Writers: Yeonwoo C. Eunju K.
Halloween is celebrated every year on October 31st, with this year being on a Tuesday. But have you ever wondered why Halloween has become so popular nowadays? It turns out that this well-known tradition goes back 2000 years to the Celtic Festival of the Samhains. These people were called the Celts, who celebrated their new years on November 1st. They believed that the day before this day, the boundary between the living and the dead blurred and the ghosts of the dead came back to earth. These deities were thought to bring comfort for the long, dark, and cold winter. To please them, they lit bonfires, sacrificed crops and animals, and wore animal heads and skin, which connects to the ritual of wearing costumes on Halloween.
By AD 43, the Romans conquered most of the Celtic territory and brought their traditions with them. One of the festivals they celebrate was called the Pamona, where they honored the Roman goddess of fruits and trees. This is one of the reasons for why many Halloween parties have a game of bobbing for apples. By the 9th century, Christian churches tried to get rid of the old Celtic traditions and replace them with the practices of their own religion. November 2nd became All Soulsâ Day, and All Saintsâ Day, or Hallows Day was celebrated on November 1st. The day before this was called the Hallowsâ Eve, which later became what is now known as Halloween.
Activities
What are the things that people used to do on Halloween? You might only think of trick or treat, but there are some more activities that people used to do!
Carving Jack o lantern
Carving Jack o lantern started from the legend of Stingy Jack.
Stingy Jack repeatedly trapped the devil and only let go of t hem when they promised that Jack wonât go to hell. However, after he died, his spirit was not welcomed by the heavens, so Jack was forced to wander the Earth as a ghost for eternity. The Devil gave him the lamp made with carved out turnips to light his way. Since then, locals also started to carve their own turnips in scary faces, to frighten away the ghosts.
Bobbing for apples
The game of bobbing apples was played on Halloween for many years. However, its origin is rooted on the romance
Here's how to play bobbing apples:
Prepare a tub/bucket/bin
Fill the tub with slightly cold water over halfway
Put about dozen apples in the tub with water or the amount that nearly fill the entire tub to make it challenging to bob the apple
Set a time of two minutes per player.
Each player have chance to bite an apple during 2 minutes
Person who catches the apple quickest wins!
Foods
Candy Apples
People have been coating sugar for centuries to prevent the fruit from rotting. Candy Apples are believed to be invented accidentally by William W. Kolb in 1908. It became a famous treat for Halloween starting in the early 1900s and up until the 1970s.
Candy Corn
Candy Corn was originally called âchicken feedâ with âsomething worth crowing forâ written on the box. It wasnât widespread until 1898. It was just autumnal candy because autumn was the harvest time for the corn. Candy Corn became popular on Halloween in the U.S with the growing popularity of trick or treating in the 1950s.
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