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awesofinheritance

History of Halloween

How have I never created a blog post dedicated to Halloween? It is my favorite holiday. Better late than never...


Halloween has become the modern-day version of Samhain (pronounced "sow-win"), a gaelic word for a specific Celtic holiday.[1, 2] Samhain is a religious pagan festival, celebrating the arriving harvest and welcoming the transition to the "dark half of the year." [3] The ancient Celts believed that during this period, the "barrier between worlds," could be transcended.[4] They prepared and left offerings outside of the villages for those who may cross, such as fairies and Sidhs.[5] They would dress as animals or monsters in order to prevent a fairy from kidnapping them. [6]

Wheelbarrow full of squash in a field of a farm
Squash Harvest

By the Middle Ages, the advent of "Jack-o-laterns" had begun.[7] However, these Jack-o-laterns were carved from turnips and placed on window sills to scare away spirits, such as that of Stingy Jack.[8] Large beets were carved in England. [9] It was not until later, that the Irish carved pumpkins.[10]


Stingy Jack tells the legend of a man not permitted into heaven after making a deal with the devil.[11] He therefore, must roam the earth for eternity.[12] His only source of light, a coal provided to him by the devil, that Stingy Jack placed into a carved turnip.[13]


There is so much more amazing history about this ancient festival and our Halloween. I will save some for another post. What is your favorite part of Halloween?


Pumkpin carved into jack-o-latern
Jack-o-latern

[1] History.com Editors, eds., "Halloween," History.com (https://www.history.com/topics/halloween : accessed 15 October 2024).

[2] History.com Editors, eds., "Samhain," History.com (https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain : accessed 15 October 2024).

[3] History.com Editors, eds., "Samhain," History.com, para. 1.

[4] History.com Editors, eds., "Samhain," History.com, section Samhain Monsters, para. 1.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid, para. 2.

[7] Ibid, section Samhain in the Middle Ages, para. 2.

[8] History.com Editors, eds., "Samhain," History.com, section Samhain in the Middle Ages, para. 2. History.com Editors, eds., "How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth," History.com (https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins : accessed 15 October 2024), section Jack O’Lanterns Origin, para. 1.

[9] History.com Editors, eds., "How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth," History.com, section Jack O’Lanterns Origin, para. 1.

[10] History.com Editors, eds., "Samhain," History.com, section Samhain in the Middle Ages, para. 2.

[11] History.com Editors, eds., "How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth," History.com, section"The Legend of 'Stingy Jack'," paras. 1-3.

[12] History.com Editors, eds., "How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth," History.com, section"The Legend of 'Stingy Jack'," para. 2.

[13] Ibid.


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