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Halloween: Final Thoughts
So far, my research has shown that today’s modern Halloween is a combination of old pagan practices and early Catholic traditions. Just like the Christmas tree (originally a pagan symbol) has become a symbol of Christmas and under which Christians put presents today in America, partaking in this tradition does not mean that they are honouring a pagan god. In the same vein, kids dressing up, going around the neighbourhood, and coming home with enough candy to last a month, doesn’t mean that they are worshipping a pagan holiday. Yes, costumes originated because people believed that spirits would not be able to recognize them on Samhain if they were dressed…
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Halloween and Jack-o-Lanterns
The Irish are the reason we have the Jack-o-Lantern (or Jack O’Lantern depending on who you are). Let me tell you a story. Stingy Jack was a horrid, miserable, old drunk who liked to play tricks on everyone (including his own mother). One day, he had the bad fortune of running into the Devil in a pub and inviting him to have a drink with him. Well, true to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay a single penny for those drinks and true to his character, he managed to talk the Devil into turning himself into a coin so that Jack could buy their drinks. Rather than buying…
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Halloween and the Origins of Trick-or-Treating
I can’t seem to find a source that gives me one origin for the whole “trick-or-treating” thing, but I found a bunch of different traditions that I think are awesome. All over Western Europe people played tricks, thought the spirits played tricks, and went around asking for gifts (sometimes in costume and sometimes not). Celts offered treats to avoid spirits playing tricks and Druids asked for favours in return for protection of the soul. By far, my favourite ancient custom is the Irish or English version of “soul-caking”. You can get the recipe here: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/recipes/view.cfm?id=1378. Essentially, “soulers” went around and sang their songs without stopping or having much tonal variation…