Halloween: What's with the Carved Pumpkin?

HALLOWE'EN or ALL HALLOW'S EVE. Oct 31. An ancient celebration combining Druid autumn festivals and Christian customs. Hallowe'en (All
Hallow's Eve) is the beginning of Hallowtide, a season that embraces the Feast of All Saints (Nov 1) and the Feast of All Souls (Nov 2). The
observance, dating from the sixth or seventh century, has long been associated with thoughts of the dead, spirits, witches, ghosts and devils. In fact, the ancient Celtic Feast of Samhain, the festival that marked the beginning of winter and of the New Year, was observed Nov 1.
(Chase 534-5)

British author C.S. Lewis in the timeless tale of, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," characterizes winter as a symbol of evil's grip on the land (19). In fact as Narnia's hero draws near and the witch's evil hand is weakened the winter breaks and signs of spring appear (117-9). So it is not hard to put yourself in the shoes of cultures that relied on agriculture for existence. To feel their dread as the season's icy cold fingers robbed the earth of the life they depended on. No wonder the start of winter was celebrated by Europe's ancient Celtic cultures with a holiday highlighting death and the underworld. That holiday lives on in North America today known as, "Halloween." The World Book Encyclopedia's entry by Lesley P. Bannatyne dealing with Halloween points to the Celtic festival of Samhain in tracing the roots of this North American holiday. As livestock were relocated for the winter people gathered, "and they celebrated with bonfires and feasting" (9:25).

Putnam in the New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology's article on, "The Feasts of the Celtic Year" explains that this culture's calendar New Year was the first of November. The night before the dawning of the New Year was viewed with foreboding as a sort of limbo; as an in-between time. It wasn't the New Year yet, however the old year had past. The article goes on to say, "There was a feeling that this lack of distinction in time was matched by a similar indistinct boundary between the world of man and that of his gods" (236). Apparently that wasn't a happy thought, for it was an event they looked on with fear. Why do you think they lit bonfires? Editors Griffin and Shurgin include an article on Halloween that lets us know that bonfires simply were not "in honor of the dead, to aid them on their journey." What was the underlying intent of the bonfires? "To keep them (the dead ect..) away from the living. On that day all manner of beings were abroad: ghosts, fairies, and demons-all apart of the dark and dread." Who were the ring leaders of this festival? The Celtic's religious leaders, who are called the Druids. They are recorded to have marked the festival with "human sacrifices...and hideous and terrifying ritual(s) at Samain" (604).

While for the general public Halloween's more gruesome practices have fallen by the way side it is interesting to note as Griffin and Shurgin's excerpt points out:

Halloween also retains some features that hearken back to the original holiday of Samhain, such as the customs of bobbing for apples and
carving vegetables, as well as the fruits, nuts, and spices cider associated with the day. (607)

Virtually all present Halloween traditions can be traced to the ancient Celtic day of the dead...The wearing of costumes, for instance, and roaming from door to door demanding treats can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and around, along with fairies, witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were lift out to placate them. As the centuries wore on people began dressing like these dreadful creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This practice is called mumming, from which the practice of trick-or-treating evolved. (609)

Some people take Halloween's associated themes and characters and decide that it's not something that they want to have as apart of their family. Others just look at is as a harmless way for kids to have a uniquely fun experience. Whichever of the two sides you fall on, at least now you know the roots of the festival you're celebrating-or not.

Works Cited

Bannatyne, Lesley P. "Halloween." World Book Encyclopedia. edition 2005.

Chase, William and Helen. "October 31 Friday: Hallowe'en or All Hallow's Eve." Chases Calandar of Events 2008. Edition 50th MAnniversary. McGraw-Hill Companies, 2008.

Griffin, Robert H. and Shurgin, Ann H. eds., "October 31 All Hallow's Eve/All Saints' Eve." The Folklore of World Holidays. Edition 2. Gale Research, 1999.

Lewis, Clive Staples. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1978.

Putnam. "Celtic Mythology: The Feasts of the Celtic Year." New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology. New York: Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, 1968.

In Text References and Works Cited formatted according to my best efforts to apply MLA and related guidlines as detailed in:
Raimes, Ann. Keys for Writers. Edition 5. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008.