Halloween: Then and Now Cate Mckoy
“Freeze! Police! Don’t move!” The words barely penetrated. It was the flashing blue, red and white lights, one big spotlight and the gun that kept me frozen in the middle of my long driveway. In hindsight, I can see how playing a trick on my sister who was home alone, on Halloween, may not have been the brightest idea in my ten years of life. Although, looking down the barrel of a gun, I didn’t think I was going to get any older. That is my most memorable Halloween to date. I am now fifty-two. As the ghoul and goblin season approaches, I get nostalgic. Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday (despite the aforementioned one) and one of my favorite movies, by the way. However,
I digress. I was telling you about my nostalgia for the holiday. The ghost stories told, the trick or treating, the eating of too much candy and of course the pranking that seems to go hand and hand with the holiday. There must always be Halloween pranks amongst the kids and teenagers of those who participate. But, how did this all start? Now, the original Halloween, or shall we say, the Festival of Samhain, dates back to the ancient Celtics (my people, one set of them anyway, I’m a mutt) over twothousand years ago in the region that today is Ireland. Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France all celebrate the New Year on November first. The day marked the end of summer, the harvest, the start of the earlier darkness and the cold. Many associated this time of year with death. The Celts believed that on New Year eve (October 31st) the line between the living and the dead weaken and allowed the dead to come back. The Celts believed the ghostly spirits caused trouble and damage their crops. It was at this time the Druids were able to make their predictions. To commemorate this time, the Druids built a bonfire in which the people brought crops and animals to the fire to burn as sacrifices to their Celtic Gods. During the partying, the Celts wore costumes, usually consisting of animal heads and skins and tried to tell each other’s fortunes. The scarier the better.
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