What Are the Historic Superstitions of Halloween?

Around Halloween, we hear increased talk about superstitions. Most of them sound like silly things that someone just made up for fun. But many of today's superstitions have roots in ancient folklore. Here are the stories of some of the most popular ones.

Jack O'Lantern

Most of us carve faces into pumpkins on Halloween as decorations without giving it much thought. But did you know that a lighted jack o'lantern is supposed to keep evil spirits away? There is also an interesting legend about the origin of the jack o'lantern.

The story says that there was farmer by the name of Stingy Jack who was known for being a temperamental drunkard. One day the Devil came to claim his soul, but Jack tricked him into climbing an apple tree. While he was in the tree, Jack carved a cross into the trunk, which rendered the Devil powerless and unable to climb down.

When Jack died, he was not admitted into heaven because he had lived a sinful life. But the Devil would not let him into hell either. The Devil threw him an ember, and Jack carved out a turnip and placed it inside to light his way while he roamed the earth. In the United States, where pumpkins were plentiful, they were used instead of turnips.

Black Cats

The black cat is rather symbolic of Halloween, but folklore about the animal is not directly associated with the holiday. There are many superstitions about black cats, many of which associate them with bad luck. In some countries, however, they are associated with good luck.

One of the best known stories about black cats comes from 16th century England. It says that a father and son were frightened by a small creature crossing their path one night. The creature darted into a crawl space, and they threw rocks at it. When it scurried out, they saw that it was a black cat, which they had injured. It ran into the home of a woman suspected of witchcraft. The next day, the father and son saw the woman with a bruised face and bandaged arm. This story is responsible for the belief that witches can turn themselves into black cats.

Bobbing for Apples

Bobbing for apples is a popular game at Halloween parties. This too has its roots in ancient folklore. Apples were the symbol of the Roman goddess Pomona, who was known for her beauty and fertility. During the Celtic festival of Samhain, the predecessor to the modern Halloween, young unmarried people would attempt to bite apples that were either floating in water or hanging from a string. The first person to bite into one was believed to be the next to marry.

These are just a few of the many superstitions that go back thousands of years. Whether you believe in them or not, they are some of the things that make Halloween so much fun.

The Ancient Origin of Halloween

Today, when we think of Halloween, we think of kids wearing costumes ringing doorbells and getting candy. We think of haunted houses and parties featuring spooky decorations and fun treats. But do you know how Halloween got started?

Halloween goes back some 2,000 years, and its origins have nothing to do with candy. It is actually based on the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-en). This festival marked the transition from summer to winter, which was also regarded as the Celtic New Year. It was also something of a festival of the dead, as Celts believed that spirits roamed the earth on that night.

Like the modern Halloween, Samhain was celebrated on October 31st. But the activities undertaken on that night were quite different from those in which we participate today. The Celtic priests, called Druids, would build huge bonfires, and the people of the community gathered around them, throwing in crops and animal sacrifices. The Celts did wear costumes, which were initially made up of animal skins and heads, but later included masks designed to look like the faces of spirits. The purpose of the costume was to hide the wearer's identity from the spirits.

Legend has it that on this night, the presence of spirits made it easier for the Druids to predict the future. There were also certain rituals that anyone could perform in an effort to predict certain things. For instance, young, unmarried women were encouraged to place an apple under their pillows at bedtime so that they would dream of their future husbands. They would also comb their hair or eat an apple by candlelight while looking in a mirror in hopes that they would see the reflection of their future husband peeking over their shoulders.

The festival of Samhain was celebrated exclusively by the Celts. But when the Romans conquered most of their territory, Samhain was combined with two of the Romans' festivals. One of the festivals was Feralia, which was also a festival of the dead. The other festival honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit, whose symbol was the apple. This is believed to be the origin of the Halloween tradition of bobbing for apples.

The day after Halloween is currently known as All Saints' Day in most cultures. But in the days of Samhain, it was called All Hallows' Day. Eventually, the Romans began to call Samhain All Hallows' Eve. This was later shortened to the contraction “Hallow-e'en.” This was later simplified into today's spelling of Halloween.

The way we celebrate Halloween today is quite different from the way the Celts did it. Yet we can find traces of today's Halloween customs in those from ancient times. And by studying the holiday's origins, it's easy to see why Halloween is regarded as such a spooky and magical time.

Halloween Is Coming, Are You Ready?

Halloween bats :

They are everywhere this time of year. Halloween bats are seen on windows, doors, and sometimes hanging from porches. But here are a few facts about Halloween bats that you may not have known.

* Bats are the only mammals that can fly.

* There are over a thousand different types of bats.

Halloween cats :

Halloween is a time to be someone else. To have fun watching the kids go trick or treating, or to dance at costume parties what may not be known is that Halloween cats have more to do with this holiday than cursing you while it crosses your path.

These days Halloween cats are everywhere. There are plenty of Halloween cat graphics to put up as wallpaper on your computer, to stick on the glass of your windows, Halloween cat costumes and Halloween cat costumes for your cat.

Halloween Treats :

The Halloween season has many ways to celebrate. Often one that seems to fly lower than the plastic bats out on the front porch is the Halloween treats. All sorts of goodies can be found on the internet. This season have your family help make some gory and ghoulish Halloween treats.

Ever heard of kitty litter cake? Here the ingredients. This is a favorite Halloween treat for the kids, once they realize it is actually cake.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 German Chocolate Cake Mix

* 1 White Cake Mix

* 1 package White Sandwich Cookies

* 1 Large package Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

* Green food coloring

* 12 Small Tootsie Rolls

* 1 *NEW* kitty litter box

* 1 *NEW* kitty litter box plastic liner

* 1 *NEW* pooper scooper

Polina Alley (http://www.besthalloween-costumes.com )raise 4 kids and has written several ebooks on Halloween. Those ebooks are free and You can get them on her Halloween Costumes Site : http://www.besthalloween-costumes.com

The History of Halloween

What we now know as Halloween has a long and complicated history. It doesn’t come from just one source. It’s a blending of religious rites, superstitions, customs and traditions and has become what we know today as a night of costumes, parties, candy and spooky stories. By combining elements from the Celtic druids from 2000 years ago and the Roman Catholic Church, we have what it is recognized as Halloween.

The word Halloween itself traces back to “All Hollows Eve”, the night before the Catholic tradition of “All Hallows Day”, also known as “All Saints Day”. November 1 was set aside to honor the saints of the church. Due to it being the same date as the ancient Celtic new year celebration, Samhain, elements of both have blended together over the years.

There are many different conflicting stories about the Celtic celebrations at this time, with some claiming human sacrifice had it’s part. However, more recently it is thought to have been a fire lighting ceremony, symbolic of the old year ending, and the new year starting. The families would put out all the fires in their homes and go to a common light source – a bonfire tended by the druids. They would take home some of the fire to relight their own hearths.

Trick or treating also has had some varied opinions on its origins. Some stories indicate that people would dress up as scary beings and wander the streets in an attempt to avoid being possessed by the spirits of the dead who were wandering on All Hallows Eve. Others connect it to the practice of “souling” on November 2, or “All Souls Day”, where beggars would wander and beg for soul cakes in exchange for praying for those who gave.

The trick part came into play in the 1800’s and 1900’s with something called “mischief nights”. Immigrants from Scotland and Ireland would play pranks on Halloween night. By the 1920’s, people started to organize the kids into a “trick or treat” night, to help avoid the tricks by taking them door-to-door to collect treats.

The jack-o-lantern has had some bad press over the years, with some people believing a story that the druids used candles made of human fat, put in carved pumpkins to light their human sacrifices (after going door to door, looking for someone to sacrifice). Not only has research shown that the druids did not perform human sacrifices, they couldn’t have used pumpkins as they are a North American plant.

There is also an 18th century legend about a man named Jack, who tricked the devil into climbing into a tree and trapping him there. After Jack died, he was given a light in a gourd to see by while wandering - neither in heaven nor hell. It was quite common to carve out things like turnips or beets to be used as lanterns. This was adapted to the jack-o-lantern made with pumpkins popular in North America.

It is easy to see that Halloween has a varied and often confusing, history. There are many sources and legends that have blurred together over the years. While no one may know the complete history, it is fun to see where some of the traditions may have come from in the past.

References: Rupert, Dennis. "The History of Halloween- It's Probably Not What You Think." The History of Halloween. 29 Dec 2006. 21 Jul 2007 http://www.new-life.net/halowen1.htm

Wilson, Jerry. "History and Customs of Halloween." History and Customs of Halloween. 2002. 21 Jul 2007 http://wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm