| Halloween seems such a secular holiday with all | | | | bonfire on a hill and all the Celtic tribes |
| those ghouls and goblins going door to door with | | | | extinguished the fires in their homes and traveled |
| their never-ending extortion scheme called "trick | | | | to the bonfire to relight their fires from a |
| or treat". It is hard to imagine that this tradition | | | | common source, signifying their unity and |
| rose from a mixture of pagan and Christian | | | | attempting to bring good fortune to their |
| religious practices that reach back into antiquity. | | | | households. It was an occasion for spiritual ritual |
| Tricks or Treats | | | | as well as celebration and the sharing of the |
| Trick or Treating has its roots in the myths of | | | | harvest. |
| Hecate, the Greek goddess of the crossroads. A | | | | Jack O'Lanterns |
| quiet and compassionate goddess, Hecate was | | | | According to folklore, Irish farmers carved little |
| responsible for helping travelers find their way to | | | | lanterns out of turnips to carry their new flames |
| their eventual destinations. | | | | lit from the Samhain bonfire back to their homes. |
| Nocturnal Wanderings on Autumn Nights | | | | The belief that the flames would flicker to give |
| One of Hecate's duties was to ease the transition | | | | warning when spirits were present led to the |
| of the dying and, after their deaths, to help them | | | | tradition of carving faces into them to help scare |
| become adjust to their new homes in the | | | | the spirits away. |
| Underworld. In her role as 'Queen of the Night', | | | | Centuries later, during the great potato famine in |
| she sometimes took those who were restless | | | | Ireland, Irish immigrants brought his custom with |
| and finding it difficult to "settle in" on brief trips | | | | them, but it was quickly changed to carving |
| back to the land of the living--just to help them | | | | pumpkins since they were more plentiful and |
| gradually adjust to the change. | | | | certainly easier to carve! |
| Mid-autumn was the time of year when the "veil | | | | Of Saints and Souls |
| between the worlds" was thought to be the | | | | During the Roman occupation of the Celtic regions |
| thinnest and most easily penetrated, a time when | | | | in the first century A.D. a new Christian holiday, |
| the laws of space and time were temporarily | | | | "All Hallows Day", was introduced by the Roman |
| suspended, allowing the spirit world to intermingle | | | | Catholic Church. It incorporated many of the |
| with the living. | | | | pagan Samhain customs, for it had long been the |
| Often seen traipsing around the countryside with | | | | practice of the Roman church to co-opt some of |
| her following of ghosts, Hecate was both honored | | | | the religious practices of local religions in order to |
| and feared. Understandably, the stories of these | | | | ease the practitioners into the Christian religion by |
| wanderings stimulated phobias about becoming | | | | making it seem more familiar. |
| ''possessed' by one of the spirits who might have | | | | The word Halloween actually came from |
| been searching for a body to occupy! | | | | contraction of the word "All Hallows Eve" which |
| Treats to Eat | | | | occurred on the same date as Samhain. Also |
| Gifts of food and drink were left on the doorstep | | | | known as "All Souls (or All Saints) Day", the |
| at night to "feed" the wandering spirits and | | | | holiday was celebrated in remembrance of the |
| prevent their coming into the house looking for | | | | Saints and other beloved departed on the first of |
| food. (Presumably vagrants, the homeless, | | | | November. |
| escaped slaves, and wandering dogs were the | | | | Tricks Or Treats: Your Choice Entirely |
| actual beneficiaries of this practice. Perhaps this | | | | On All Hallows Eve, beggars were allowed to |
| practice accounts for why Hecate was considered | | | | come to the doors and ask for "All-Souls Cakes" |
| the protectress of the outcast and the | | | | (currant-filled biscuits or scones). In return the |
| oppressed.) | | | | beggars promised to pay for their treats by |
| And thus the tradition of "treating" began. The | | | | saying prayers for the recently deceased of the |
| presence of ghosts, skeletons, and demons on | | | | household. If the household was stingy, vandalism |
| our porches should hardly surprise us! | | | | often ensued--hence, the association between |
| Halloween and the Autumn Harvest | | | | Tricks and Treats. |
| In ancient Ireland, October 31 marked the official | | | | Trick or treating in the true spirit of Halloween |
| "end of summer". It was time for the pagan | | | | asks us to be more understanding of those who |
| festival of Samhain, a chance to get together and | | | | in some way seem "different" from us, perhaps |
| relax after the completion of the final harvest. | | | | even frightening. Given the meaning of the ancient |
| Any crops that had not yet been harvested were | | | | customs, Halloween should also remind us to |
| to be left in the fields to feed the spirits and keep | | | | share our bountiful gifts and to take a moment to |
| them at bay. | | | | recall and honor "those who have gone on before |
| During Samhain, the Druids created an enormous | | | | us". |