en.
Halloween is thought to have influences from Christian beliefs and practices.The English word 'Halloween' comes from "All Hallows' Eve", being the evening before the Christian holy days ofAll Hallows' Day(All Saints' Day) on 1 November andAll Souls' Dayon 2 November.Since the time of theearly Church,major feastsin Christianity (such asChristmas,EasterandPentecost) hadvigilsthat began the night before, as did the feast of All Hallows.These three days are collectively calledAllhallowtideand are a time whenWestern Christianshonour allsaintsand pray for recently departedsoulswho have yet to reach Heaven. Commemorations of all saints andmartyrswere held by several churches on various dates, mostly in springtime.In 4th-century RomanEdessait was held on 13 May, and on 13 May 609,Pope Boniface IVre-dedicatedthePantheonin Rome to "St Mary and all martyrs".This was the date ofLemuria, anancient Romanfestival of the dead.
In the 8th century,Pope Gregory III(731–741) founded anoratoryinSt Peter'sfor therelics"of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors".Some sources say it was dedicated on 1 November,while others say it was onPalm Sundayin April 732.By 800, there is evidence that churches in IrelandandNorthumbriawere holding a feast commemorating all saints on 1 November.Alcuinof Northumbria, a member ofCharlemagne's court, may then have introduced this 1 November date in theFrankish Empire.In 835, it became the official date in the Frankish Empire.Some suggest this was due to Celtic influence, while others suggest it was a Germanic idea,although it is claimed that both Germanic and Celtic-speaking peoples commemorated the dead at the beginning of winter.They may have seen it as the most fitting time to do so, as it is a time of 'dying' in nature.It is also suggested the change was made on the "practical grounds that Rome in summer could not accommodate the great number of pilgrims who flocked to it", and perhaps because ofpublic healthconcerns overRoman Fever, which claimed a number of lives during Rome's sultry summers.
By the end of the 12th century, the celebration had become known as theholy days of obligationin Western Christianity and involved such traditions as ringingchurch bellsfor souls inpurgatory. It was also "customary forcriersdressed in black to parade the streets, ringing a bell of mournful sound and calling on all good Christians to remember the poor souls".The Allhallowtide custom of baking and sharingsoul cakesfor allchristenedsouls,has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating.The custom dates back at least as far as the 15th centuryand was found in parts of England, Wales, Flanders,Bavaria and Austria.Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door during Allhallowtide, collecting soul cakes, in exchange forpraying for the dead, especially the souls of the givers' friends and relatives. This was called "souling".Soul cakes were also offered for the souls themselves to eat,or the 'soulers' would act as their representatives.As with theLententradition ofhot cross buns, soul cakes were often marked with across, indicating they were baked asalms.
Shakespearementions souling in his comedyThe Two Gentlemen of Verona(1593).While souling, Christians would carry "lanterns made of hollowed-out turnips", which could have originally represented souls of the dead;jack-o'-lanternswere used to ward off evil spirits.On All Saints' and All Souls' Day during the 19th century, candles were lit in homes in Ireland,Flanders, Bavaria, and inTyrol, where they were called "soul lights",that served "to guide the souls back to visit their earthly homes".In many of these places, candles were also lit at graves on All Souls' Day.InBrittany,libationsof milk were poured on the graves of kinfolk,or food would be left overnight on the dinner table for the returning souls;a custom also found in Tyrol and parts of Italy.
Christian minister Prince Sorie Conteh linked the wearing of costumes to the belief invengeful ghosts: "It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints' Day, and All Hallows' Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to thenext world. In order to avoid being recognized by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes".In the Middle Ages, churches in Europe that were too poor to displayrelicsofmartyred saintsat Allhallowtide let parishioners dress up as saints instead.Some Christians observe this custom at Halloween today.Lesley Bannatynebelieves this could have been a Christianization of an earlier pagan custom.Many Christians in mainland Europe, especially in France, believed "that once a year, on Hallowe'en, the dead of the churchyards rose for one wild, hideous carnival" known as thedanse macabre, which was often depicted inchurch decoration.Christopher AllmandandRosamond McKitterickwrite inThe New Cambridge Medieval Historythat thedanse macabreurged Christians "not to forget the end of all earthly things".Thedanse macabrewas sometimes enacted in European village pageants andcourt masques, with people "dressing up as corpses from various strata of society", and this may be the origin of Halloween costume parties.
In Britain, these customs came under attack during theReformation, asProtestantsberated purgatory as a "popish" doctrine incompatible with the Calvinist doctrine ofpredestination. State-sanctioned ceremonies associated with theintercession of saintsandprayer for souls in purgatorywere abolished during theElizabethan reform, though All Hallows' Day remained in the Englishliturgical calendarto "commemorate saints as godly human beings".For someNonconformist Protestants, thetheologyof All Hallows' Eve was redefined: "souls cannot be journeying from Purgatory on their way to Heaven, as Catholics frequently believe and assert. Instead, the so-called ghosts are thought to be in actuality evil spirits".Other Protestants believed in anintermediate stateknown asHades(Bosom of Abraham).In some localities, Catholics and Protestants continued souling,candlelitprocessions, or ringing church bells for the dead;the Anglican church eventually suppressed this bell-ringing.Mark Donnelly, a professor ofmedieval archaeology, and historian Daniel Diehl write that "barns andhomes were blessedto protect people and livestock from theeffect of witches, who were believed to accompany themalignant spiritsas they traveled the earth".
After 1605, Hallowtide was eclipsed in England byGuy Fawkes Night(5 November), which appropriated some of its customs.In England, the ending of official ceremonies related to the intercession of saints led to the development of new, unofficial Hallowtide customs. In 18th–19th century ruralLancashire, Catholic families gathered on hills on the night of All Hallows' Eve. One held a bunch of burning straw on apitchforkwhile the rest knelt around him, praying for the souls of relatives and friends until the flames went out. This was known asteen'lay.There was a similar custom inHertfordshire, and the lighting of 'tindle' fires inDerbyshire.Some suggested these 'tindles' were originally lit to "guide the poor souls back to earth".In Scotland and Ireland, old Allhallowtide customs that were at odds with Reformed teaching were not suppressed as they "were important to the life cycle and rites of passage of local communities" and curbing them would have been difficult.
In parts of Italy until the 15th century, families left a meal out for theghostsof relatives, before leaving forchurch services.In 19th-century Italy, churches staged "theatrical re-enactments of scenes from the lives of the saints" on All Hallows' Day, with "participants represented by realistic wax figures".In 1823, the graveyard ofHoly Spirit Hospitalin Rome presented a scene in which bodies of those who recently died were arrayed around a wax statue of anangelwho pointed upward towardsheaven.In the same country, "parish priests went house-to-house, asking for small gifts of food which they shared among themselves throughout that night".In Spain, they continue to bake special pastries called "bones of the holy" (Spanish:Huesos de Santo) and set them on graves.At cemeteries in Spain and France, as well as inLatin America, priests leadChristian processionsand services during Allhallowtide, after which people keep an all night vigil.In 19th-centurySan Sebastián, there was a procession to the city cemetery at Allhallowtide, an event that drew beggars who "appeal[ed] to the tender recollections of one's deceased relations and friends" for sympathy.
Today's Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced byfolkcustoms and beliefs from theCeltic-speaking countries, some of which are believed to havepaganroots.Jack Santino, afolklorist, writes that "there was throughout Ireland an uneasy truce existing between customs and beliefs associated with Christianity and those associated with religions that were Irish before Christianity arrived".The origins of Halloween customs are typically linked to theGaelicfestivalSamhain.
Samhain is one of thequarter daysin the medieval Gaelic calendar and has been celebrated on 31 October – 1 Novemberin Ireland, Scotland and theIsle of Man.A kindred festival has been held by theBrittonicCelts, calledCalan Gaeafin Wales,Kalan GwavinCornwallandKalan GoañvinBrittany; a name meaning "first day of winter". For the Celts, the day ended and began at sunset; thus the festival begins the evening before 1 November by modern reckoning.Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature. The names have been used by historians to refer to Celtic Halloween customs up until the 19th century,and are still the Gaelic and Welsh names for Halloween.
Samhain marked the end of theharvestseason and beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year.It was seen as aliminaltime, when the boundary between this world and theOtherworldthinned. This meant theAos Sí, the 'spirits' or 'fairies', could more easily come into this world and were particularly active.Most scholars see them as "degraded versions of ancient gods [...] whose power remained active in the people's minds even after they had been officially replaced by later religious beliefs".They were both respected and feared, with individuals often invoking the protection ofGodwhen approaching their dwellings.At Samhain, theAos Síwereappeasedto ensure the people and livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink, or portions of the crops, were left outside for them.The souls of the dead were also said to revisit their homes seekinghospitality.Places were set at the dinner table and by the fire to welcome them.The belief that the souls of the dead return home on one night of the year and must be appeased seems to have ancient origins and is found in many cultures.In 19th century Ireland, "candles would be lit andprayersformally offered for the souls of the dead. After this the eating, drinking, and games would begin".
Throughout Ireland and Britain, especially in the Celtic-speaking regions, the household festivities includeddivinationrituals and games intended to foretell one's future, especially regarding death and marriage.Apples and nuts were often used, and customs includedapple bobbing, nut roasting,scryingor mirror-gazing,pouring molten leadoregg whitesinto water,dream interpretation, and others.Specialbonfireswere lit and there were rituals involving them. Their flames, smoke, and ashes were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers.In some places, torches lit from the bonfire were carriedsunwisearound homes and fields to protect them.It is suggested the fires were a kind ofimitative or sympathetic magic– they mimicked the Sun and held back the decay and darkness of winter.They were also used for divination and to ward off evil spirits.In Scotland, these bonfires and divination games were banned by the church elders in some parishes.In Wales, bonfires were also lit to "prevent the souls of the dead from falling to earth".Later, these bonfires "kept away thedevil".
From at least the 16th century,the festival includedmummingandguisingin Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Wales.This involved 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 theAos Sí, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf, similar to 'souling'. Impersonating these beings, or wearing a disguise, was also believed to protect oneself from them.In parts of southern Ireland, the guisers included ahobby horse. A man dressed as aLáir Bhán(white mare) led youths house-to-house reciting verses – some of which had pagan overtones – in exchange for food. If the household donated food it could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not doing so would bring misfortune.In Scotland, youths went house-to-house with masked, painted or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.F. Marian McNeillsuggests the ancient festival included people in costume representing the spirits, and that faces were marked or blackened with ashes from the sacred bonfire.In parts of Wales, men went about dressed as fearsome beings calledgwrachod.In the late 19th and early 20th century, young people inGlamorganandOrkneycross-dressed.
Elsewhere in Europe, mumming was part of other festivals, but in the Celtic-speaking regions, it was "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human wanderers".From at least the 18th century, "imitating malignant spirits" led to playing pranks in Ireland and theScottish Highlands. Wearing costumes and playing pranks at Halloween did not spread to England until the 20th century.Pranksters used hollowed-outturnipsormangel wurzelsas lanterns, often carved with grotesque faces.By those who made them, the lanterns were variously said to represent the spirits,orused to ward offevil spirits.They were common in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands in the 19th century,as well as inSomerset(seePunkie Night). In the 20th century they spread to other parts of Britain and became generally known asjack-o'-lanterns.
Lesley Bannatyneand Cindy Ott write thatAnglicancolonists in the southern United States andCatholiccolonists inMaryland"recognized All Hallows' Eve in their church calendars",although the Puritans ofNew Englandstrongly opposed the holiday, along with other traditional celebrations of the established Church, including Christmas.Almanacsof the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was widely celebrated in North America.
It was not until after massIrishandScottish immigrationin the 19th century that Halloween became a major holiday in America.Most American Halloween traditions were inherited from the Irish and Scots,though "InCajunareas, a nocturnal Mass was said in cemeteries on Halloween night. Candles that had been blessed were placed on graves, and families sometimes spent the entire night at the graveside".Originally confined to these immigrant communities, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and was celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial, and religious backgrounds by the early 20th century.Then, throughAmerican influence, these Halloween traditions spread to many other countries by the late 20th and early 21st century, including tomainlandEurope and some parts of theFar East.
Development ofartifactsandsymbolsassociated with Halloween formed over time.Jack-o'-lanternsare traditionally carried byguiserson All Hallows' Eve in order to frightenevil spirits.There is a popularIrish Christianfolktale associated with the jack-o'-lantern,which infolkloreis said to represent a "soulwho has been denied entry into bothheavenandhell":
In Ireland, Scotland, and Northern England theturniphas traditionally been carved during Halloween,but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which is both much softer and much larger, making it easier to carve than a turnip.The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century.
The modern imagery of Halloween comes from many sources, includingChristian eschatology, national customs, works ofGothicandhorrorliterature (such as the novelsFrankenstein; or, The Modern PrometheusandDracula) and classic horror films such asFrankenstein(1931) andThe Mummy(1932).Imagery of theskull, a reference toGolgothain the Christian tradition, serves as "a reminder of death and the transitory quality of human life" and is consequently found inmemento moriandvanitascompositions;skulls have therefore been commonplace in Halloween, which touches on this theme.Traditionally, the back walls of churches are "decorated with a depiction of theLast Judgment, complete with graves opening and the dead rising, with a heaven filled with angels and a hell filled with devils", a motif that has permeated the observance of thistriduum.One of the earliest works on the subject of Halloween is from Scottish poetJohn Mayne, who, in 1780, made note ofpranksat Halloween—"What fearfu' pranks ensue!", as well as the supernatural associated with the night,"bogles"(ghosts)—influencingRobert Burns' "Halloween" (1785).Elements of theautumn season, such as pumpkins, cornhusks, andscarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of symbols around Halloween. Halloween imagery includes themes of death,evil, and mythicalmonsters.Black cats, which have been long associated with witches, are also a common symbol of Halloween. Black, orange, and sometimes purple are Halloween's traditional colors.
Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such ascandyor sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" implies a "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.The practice is said to have roots in the medieval practice ofmumming, which is closely related tosouling.John Pymm wrote that "many of the feast days associated with the presentation of mumming plays were celebrated by the Christian Church."Thesefeast daysincluded All Hallows' Eve, Christmas,Twelfth NightandShrove Tuesday.Mumming practiced in Germany, Scandinavia and other parts of Europe,involved masked persons infancy dresswho "paraded the streets and entered houses to dance or play dice in silence".
In England, from the medieval period,up until the 1930s,people practiced the Christian custom of souling on Halloween, which involved groups of soulers, both Protestant and Catholic,going fromparishto parish, begging the rich for soul cakes, in exchange forprayingfor the souls of the givers and their friends.In the Philippines, the practice of souling is calledPangangaluluwaand is practiced on All Hallows' Eve among children in rural areas.People drape themselves in white cloths to represent souls and then visit houses, where they sing in return for prayers and sweets.
In Scotland and Ireland,guising—children disguised in costume going from door to door for food or coins—is a secular Halloween custom.It is recorded in Scotland at Halloween in 1895 where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit 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".Author Nicholas Rogers cites an early example of guising in North America in 1911, where a newspaper inKingston, Ontario, Canada, reported children going "guising" around the neighborhood.
American historian and authorRuth Edna KelleyofMassachusettswrote the first book-length history of Halloween in the US:The Book of Hallowe'en(1919), and references souling in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America".In her book, Kelley touches on customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its best days overseas. All Halloween customs in the United States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries".
While the first reference to "guising" in North America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920.The earliest known use in print of the term "trick or treat" appears in 1927, in theBlackie Herald, ofAlberta, Canada.
The thousands ofHalloween postcardsproduced between the turn of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but not trick-or-treating.Trick-or-treating does not seem to have become a widespread practice in North America until the 1930s, with the first US appearances of the term in 1934,and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939.
A popular variant of trick-or-treating, known as trunk-or-treating (or Halloween tailgating), occurs when "children are offered treats from the trunks of cars parked in a church parking lot", or sometimes, a school parking lot.In a trunk-or-treat event, thetrunk(boot) of each automobile is decorated with a certain theme,such as those of children's literature, movies,scripture, andjob roles.Trunk-or-treating has grown in popularity due to its perception as being more safe than going door to door, a point that resonates well with parents, as well as the fact that it "solves the rural conundrum in which homes [are] built a half-mile apart".
Halloween costumes were traditionally modeled after figures such asvampires,ghosts,skeletons, scary lookingwitches, and devils.Over time, the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities, and genericarchetypessuch asninjasandprincesses.
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 and Scotland, the masks are known as 'false faces',a term recorded in Ayr, Scotland in 1890 by a Scot describing guisers: "I had mind it was Halloween ... the wee callans (boys) were at it already, rinning aboot wi' their fause-faces (false faces) on and their bits o' turnip lanthrons (lanterns) in their haun (hand)".Costuming became popular for Halloween parties in the US in the early 20th century, as often for adults as for children, and when trick-or-treating was becoming popular in Canada and the US in the 1920s and 1930s.
Eddie J. Smith, in his bookHalloween, Hallowed is Thy Name, offers a religious perspective to the wearing of costumes on All Hallows' Eve, suggesting that by dressing up as creatures "who at one time caused us to fear and tremble", people are able to poke fun atSatan"whose kingdom has been plundered by our Saviour". Images of skeletons and the dead are traditional decorations used asmemento mori.
"Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" is a fundraising program to supportUNICEF,a United Nations Programme that provides humanitarian aid to children in developing countries. Started as a local event in aNortheast Philadelphianeighborhood in 1950 and expanded nationally in 1952, the program involves the distribution of small boxes by schools (or in modern times, corporate sponsors likeHallmark, at their licensed stores) to trick-or-treaters, in which they can solicit small-change donations from the houses they visit. It is estimated that children have collected more than $118 million for UNICEF since its inception. In Canada, in 2006, UNICEF decided to discontinue their Halloween collection boxes, citing safety and administrative concerns; after consultation with schools, they instead redesigned the program.
The yearlyNew York's Village Halloween Paradewas begun in 1974; it is the world's largest Halloween parade and America's only major nighttime parade, attracting more than 60,000 costumed participants, two million spectators, and a worldwide television audience.
Since the late 2010s,ethnic stereotypesas costumes have increasingly come under scrutiny in the United States.
According to a 2018 report from theNational Retail Federation, 30 million Americans will spend an estimated $480 million on Halloween costumes for their pets in 2018. This is up from an estimated $200 million in 2010. The most popular costumes for pets are the pumpkin, followed by thehot dog, and thebumblebeein third place.
There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween. Some of these games originated asdivinationrituals or ways of foretelling one's future, especially regarding death, marriage and children. During theMiddle Ages, these rituals were done by a "rare few" in rural communities as they were considered to be "deadly serious" practices.In recent centuries, these divination games have been "a common feature of the household festivities" in Ireland and Britain.They often involve apples and hazelnuts. InCeltic mythology,appleswere strongly associated with theOtherworldandimmortality, whilehazelnutswere associated with divine wisdom.Some also suggest that they derive from Roman practices in celebration ofPomona.
The following activities were a common feature of Halloween in Ireland and Britain during the 17th–20th centuries. Some have become more widespread and continue to be popular today.
One common game isapple bobbingor dunking (which may be called "dooking" in Scotland)in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use only their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. Variants of dunking involve kneeling on a chair, holding a fork between the teeth and trying to drive the fork into an apple, or embedding a coin in the apple which participants had to remove with their teeth. Another common game involves hanging up treacle or syrup-coatedsconesby strings; these must be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string, an activity that inevitably leads to a sticky face. A similar game involved hanging an apple from a string with a coin embedded; the coin had to be removed without using hands. Another once-popular game involves hanging a small wooden rod from the ceiling at head height, with a lit candle on one end and an apple hanging from the other. The rod is spun round, and everyone takes turns to try to catch the apple with their teeth.
Several of the traditional activities from Ireland and Britain involve foretelling one's future partner or spouse. An apple would be peeled in one long strip, then the peel tossed over the shoulder. The peel is believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse's name.Two hazelnuts would be roasted near a fire; one named for the person roasting them and the other for the person they desire. If the nuts jump away from the heat, it is a bad sign, but if the nuts roast quietly it foretells a good match.A salty oatmealbannockwould be baked; the person would eat it in three bites and then go to bed in silence without anything to drink. This is said to result in a dream in which their future spouse offers them a drink to quench their thirst.Unmarried women were told that if they sat in a darkened room andgazed into a mirroron Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror.The custom was widespread enough to be commemorated on greeting cardsfrom the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Another popular Irish game was known aspúicíní("blindfolds"); a person would be blindfolded and then would choose between severalsaucers. The item in the saucer would provide a hint as to their future: aringwould mean that they would marry soon;clay, that they would die soon, perhaps within the year; water, that they wouldemigrate;rosary beads, that they would takeHoly Orders(become a nun, priest, monk, etc.); acoin, that they would become rich; abean, that they would be poor.The game features prominently in theJames Joyceshort story "Clay" (1914).
In Ireland and Scotland, items would be hidden in food – usually a cake,barmbrack,cranachan,champorcolcannon– and portions of it served out at random. A person's future would be foretold by the item they happened to find; for example, a ring meant marriage and a coin meant wealth.
Up until the 19th century, the Halloween bonfires were also used for divination in parts of Scotland, Wales and Brittany. When the fire died down, a ring of stones would be laid in the ashes, one for each person. In the morning, if any stone was mislaid it was said that the person it represented would not live out the year.In Mexico, children create altars to invite the spirits of deceased children to return (angelitos).
Tellingghost stories, listening to Halloween-themed songs and watching horror films are common fixtures of Halloween parties. Episodes of television series andHalloween-themed specials(with the specials usually aimed at children) are commonly aired on or before Halloween, while new horror films are often released before Halloween to take advantage of the holiday.
Haunted attractions are entertainment venues designed to thrill and scare patrons. Most attractions are seasonal Halloween businesses that may includehaunted houses,corn mazes, andhayrides,and the level of sophistication of the effects has risen as the industry has grown.
The first recorded purpose-built haunted attraction was the Orton and Spooner Ghost House, which opened in 1915 inLiphook, England. This attraction actually most closely resembles a carnival fun house, powered by steam.The House still exists, in theHollycombe Steam Collection.
It was during the 1930s, about the same time astrick-or-treating, that Halloween-themed haunted houses first began to appear in America. It was in the late 1950s that haunted houses as a major attraction began to appear, focusing first on California. Sponsored by the Children's Health Home Junior Auxiliary, the San Mateo Haunted House opened in 1957. The San Bernardino Assistance League Haunted House opened in 1958. Home haunts began appearing across the country during 1962 and 1963. In 1964, the San Manteo Haunted House opened, as well as the Children's Museum Haunted House in Indianapolis.
The haunted house as an American cultural icon can be attributed to the opening ofThe Haunted MansioninDisneylandon 12 August 1969.Knott's Berry Farmbegan hosting its own Halloween night attraction,Knott's Scary Farm, which opened in 1973.Evangelical Christians adopted a form of these attractions by opening one of the first "hell houses" in 1972.
The first Halloween haunted house run by a nonprofit organization was produced in 1970 by the Sycamore-Deer ParkJayceesinClifton, Ohio. It was cosponsored byWSAI, an AM radio station broadcasting out ofCincinnati, Ohio. It was last produced in 1982.Other Jaycees followed suit with their own versions after the success of the Ohio house. TheMarch of Dimescopyrighted a "Mini haunted house for the March of Dimes" in 1976 and began fundraising through their local chapters by conducting haunted houses soon after. Although they apparently quit supporting this type of event nationally sometime in the 1980s, some March of Dimes haunted houses have persisted until today.
On the evening of 11 May 1984, in Jackson Township, New Jersey, theHaunted Castleat Six Flags Great Adventure caught fire. As a result of the fire, eight teenagers perished.The backlash to the tragedy was a tightening of regulations relating to safety, building codes and the frequency of inspections of attractions nationwide. The smaller venues, especially the nonprofit attractions, were unable to compete financially, and the better funded commercial enterprises filled the vacuum.Facilities that were once able to avoid regulation because they were considered to be temporary installations now had to adhere to the stricter codes required of permanent attractions.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, theme parks became a notable figure in the Halloween business.Six Flags Fright Festbegan in 1986 andUniversal Studios FloridabeganHalloween Horror Nightsin 1991.Knott's Scary Farmexperienced a surge in attendance in the 1990s as a result of America's obsession with Halloween as a cultural event. Theme parks have played a major role in globalizing the holiday.Universal Studios SingaporeandUniversal Studios Japanboth participate, while Disney now mountsMickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Partyevents at its parks in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo, as well as in the United States.The theme park haunts are by far the largest, both in scale and attendance.
On All Hallows' Eve, many Western Christian denominations encourageabstinence from meat, giving rise to a variety ofvegetarianfoods associated with this day.
Because in theNorthern HemisphereHalloween comes in the wake of the yearly apple harvest,candy apples(known as toffee apples outside North America),caramel applesor taffy apples are common Halloween treats made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup or caramel, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts.
At one time, candy apples were commonly given to trick-or-treating children, but the practice rapidly waned in the wake of widespread rumors that some individuals were embedding items like pins andrazor blades in the applesin the United States.While there is evidence of such incidents,relative to the degree of reporting of such cases, actual cases involving malicious acts are extremely rare and have never resulted in serious injury. Nonetheless, many parents assumed that such heinous practices were rampant because of the mass media. At the peak of the hysteria, some hospitals offered free X-rays of children's Halloween hauls in order to find evidence of tampering. Virtually all of the few known candy poisoning incidents involved parents who poisoned their own children's candy.
One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays, the purchase) of abarmbrack(Irish:báirín breac), which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin, and other charms are placed before baking.It is considered fortunate to be the lucky one who finds it.It has also been said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing year. This is similar to the tradition ofking cakeat the festival ofEpiphany. Halloween-themed foods are also produced by companies in the lead up to the night, for exampleCadburyreleasing Goo Heads (similar toCreme Eggs) in spooky wrapping.
Foods such as cakes will often be decorated with Halloween colors (typically black, orange, and purple) and motifs for parties and events. Popular themes include pumpkins, spiders, and body parts.
List of foods associated with Halloween:
On Hallowe'en (All Hallows' Eve), in Poland, believers were once taught toprayout loud as they walk through the forests in order that the souls of the dead might find comfort; in Spain, Christian priests in tiny villages toll theirchurch bellsin order to remind their congregants to remember the dead on All Hallows' Eve.In Ireland, and among immigrants in Canada, a custom includes the Christian practice ofabstinence, keeping All Hallows' Eve as ameat-free dayand serving pancakes orcolcannoninstead.
TheChristian Churchtraditionally observed Hallowe'en through avigil. Worshippers prepared themselves for feasting on the followingAll Saints' Daywith prayers and fasting.Thischurch serviceis known as theVigil of All Hallowsor theVigil of All Saints;an initiative known asNight of Lightseeks to further spread theVigil of All HallowsthroughoutChristendom.After the service, "suitable festivities and entertainments" often follow, as well as a visit to the graveyard or cemetery, where flowers and candles are often placed in preparation forAll Hallows' Day.In England, Light Parties are organized by churches after worship services on Halloween with the focus on Jesus as theLight of the World.In Finland, because so many people visit the cemeteries on All Hallows' Eve to lightvotive candlesthere, they "are known asvalomeri, or seas of light".
Today, Christian attitudes towards Halloween are diverse. In theAnglican Church, somedioceseshave chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions associated with All Hallows' Eve.Some of thesepracticesincludepraying,fastingand attendingworship services.
OtherProtestant Christiansalso celebrate All Hallows' Eve asReformation Day, a day to remember theProtestant Reformation, alongside All Hallows' Eve or independently from it.This is becauseMartin Lutheris said to have nailed hisNinety-five ThesestoAll Saints' Church in Wittenbergon All Hallows' Eve.Often, "Harvest Festivals", "Hallelujah Night" or "Reformation Festivals" are held on All Hallows' Eve, in which children dress up asBible charactersorReformers.In addition to distributing candy to children who are trick-or-treating on Hallowe'en, many Christians also providegospel tractsto them. One organization, theAmerican Tract Society, stated that around 3 million gospel tracts are ordered from them alone for Hallowe'en celebrations.Others order Halloween-themedScripture Candyto pass out to children on this day.
Some Christians feel concerned about the modern celebration of Halloween because they feel it trivializes – or celebrates –paganism, theoccult, or other practices and cultural phenomena deemed incompatible with their beliefs.FatherGabriele Amorth, anexorcistin Rome, has said, "if English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that."TheCatholic Archdiocese of Bostonhas organized a "Saint Fest" on Halloween.Similarly, many contemporary Protestant churches view Halloween as a fun event for children, holding events in their churches where children and their parents can dress up, play games, and get candy for free. To these Christians, Halloween holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality, and the ways of the Celtic ancestors actually being a valuable life lesson and a part of many of their parishioners' heritage.Christian minister Sam Portaro wrote that Halloween is about using "humor and ridicule to confront the power of death".
In theCatholic Church, Halloween's Christian connection is acknowledged, and Halloween celebrations are common in manyCatholic parochial schools, such as in the United States,while schools throughout Ireland also close for the Halloween break.A fewfundamentalistandevangelicalchurches use "Hell houses" and comic-styletractsin order to make use of Halloween's popularity as an opportunity forevangelism.Others consider Halloween to be completely incompatible with the Christian faith due to its putative origins in theFestival of the Deadcelebration.Indeed, even thoughEastern OrthodoxChristians observe All Hallows' Day on the First Sunday afterPentecost, the Eastern Orthodox Church recommends the observance ofVespersor aParaklesison the Western observance of All Hallows' Eve, out of the pastoral need to provide an alternative to popular celebrations.
According toAlfred J. Kolatchin theSecond Jewish Book of Why, inJudaism, Halloween is not permitted by JewishHalakhabecause it violatesLeviticus 18:3, which forbids Jews from partaking in Gentile customs. Many Jews observeYizkorcommunally four times a year, which is vaguely similar to the observance ofAllhallowtidein Christianity, in the sense that prayers are said for both "martyrs and for one's own family".Nevertheless, many American Jews celebrate Halloween, disconnected from its Christian origins.ReformRabbiJeffrey Goldwasser has said that "There is no religious reason why contemporary Jews should not celebrate Halloween" whileOrthodoxRabbi Michael Broyde has argued against Jews' observing the holiday.Purimhas sometimes been compared to Halloween, in part due to some observants wearing costumes, especially of Biblical figures described in the Purim narrative.
SheikhIdris Palmer, author ofA Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, has ruled thatMuslimsshould not participate in Halloween, stating that "participation in Halloween is worse than participation in Christmas, Easter, ... it is more sinful than congratulating the Christians for their prostration to the crucifix".It has also been ruled to beharamby theNational Fatwa Council of Malaysiabecause of its alleged pagan roots stating "Halloween is celebrated using a humorous theme mixed with horror to entertain and resist the spirit of death that influence humans".Dar Al-Ifta Al-Missriyyahdisagrees provided the celebration is not referred to as an 'eid' and that behaviour remains in line with Islamic principles.
Hindusremember the dead during the festival ofPitru Paksha, during which Hindus pay homage to and perform a ceremony "to keep the souls of their ancestors at rest". It is celebrated in the Hindu month ofBhadrapada, usually in mid-September.The celebration of the Hindu festivalDiwalisometimes conflicts with the date of Halloween; but some Hindus choose to participate in the popular customs of Halloween.Other Hindus, such as Soumya Dasgupta, have opposed the celebration on the grounds that Western holidays like Halloween have "begun to adversely affect our indigenous festivals".
There is no consistent rule or view on Halloween amongst those who describe themselves asNeopagansorWiccans. Some Neopagans do not observe Halloween, but instead observeSamhainon 1 November,some neopagans do enjoy Halloween festivities, stating that one can observe both "the solemnity of Samhain in addition to the fun of Halloween". Some neopagans are opposed to the celebration of Hallowe'en, stating that it "trivializes Samhain",and "avoid Halloween, because of the interruptions from trick or treaters".The Manitobanwrites that "Wiccans don't officially celebrate Halloween, despite the fact that 31 Oct. will still have a star beside it in any good Wiccan's day planner. Starting at sundown, Wiccans celebrate a holiday known as Samhain. Samhain actually comes from old Celtic traditions and is not exclusive to Neopagan religions like Wicca. While the traditions of this holiday originate in Celtic countries, modern day Wiccans don't try to historically replicate Samhain celebrations. Some traditional Samhain rituals are still practised, but at its core, the period is treated as a time to celebrate darkness and the dead – a possible reason why Samhain can be confused with Halloween celebrations."
The traditions and importance of Halloween vary greatly among countries that observe it. In Scotland and Ireland, traditional Halloween customs include children dressing up in costume going "guising", holding parties, while other practices in Ireland include lighting bonfires, and having firework displays.In Brittany children would play practical jokes by setting candles inside skulls in graveyards to frighten visitors.Mass transatlantic immigration in the 19th century popularized Halloween in North America, and celebration in the United States and Canada has had a significant impact on how the event is observed in other nations.This larger North American influence, particularly in iconic and commercial elements, has extended to places such as Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile,Australia,New Zealand,(most)continental Europe, Finland,Japan, and other parts of East Asia.
In the American economy, Halloween accounts for over $10 billion every year. According to theNational Retail Federation, Americans were projected to spend $12.2 billion on Halloween in 2023, up from $10.6 billion in 2022. Of this amount, $3.9 billion is projected to be spent on home decorations, up from $2.7 billion in 2019. The popularity of Halloween decorations has been growing in recent years, with retailers offering a wider range of increasingly elaborate and oversized decorations.