Halloween: Extreme 2012
This is the ultimate guide to all things about halloween.
First the history:
Halloween aka "All Hallows Eve" originated what we now call Europe. Way before there was a United States of America or even the knowledge the earth was round, the pagan tribes marked this date with true import. It goes back many centuries.
One theory is that the "festival" of Pomona was the genesis. Pomona was the ancient Roman Goddess of fruit trees and the care of them. Her name is derived from the greek word meaning "apple", pom. Her weapon was a pruning knife. She took the form of a woodland fairy and protected her worshipers homes, groves and gardens. Now this get super interesting, because two woodland gods fell in love with her and she wanted no part of them. Then came along a third god named Vertumnus, (pay attention autumn is derived from his name) and he tricked her into loving him by GETTING DISGUISED AS AN OLD WOMAN OFFERING HER AN APPLE! hello snow white! Now it gets weird because she ended up marrying him. They then held a festival every August 13th to celebrate their love and the peak of the fruit trees. This is the birth of Autumn, bounty and the last real harvest a month, give or take, later.
so what does this have to do with halloween? Not too much except for a big party in August, a pruning knife and the begining of gathering the harvest. Celebrating the bounty of the season at it's very best. The knowledge that it is all going to change in a month and this is the last big outdoor celebration before the final harvest. As the Roman empire spread to all the future countries of a yet to be Europe, Roman beliefs, "gods" traditions, measures of time all interwove with the gothic tribes of northern Europe. Their names are many and vary but all fall under the general term of Pagan: Celts or Druids, Goths or Visigoths etc. Boiled down it's Ireland,Scotland,England,Wales,France,Austria, Germany.
Second theory is born from the first and modified mostly by the celts to honor the Harvest Moon which occurs in September but every 3 years, in the Julian calendar, carries over to October. The calendar we use is based almost purely on the Romans measure of time. It takes the moon 28 days, No Matter What, to circle the earth. It should work out to one full moon cycle per month but our months are not 28 days long. That why we reconcile every four years with an extra day in February. The celts only followed the moon. It dictated their harvest. Native americans also counted full moons and the ebb and flow of their waxing and waning to dictate their planting, harvesting and movements. So did the egyptians, incas, hindus and chinese. ALL converging on the end of the harvest as also a time to honor the dead.The Harvest Festivals in all these cultures were pivotal. This was a time to be grateful for what they had reaped from the year's toil of the earth and pay homage to what they had lost and held most dear: Their loved ones. The Harvest festival was a celebration of life and honor to the dead all in one.
Third, Samhain: pronounced Sow-in or Sau-in: This is what we know as Halloween. The real origin. This is the night that the Scottish celts, pagans and modern wiccans believe the veil between the living and the dead that separates the two worlds is lifted. It is October 31 here and south of the equator it is April 30. This night the dead can cross over to us and vice versa.
Every night, on any given day there is a thinness in the veil. Like a spider web it can be broken through with effort. This time is believed to be between the hour of 3 and 4 in the morning. 3:30am is the optimum moment but the minutes before and after are still open only harder to break through. This is because it is believed that Christ died on the cross at 3:30 pm. and the opposite side of the day is an opening for good and evil. Many people believe the hour between 3 and 4 am is evil basically because, and rightly so, it goes both ways.
Every night, on any given day there is a thinness in the veil. Like a spider web it can be broken through with effort. This time is believed to be between the hour of 3 and 4 in the morning. 3:30am is the optimum moment but the minutes before and after are still open only harder to break through. This is because it is believed that Christ died on the cross at 3:30 pm. and the opposite side of the day is an opening for good and evil. Many people believe the hour between 3 and 4 am is evil basically because, and rightly so, it goes both ways.
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their New Year on November 1. This marked the end of summer, the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. Winter was the time of year that was associated with human death due to no food except what was stored from the harvest, the bitter cold, darkness, sickness, and isolation. Everything depended on the final outcome of the Harvest. Everything! Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of became blurred
The night the veil
is lifted between the living and the dead.This night of October 31, Samhain,
the end of summer (Nov. 1), the division between the two worlds becomes very thin, when hostile supernatural forces are active and ghosts and spirits are free to wander as they wish.
The origin of the Jack-O-Lantern:
This is a tradition that started in Ireland(hence the green font) and they were carved out of turnips not pumpkins. The story starts with a man named Jack.
He was a drunkard and a prankster. He had met the devil in the pub on All Hallows Eve. The devil wanted his soul in exchange for one more drink and one more year on earth. Jack took the offer, got his drink and his last year on earth.
The next year, on All Hallows Eve, he swayed stumbling towards his home and imminent death. Sufficiently inebriated, he came across the devil himself on the road. Jack realized maybe he had a chance. He was not ready to go to hell. What a shocker! All of the sudden Jack became somewhat sober facing his doom and did what he did best. Armed with his penchant for practical jokes he tricked the devil up an apple tree to get the highest apple. While the devil was climbing Jack used his handy knife (Jack's knife: he found it very useful in his perpetual bar fights because it was easily concealed in his pocket) and carved a cross into the trunk so the devil was trapped at the top of the tree unable to climb down.
He begged the devil for 10 more years if he let the devil down. The devil was VERY angry at Jack but, in some way, appreciated his drunken ingenuity to trap him and granted him his ten more years.
God was not happy with Jack.
He was mad at Jack for all his careless treatment of his own body, tricking others and, needless to say, making deals with the devil. But, in some way, God appreciated Jack for tricking the devil using a cross as his foil.
Jack died before the year ended. (probably of cirrhosis and lost an extra 9 years) Heaven did not want him nor did hell.
Jack was set to wander in darkness between worlds.
God provided Jack a turnip rooted from the ground and the devil gave him an ember from the eternal fires of hell. So Jack, being Jack, hollowed out the turnip and cut holes in it turning it into a lantern. He placed the ember from hell inside the turnip to light his way down the path of everlasting darkness. ..
Jack was in "lack of a lantern " so he made one.
The night the veil
is lifted between the living and the dead.This night of October 31, Samhain,the end of summer (Nov. 1), the division between the two worlds becomes very thin, when hostile supernatural forces are active and ghosts and spirits are free to wander as they wish.
During the Festival of Samhain, fires would be lit which would burn all through the winter and sacrifices would be offered to the gods on the fires. This practice of burning humans was stopped around 1600, and an effigy was sometimes burned instead. You may think this an admirable thing to stop it but in reality the practice was extremely beneficial considering the few humans that were being burned had died from disease or just was there time. Either way, in the middle of the winters in this area, you can not bury someone or float them out on frozen ice to sea. And disease in these bundled up little communities spread like wildfire in winter as most illnesses were spread by human contact and, in a dark cold winter, people are going to huddle up! So it was extremely practical in many regards! Unless, however, your neighbor, who had been keeping your wife warm while you were out chopping wood, accidentally fell into the "Sacred Fire".
After years of these long winters the population inevitably rose and along with it what happens whenever you put to many people together:
Jealousy, Greed, and Power.
And what comes next ?
Law from the guy with the most Power.
Hence 1600 and rules......by.......from...........
you can fill in the blanks!
After years of these long winters the population inevitably rose and along with it what happens whenever you put to many people together:
Jealousy, Greed, and Power.
And what comes next ?
Law from the guy with the most Power.
Hence 1600 and rules......by.......from...........
you can fill in the blanks!
Why are pumpkins carved for Halloween?
Above is a picture of a traditional Jack o lantern.
(this is my very short version of a very LONG story. It is like the Cliff notes for this legend)
This is a tradition that started in Ireland(hence the green font) and they were carved out of turnips not pumpkins. The story starts with a man named Jack.
He was a drunkard and a prankster. He had met the devil in the pub on All Hallows Eve. The devil wanted his soul in exchange for one more drink and one more year on earth. Jack took the offer, got his drink and his last year on earth.
The next year, on All Hallows Eve, he swayed stumbling towards his home and imminent death. Sufficiently inebriated, he came across the devil himself on the road. Jack realized maybe he had a chance. He was not ready to go to hell. What a shocker! All of the sudden Jack became somewhat sober facing his doom and did what he did best. Armed with his penchant for practical jokes he tricked the devil up an apple tree to get the highest apple. While the devil was climbing Jack used his handy knife (Jack's knife: he found it very useful in his perpetual bar fights because it was easily concealed in his pocket) and carved a cross into the trunk so the devil was trapped at the top of the tree unable to climb down.
He begged the devil for 10 more years if he let the devil down. The devil was VERY angry at Jack but, in some way, appreciated his drunken ingenuity to trap him and granted him his ten more years.
God was not happy with Jack.
He was mad at Jack for all his careless treatment of his own body, tricking others and, needless to say, making deals with the devil. But, in some way, God appreciated Jack for tricking the devil using a cross as his foil.
Jack died before the year ended. (probably of cirrhosis and lost an extra 9 years) Heaven did not want him nor did hell.
Jack was set to wander in darkness between worlds.
God provided Jack a turnip rooted from the ground and the devil gave him an ember from the eternal fires of hell. So Jack, being Jack, hollowed out the turnip and cut holes in it turning it into a lantern. He placed the ember from hell inside the turnip to light his way down the path of everlasting darkness. ..
Jack was in "lack of a lantern " so he made one.
A Jack-o-Lantern.
So the truth of the story in history is that the ancient Irish carved turnips to light Jack's way and keep him away from their homes in reminder to him what he had done. Keeping him away yet wishing him no harm in hopes he would pass by and not stay in their house with his own lantern and no soul. They did not have pumpkins. If they did I'm sure they would carve the biggest ones and make mini bonfires in them.
1. This Halloween we all are going to be short on the Pumpkins and the candy. That's a fact!
2. I am going to try to help by giving some suggestions on how to make the little demons that come to your door not go away disappointed. That is the most important part; being HAPPY!!!!! That's a fact!
So here we go with one idea for you
Ghost Halloween Lollipops: this is my mom's invention
You will need:
2 or 3 bags of round lollipops depending on how many children you expect
1 or 2 packages of small plain white paper napkins
1 or 2 packages of small plain black paper napkins
1 roll of orange curling ribbon
1 roll of black curling ribbon
1 black fine tip marker:
(permanent like a sharpie is best it won't bleed)
1 white gel marker (white out pen is perfect for this)
1 nice plastic cauldron or speckeld roasting pan or any nice big deep dish to put your ghosts in
it is really easy. just open the napkin and put top of lollipop in the middle, twist around stick and then tie with ribbon. Then on the white ones draw a simple ghost face.
(you can have a lot of fun with the expressions and the kids can help, just have a window open for the marker fumes.)
On the black ones draw a little bat face with ears with white marker.
Then just fill up your container with everyone standing up looking pretty and your good to go! I have done this for 10 years and the kids knew my house after the first year and looked forward to their ghosts and bats. The best part is it is very inexpensive as opposed to buying chocolate and it's almost like a little candy toy!
Other treat options:
Because some of the children have allergies to chocolate and peanuts (this encompasses a huge group of candy) that is another reason why I choose the lollipops.
Here are some other options for those who can't have lollipops.
1.) Always have change for the UNICEF box this is important no matter where you live. Just put the change jar we all have by the front door for the night. It is good Karma.
2.) Have a small stash of alternative treats like granola bars, goldfish crackers, small bags of chips, etc. It's great for the person giving out the treats when they are getting a sugar high. Salt helps. Come on, your nerves are fried you've eaten 24 Reeses no dinner and a potato chip looks like fillet mingon.
3.) For the kid who is allergic to everything. I have learned this is because his parents care what he/she eats. BUT IT'S HALLOWEEN!!! The parents can and SHOULD sort the candy when they get home. So I calm down and give them a dollar bill. If they eat it I guarantee they won't get sick. I spray them with antibacterial spray.
4.) When you go grocery shopping use some of the change in the gumball machine on your way out starting now. You will be surprised how much stuff you can accumulate between now and Halloween and 1 item will make 1 little person very happy. (just make sure that the little person is old enough to know not to eat it!)
5.) Finally, it's Halloween not Christmas. I LOVE Halloween, always have but, be real, many are strangers coming to your door. You don't have to be the best and give out 5lbs. of Godiva Chocolate wrapped in a 14 karat gold bow or a Hersey Bar the size of Nebraska. Kids are going to remember YOU opening the door, your decorations, your kindness, your comments on their COSTUMES! They are little. Remember when you were little. Every Halloween is a memory for a child. Their big adventure to be something out of their wildest dreams! To be Batman or a princess or anything else. THERE'S THE REAL MAGIC. The wonder of it all. Have fun and for the love of GOD smile! Again think of when you were trick or treating. .
this is good advice for people who live in large towns or apartment complexes .
Meow for now,
Catraven =^..^=
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