Witches and Broomsticks, Ghosts and Spooks, Elves and Goblins, Brownies, Pookas and Bogies! Do these ring a bell? What kind of feeling do you get talking about them? Do you believe them?
Perhaps if you've been to a Halloween party walking in a dark night with eerie characters making weird sounds and sraring straight into your face and about to reach for you, you will feel chills go up and down your back. Then you too are a belever in ghosts!
Did you know that? Halloween is one of the few festivals celebrated round the world in many countries, next to Christmas and the most amount of candy sold in America and Canada. Homes, offices and shops are gaily decorated in different shades of orange. Halloween cut-outs, characters and symbols, pumpkins and Jack-o'lantrens, take pride of place, sitting by doors and windows and entrances to buildings.
How Did it All Begin? The Irish are credited with having first observed it as a seasonal festival. Before the Roman invasion of Britain, the Celts and Druids celebrated November 1st as the beginning of a new year. At the death of the old year souls were believed to enter into animals or take new human forms. With the invasion of the Romans, Celtic customs were forgotten and the festival took the name Halligan later becoming All Hallows, and turning into Hallowe'en. Romans substituted it with the festival Feralia, which came at the end of October. This being a religious festival of praying for the dead heroes of Rome.
The Legend of The Jack-o'-Lantern The legend is basically Irish. A man named Jack often played jokes and teased the devil. The devil got angry and condemned him to roam the earth carrying a lantern and never enter heaven until Judgment Day. In Ireland in many places still children go round wearng Halloween costumes and trick-o-treating in the neighborhood carrying lanterns and playing typical halloween games.
Halloween and Fortune Teling! Fortune telling became popular among the Irish, Scottish and the English at Halloween, borrowing from the Celtic New Year celebrations. Many of these centered round a maiden and a guy choosing a partner. If the girl made a cake of flour, salt and soot and ate it and went to sleep the guy who came to her in a dream offering her a drink of water was the man she should marry.
Throwing apple parings over the left shoulder or swinging an unbroken paring over the head three times and then throwing it down and watch the initial of the beloved, it then spells out is still another way of foretelling the future partner.
Nutcracker Night This was real fun! Sitting round a bonfire (the lighting of which was often done to frighten evil spirits) telling ghost stories and, throwing nuts into the fire, was thrilling. If the nuts burn bright it supposedly brought good luck. If a maiden and a guy throw a nut each in a bonfire and they burn together it meant the two would get married.
The caulcannon or "barnbrack," was a special halloween dish, a type of fruit cake made from mash potatoes, parnips and chopped onions with a ring, for marriage, a doll fortelling children, a thimble an old Maid and a coin for wealth, all hidden in a cake is still a fun feature in Halloween parties.
Halloween and All Souls The festival is also the Eve of All Saints Day for Christians. So fortune telling and praying for the dead went together. Lighting candles and bonfires, cleaning and decorating graves came to be an acceptable custom.
Soul-cakes! Want a Recipe? Any small cake recipe would be good enough. In former years it was customary to give a cake in return for prayers for the dead and carolers went singing from house to house; "Soul! Soul! for a soul-cake... "
In many Asian countries like China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and others "Festival of The Dead" is a yearly cearly celebration, following the Lunar calendar. In Mexico and Latin American countries it is called "El Dia de los Muertos." In japan it is the "Obon Festival" dedicated to ancestor spirits. It is a three day celebration, with family re-unions and get-together. Its holiday time. Every body gets back to their family homes, clean house and invite spirits of the dead ancestors, leading them with lighted lanterns, from their graves to their "Tablets" in the family shrine room and leading them back at the end of the three days. During this period offering food, lighting candles and burning incense sticks , are highlights of the celebration. Some of the most beautifully painted and decorated lanterns are on display in Japan at this time.
In China it is called the Ghost festival 'Teng Chich,' In addition to offering food before the 'Spirit Tablet,' in the home they burn 'Paper Money,' sometimes called 'Hell Money,'This is done to comfort the spirit in the belief that the soul has to incur many liabilities on its journey to the next world. The Chinese believe that a man has three souls. One goes to the future wold to recieve his rewards and punishments; one remains at the grave; whilst the other goes into the ancestral 'Tablet.' hence all precautions are taken to rlease the soul with offerings and burning "Stuff," that the spirit like to take with him.
Walk into a market in Hong Kong or Beijing there are plenty of stores with ready made paper-mache items from kids shoes to chocolates, packs and packs of Soda, DVD players mobile cell-phones, you name it!...... Accessories for the departed!
