The horrifying History of Halloween 
Brandon Grissom, Charger Staff
With Halloween around the corner, I feel
that we should delve into the origins of this incredibly interesting
holiday. The history of Halloween is deeply rooted in tradition
and myth.
Shall we get to the heart of the matter?
Halloween’s origins are from the Catholic Church. It comes
from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1 is All
Hallows Day, a catholic day in honor of saints. In the fifth century
B.C. , in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31,
It was believed that on that day, spirits of the dead could possess
people in order to remain on Earth for another year.
In order to ward off spirits, on October
31, townspeople would dress in scary costumes and cause massive
property damage. Other methods of banishing spirits included the
burning of someone already thought to be possessed. This was a warning
to other disembodied spirits.
The Romans, after hearing of these practices,
adopted them as their own. They also added them to their own rituals
that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the
goddess of fruit and trees. Pomona’s symbol was an apple. This
might explain the origin of bobbing for apples.
Trick-or-treating came from ninth century
Europe. On November 2, beggars would walk from house to house begging
for cakes. The more cakes they received, the more they promised
to say prayers for the donors dead relatives.
The Jack-O-Lantern comes from Irish folklore.
A man named Jack was banned from Heaven and Hell and was given a
single ember to guide him through the night. In order to protect
the ember, Jack placed it in a hollow turnip.
That concludes my brief history of a misunderstood
holiday. I hope that I have answered a few questions that have been
weighting down your very being. I now feel that I must give my fellow
students some advice to keep them safe on the scariest of holidays.
While
I do not condone Halloween vandalism in any
way, I hope that you remember the following information: an indictment
is not a conviction and it is only a crime if you get caught. I
hope all of you have a safe and happy Halloween.
Article prepared for web by Joy Wheeler
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