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Halloween
(All hallows Even) is the evening of
October 31. In its strictly religious
aspect this occasion is known as the
vigil of Hallowmas or All Saints' Day,
November 1, observed by the Roman Catholic
and Anglican churches. In the fourth
decade of the 8th century, Pope Gregory
III assigned this date for celebrating
the feast when he consecrated a chapel
in St. Peter's basilica to all the saints.
Gregory IV extended the feast to the
entire church in 834. In Latin countries
the evening of October 31 is observed
only as a religious occasion, but in
Great Britain, Ireland, and the United
States, ancient Halloween folk customs
persist alongside the ecclesiastical
observance.
Students of folklore believe that the popular customs of Halloween show traces
of the Roman harvest festival of Pomona and of Druidism. These influences are
inferred from the use of nuts and apples as traditional Halloween foods and from
the figures of witches, black cats, and skeletons commonly associated with the
occasion. In pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland, the Celtic year ended on October
31, the eve of Samhain, and was celebrated with both religious and harvest rites.
For the Druids, Samhain was both the "end of summer" and a festival
of the dead. The spirits of the departed were believed to visit their kinsmen
in search of warmth and good cheer as winter approached. It was also an occasion
when fairies, witches, and goblins terrified the populace. The agents of the
supernatural were alleged to steal infants, destroy crops, and kill farm animals.
Bonfires were lighted on hilltops on the eve of Samhain. The fires may have been
lighted to guide the spirits of the dead to the homes of their kinsmen or to
kill and ward off witches.
During the middle ages when the common folk believed that witchcraft was devoted
to the worship of Satan, this cult included periodic meetings, known as witches'
Sabbaths, which were allegedly given over to feasting and revelry. One of the
most important Sabbaths as held on Halloween. Witches were alleged to fly to
these meetings on broomsticks, accompanied by black cats who were their constant
companions. Stories of these Sabbaths are the source of much folklore about Halloween.
Pranks and mischief were common on Halloween. Wandering groups of celebrants
blocked doors of houses with carts, carried away gates and plows, tapped on windows,
threw vegetables at doors, and covered chimneys with turf so that smoke could
not escape. In some places boys and girls dressed in clothing of the opposite
sex and, wearing masks, visited neighbors to play tricks. These activities generally
resembled the harmful and mischievous behavior attributed to witches, fairies,
and goblins. The contemporary "trick or treat"
custom resembles an ancient Irish practice associated
with Allhallows Eve. Groups of peasants went from
house to house demanding food and other gifts in
preparation for the evening's festivities. Prosperity
was assured for liberal donors and threats were
made against stingy ones. These contributions were
often demanded in the name of Muck Olla, an early
Druid deity, or of St. Columb Cille, who worked
in Ireland during the 6th century. In England some
of the folk attributes of Halloween were assimilated
by Guy Fawkes day celebrated on November 5. Consequently
Halloween lost some of its importance there.
Immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland brought secular Halloween customs to
the U.S., but the festival did not become popular in this country until the latter
part of the 19th century. This may have been because it had long been popular
with the Irish, who migrated here in large numbers after 1840.
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