Halloween

 

Trick or treat! Halloween is officially here – celebrated annually and widely on the 31st of October every year. Get ready for a full day of costumes, candy and spooky celebrations of this annual holiday and season. Maybe even some pumpkin carving or picking is on the cards – how exciting! Have you ever wondered where Halloween originated from and why we celebrate it? It all goes back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain dating back 2,000 years ago…

 

The word ‘Samhain’ essentially means ‘summer’s end.’ It indicates the transition from the harvest season to the beginning of the winter period, which was also historically defined as the Celtic new year. The Celts commonly believed that Samhain was when the boundary between our world and the spirit world blurs and allows spirits to roam in ours. Some of these spirits were thought to be mischievous gods who would come through to our world to cause chaos and play devious tricks on individuals and communities at the time. Spooky! But great inspirations and foundations for the emergence of Halloween, formally referred to as All Hallows Eve.

Fun and Freaky facts about Halloween

Here are some fun and freaky facts about Halloween and some of it’s traditions:

 

  • Did you know that the tradition of dressing up for Halloween goes back 2,000 years – all the way back to Samhain in fact! On this day, the Celts would get dressed up in spooky costumes and disguises to disorientate and ward off evil spirits as well as lighting bonfires for extra protection.
  • Trick or treating is also a well-known Halloween tradition which started centuries ago in Medieval England. Back then, it was called ‘Souling.’ The practice of ‘Souling’ was very similar to how we do trick or treating in the modern day and involved individuals going door to door on All Saints Day and praying or singing at someone’s door in exchange for food or commodities. The type of food most often offered was a ‘Soul Cake,’ which was a small spiced and sweet cake that usually had the texture of a shortbread biscuit, cookie or scone rather than a soft sponge like most traditional cakes. Sounds delicious!
  • It was originally turnips that people would carve before the 19th century – not pumpkins! Sometimes, potatoes, radishes or beets would be used if that was the only thing available to them at the time. People believed that carving an angry looking face on a turnip or other suitable vegetable and carrying it around with them in a lantern or leaving it outside their houses would offer them protection against evil spirits and harm. It soon became pumpkins that were most frequently used after a mass migration of Irish people over to the US in the 19th This is because pumpkins were more readily available due to being easier to grow over in the US so this eventually became standard practice and tradition as we know today!

Halloween reading list

We have compiled a list of the library’s top picks of books, articles, films and videos for Halloween. Check this out by signing into LibrarySearch then by going to the Reading Lists tab. Search for ‘The Library’s Halloween Picks’ to find your next spooky read!

 

By Rachel Downie

 

Photo by Stephen Van Elk

 

We have plenty of ghost stories for you