From the traditions passed on to create the autumn holiday to the folklore surrounding
your favorite decorations, today we look at the Dark Secrets of Halloween.
Number 10.
Name Origins Most everyone, at least in the United States,
is familiar with the festive fall-time celebration of Halloween, rich with scary costumes and
sweet treats.
But where does the name for this spooky holiday come from?
It originates from the Catholic Holiday of All Saint's Day, which was established by
the 5th century A.D. under the moniker All Martyr's Day.
As time passed, that holiday gained many different synonymous titles, such as All Hallow's Day,
with Hallow meaning a holy person or a saint.
Every November 1st, Catholics would celebrate the sacred date, and eventually the night
before gained holiday status as well.
The evening before was known as Hallows' Evening or Hallows' Eve, and the Scots word for "eve"
is "even" which was contracted to "e'en" , so it became Hallows' E'en which in turn eventually
became Halloween.
Number 9.
Celtic History In an attempt to increase participation in
the Catholic All Hallow's Day Eve and subsequently All Hallow's Day, communities began blending
in the traditions of a popular pagan holiday known as Samhain . This festival has Celtic
origins and is meant to celebrate the end of the Summer, thus foods made from the fall
harvest, such as pumpkins, became festivity staples.
However, there was more to Samhain than praising autumn leaves and squashes.
According to Celtic mythology, this time of the year was when the walls between the real
world and the afterlife wane thin.
Pagan believers considered this to mean the spirits and souls of those who had passed
were more likely to return to the world of the living.
To celebrate and honor these souls, especially relatives and ancestors, Celtic pagans would
offer tribute in the form of food and costumed entertainment.
Sporting animal masks and skins, the believers hoped to confuse the spirits, and in the process
offered both tricks AND treats to the supposed ghosts that came to visit!
By adding these elements, which are very similar to the celebrations tied to the Mexican holiday
known as Dia de los Muertos , the Catholic church hoped to convert pagans more easily
to their beliefs.
Number 8.
Bobbing For Prophecies One of the most popular games at Halloween
parties around the world is the classic "Bobbing for Apples".
Fall is already apple harvesting season, so it may seem as though this game came to be
as a sort of convenient collusion.
In truth though, much like other Halloween traditions, this vintage party game dates
back centuries in accordance with Celtic Pagan beliefs.
Originally, bobbing for apples was a form of divination, or way of reading the future.
But unlike the endless results presented by tarot cards or horoscopes, this form of divination
had a very specific purpose.
Long before speed dating and matchmaking apps, people would bob for apples to discover their
potential soulmate.
Different versions of the game exist, with one consisting of women marking apples that
their male suitors would then need to bob for, and being paired with which ever lady's
apple they bit into.
Another version comes from the Romans and a celebration towards Pomona, the goddess
of plenty.
In this version, unmarried participants would engage in apple bobbing to determine who could
be the next to marry.
And then there is the tradition that says a young woman who places the apple she bobbed
under her pillow will dream of her future love!
Number 7.
The Jack-O'-Lantern Adorning the porches of homes all over in
October are the intricately-carved, candle-lit pumpkins known as Jack-O'-Lanterns.
Today's jack-o'-lanterns act as a canvas for anything from friendly and frightening faces
to elaborate works of art.
Long before this current incarnation of the holiday tradition, though, jack-o'-lanterns
looked quite different in 19th century Ireland where they originated.
The practice originated with the legend of the Irish mythical figure "Stingy Jack", though
there are many different versions of the tale.
One tells of a character who was known for living a very deceptive life, partaking in
evil deeds and telling many lies.
This drew the attention of the devil, who came to claim Stingy Jack's soul one night.
After convincing the prince of darkness into buying him a few rounds at the pub, the devil
transformed into a coin to pay the tab.
Jack acted quickly, stashing the coin into his pocket, right next to a crucifix, allowing
him to strike a deal with the devil to spare his soul.
When Jack passed away, due to his fiendish ways in life, he was denied entry to heaven
and the underworld, cursed to roam the Earth with a hollowed turnip for a head, lit by
an ember gifted from Beelzebub.
Thus during Samhain, it became a tradition for carved turnips and rutabagas to be placed
out to ward off evil spirits.
Eventually, pumpkins replaced them sometime later.
Number 6.
Tricks, Treats, & Soul Cakes Perhaps the most iconic image associated with
Halloween is the sight of children swarming the streets each October 31st.
Candy and jump scares weren't always the highlights of this costumed practice of "Trick-or-Treating"
as the current day version of the practice is actually the combination of various traditions
from different cultures.
For example, the concept of costumes, as mentioned prior, draws from Ancient Celts who would
wield their costumes to confuse and scare away evil spirits.
As for seeking out sweet treats, this practice began in medieval England where the poor would
go "souling" in the Autumn.
This act consisted of visiting the rich seeking "soul cakes" in exchange for religious compensation,
with the "soulers" praying on behalf of the souls of the generous.
Adding another layer onto this smorgasbord of traditions is the medieval European custom
of mummering.
This is the general act of dressing in disguise and partying from door to door during major
feast days, enjoying music, dance, and performances along the way.
"Souling" first arrived to the United States in the 19th century, but it wasn't until the
1920s that children began trick-or-treating as they do today.
Number 5.
Halloween in America When Halloween first arrived in colonial America,
it wasn't the majorly celebrated holiday we know today.
Much of New England shunned the autumnal celebrations due to the strict Protestant beliefs of the
culture at the time.
It did, however, resonate with Maryland and the colonies south of that, perhaps due to
the agricultural familiarity of the region and Halloween's relation to the fall harvest.
Over time, European customs began to blend with those of Native Americans, creating a
new, uniquely American celebration of All Hallow's Eve.
The first such festivities involved public parties where neighbors would dance, sing,
read fortunes, and tell stories.
These tales usually included ghost stories, accounts of mischief, and chronicles of those
who had passed away.
Such fall festivals would gain popularity by the mid 19th century, but it wasn't until
a new wave of immigrants arrived in the latter half of the 1800s that Halloween would finally
catch on.
Bringing their native customs and beliefs, and combining them with the festivals already
gaining steam in the new nation, the Irish immigrants coming to America changed Halloween
forever in the United States.
Number 4.
Fear Factor Horror movies have been a popular genre since
the turn of the 20th century, but as Halloween caught on throughout the 1900s as one of the
most commercially successful holidays in the United States, Hollywood took notice.
The popular "Halloween" franchise first debuted in theatres in 1978 just 6 days before the
holiday of the same name.
But rather than start the trend, this film followed in the footsteps of movies like "Night
of the Living Dead" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" to bring terrifying movies to the
public just in time for Halloween.
Since then, October has been an ideal release month for horror films as box office numbers
soar for the genre given the holiday spirit.
In 2018, the horror-superhero hybrid film "Venom" raked in over 80 million dollars and
the latest "Halloween" film garnered another 76 million in each of their opening weekends,
becoming the biggest October film releases in history.
But this year's psychological thriller "Joker" surpassed them both, bringing in more than
96 million dollars across 3 days!
Who knows where the horror film genre would be today if not for Halloween.
Number 3.
Lost Traditions While the majority of our current Halloween
customs are derived from the traditions of international cultures throughout history,
many rituals of Hallow's Eve past have dwindled into obscurity.
Strangely, the majority of these practices revolve around connecting women with their
soulmates!
In 18th century Ireland, chefs looking to play matchmaker would bury a ring within a
maiden diner's mashed potatoes with the aim of bringing true love to their customers.
Scottish fortune tellers would instruct young women in search of a suitor to inscribe the
names of men with which she was interested onto hazelnuts, then toss them into the fireplace.
While some may pop or explode, the one that burnt to ashes was said to be her future husband,
by some accounts, while others state a burnt hazelnut represented a love that would not
last.
Other lost superstitions involve reading egg yolks for clues about the future, tossing
apple peels behind you to see if they form the name of a future love on the ground, and
holding a candle to a mirror in a dark room to see your future husband's face over your
shoulder.
Number 2.
Sweet Scheme Transcending beyond cultural traditions, Halloween
has spiraled into a major seasonal industry, drumming up huge revenue in the autumnal months.
Each year, Americans spend over 4 billion dollars on costumes, and another 2 billion
dollars on candy!
In fact, the holiday has become a cornerstone for the sweets industry as a quarter of their
yearly revenue comes from this single night of trick-or-treating.
These huge profits aren't driven by mere chance, though.
In 1985, during a Senate hearing on daylight saving time, candy corporations allegedly
banned together in hopes of swaying the vote.
In addition to lobbying the representatives, the industry giants supposedly went so far
as to place candy pumpkins on the seat of every senator at the hearing, according to
N.P.R.... though the industry disputes this detail.
Their goal?
To extend daylight savings time back into the beginning of November, allowing children
more time to go trick-or-treating, and thus encouraging adults to purchase more candy
to satiate the needs of Halloween-goers!
Number 1.
Full Moon Rarity When it comes to film depictions, creepy creatures
always seem to stir during a full moon on Halloween night.
Whether it be ghouls, vampires, or werewolves, popular media always seems to pair them with
this specific moon phase.
But the likelihood of a full moon falling on October 31st has proven to be fairly rare,
in reality.
Since it caught on in the 1920s, only five Halloweens saw the big wheel of cheese in
the sky shine in all its glory, occurring in 1925, 1944, 1955, 1974, and 2001.
Lucky, or unlucky depending on your superstitions, for us, the next appearance of a full moon
on Halloween is just around the corner, slated for Halloween 2020.