| 1. HAPPY HALLOWEEN | | | | ceremonious fun. |
| 2. SUMMER'S END | | | | However, the anarchy still remained from the |
| 3. SPOOKY | | | | early Celtic days. Favorite tricks of the time were |
| 4. THE COLD SHOULDER | | | | knocking over outhouses, especially with someone |
| 5. HALLOW'S EVE | | | | inside and unhinging fence gates, freeing farm |
| 6. BOBBING FOR APPLES | | | | animals and the like.8. OR TREAT |
| 7. TRICK | | | | The treat part of trick-or-treating originated with |
| 8. OR TREAT | | | | a 9th century European custom called "souling". On |
| 9. JACK O' LANTERN | | | | "All Souls Day", early Christians would walk |
| 10.THE GREAT PUMPKIN | | | | door-to-door begging for "soul cakes", little |
| | | | squares of bread made with currants (yummy). |
| 1. HAPPY HALLOWEEN | | | | You see, at the time, it was believed that the |
| Of all the mainstay holidays that populate our | | | | souls of the dead remained in limbo on earth and |
| year, Halloween is one of the oldest, dating back | | | | that prayers would speed the soul's passage to |
| thousands of years. Thanksgiving, 4th of July, | | | | heaven. The more soul cakes the beggars would |
| Easter and even Christmas are youngsters by | | | | get, the more prayers they would promise to say |
| comparison.Follow me and I'll take you on a trail | | | | on behalf of the dead relatives of the givers.9. |
| that follows it through the ages to the costume | | | | JACK O' LANTERN |
| and candy nighttime promenade we celebrate | | | | An Irish folklore tells the tale of a lazy trickster |
| today.2. SUMMER'S END | | | | named Jack. In his whole life he never made a |
| Originally starting out as an ancient Celtic holiday, | | | | single enemy, nor a single friend, never did an |
| Druidic priests regarded the day as the end of | | | | honest day's work or performed a single selfless |
| the year and a celebration for the year's harvest. | | | | act for anyone. But despite his sloth and constant |
| October 31 was the first day of a three-day | | | | state of inebriation, he was able to foil the Devil's |
| celebration called Samhain, meaning "the end of | | | | attempt at taking his soul. |
| summer". It marked the passage from the | | | | One Halloween Jack's number was up and the |
| season of the sun to the season of darkness, but | | | | Devil arrived to do his deed. Jake was of course |
| was also a festival for honoring the dead. The | | | | having a pint at the pub and asked the Devil for |
| Celts believed the laws of space and time were | | | | permission to finish his ale. The Devil agreed and |
| suspended on this night, allowing the spirit world to | | | | Jack struck up a conversation. He asked, "If you |
| crossover and intermingle with the living world.3. | | | | really have any power, you could transform |
| SPOOKY | | | | yourself into anything, right? Even a shilling." The |
| As the story goes, the disembodied spirits of all | | | | Devil took it as challenge and transformed himself |
| those who had passed away throughout the | | | | into a silver coin. Jack snatched up the coin and |
| preceding year would come back on that night in | | | | scratched a cross-shaped scar into the face. The |
| search of living bodies to possess for the coming | | | | power of the cross, being like kryptonite to |
| year. Apparently, it was their only hope for an | | | | Superman, made the Devil powerless and held him |
| afterlife. To protect themselves, the Celtic priests | | | | captive. |
| developed spells, charms and ritualistic burning | | | | Jack bartered with Satan, he would free him if |
| sacrifices to appease the wandering spirits that | | | | he would grant Jack another year of life so that |
| roamed the night.4. THE COLD SHOULDER | | | | he would have time to repent. Having little choice, |
| Of course, being alive you certainly didn't want to | | | | the Devil made it so. A year passed, Jack being |
| get possessed, so on the night of October 31st, | | | | Jack, never got around to getting off his bar stool |
| people would put out the fires in their fireplaces | | | | to repent. |
| and furnaces, to make their homes cold and | | | | Again it was Halloween, but Satan was a no |
| undesirable to the wandering spirits. To complete | | | | show. Suddenly Jack knew why, presto-change-o, |
| the ritual, they would then dress in ghoulish | | | | Jack was dead and standing at the pearly gates. |
| costumes, parading around the neighborhoods | | | | He was getting to go to heaven. Ah, but before |
| causing ruckus and destruction in order to scare | | | | admittance he had to get the okay from St. |
| off the spirits looking for a warm body to | | | | Peter. Checking his records, St. Peter gave Jack |
| inhabit.5. HALLOW'S EVE | | | | the thumbs down, boo-hoo, for Jack had never |
| The word Halloween is a concoction. Samhain | | | | performed a single selfless act. Off to hell Jack |
| (pronounced sow-en, the sow rhymes with cow, | | | | would go. |
| that "en" part is important to remember) was | | | | However, Satan wasn't having any of it either. |
| combined with the November 1st Catholic holiday | | | | He was still ticked for getting tricked. Having |
| of "All Hallows Eve", otherwise known as "All | | | | nowhere else to go, the Devil gave Jack a single |
| Hallows Day "or "All Saints Day". The old English | | | | burning ember in a hollowed out turnip. With only |
| word "Hallow" meant to sanctify. It was the day | | | | this simple lantern to light his path, rejected from |
| for honoring the Catholic saints. By the 7th | | | | heaven and hell, poor Jack was doomed to |
| century AD it was adapted as "All Soul's Day" to | | | | wander in the darkness forever. |
| honor all the dead and not just the saints. Over | | | | The Irish originally used turnips as their "Jack's |
| time, these two celebrations were combined into | | | | lanterns". But in America, pumpkins were far |
| one mega-fest by the growing populations of | | | | easier to come by than turnips. Pumpkins also |
| Europe. And abracadabra, sow-en and Hallows Eve | | | | pulled a double duty, symbolizing the giant full |
| merged creating Halloween. In Ireland it is | | | | moon of harvest. So, the man-in-the-moon and |
| sometimes referred to as Hallow E'en and others | | | | trickster Jack combined to form the carved face |
| still spell it, Hallowe'en, further emphasizing the | | | | pumpkins of our Jack O' Lanterns.10. THE GREAT |
| marriage of terms and holidays.6. BOBBING FOR | | | | PUMPKIN |
| APPLES | | | | There you have it ghouls and goblins, the who's |
| Eventually the traditional Roman celebration on | | | | and boos of why Halloween is one of our favorite |
| November 1st honoring Pomona, the Roman | | | | times of year! Jokes and candy to all ye this |
| goddess of fruit and trees, was absorbed into the | | | | Hallow's Eve! |
| Halloween punch bowl. Bringing its own traits with | | | | After Halloween what is a vampire's favorite |
| it, Pomona's symbol was an apple, which most | | | | holiday? |
| likely inspired the party activity of bobbing for | | | | Fangsgiving! |
| apples.7. TRICK | | | | To read more articles by Chad, visit the |
| Celebration of Halloween came to America with | | | | American Pop Culture Encyclopedia at: American |
| early Irish and Scottish immigrants. The belief in | | | | Pop Culture Encyclopedia. |
| spirit possession had subsided compared to the | | | | If you would like to read this article, or others |
| early days and the act of dressing as ghouls, | | | | like it, on American Pop Culture Encyclopedia, |
| goblins, ghosts and witches was more like today's | | | | please visit: Halloween Came From Where? |