Well, it's All Hallows Eve - Samhain, festival of the dead, Summers End etc. This holiday whilst not as popular in the UK as it in the United States has a theme that most people love, ghouls and ghosts, pumpkins and fancy dress parties. For me, it's mainly about pumpkins, so without further ado, a few more interesting things for you.
History
(from Wikipedia, used with no permission whatsoever!)
Celtic influences
Though the origin of the word
Halloween is Christian, the holiday is commonly thought to have pagan roots.
[11]
Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes
that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in Roman feast of
Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the
festival of the dead called
Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the
Celtic festival of
Samhain", which comes from the
Old Irish for "summer's end".
[11] Samhain (pronounced
SAH-win or
SOW-in) was the first and most important of the four
quarter days in the medieval
Gaelic (
Irish,
Scottish and
Manx)
[12] calendar.
[13][14]
It was held on or about October 31 – November 1 and kindred festivals
were held at the same time of year in other Celtic lands; for example
the
Brythonic Calan Gaeaf (in
Wales),
Kalan Gwav (in
Cornwall) and Kalan Goañv (in
Brittany). Samhain is mentioned in some of the
earliest Irish literature and many important events in
Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It marked the end of the
harvest season and the beginning of
winter or the 'darker half' of the year.
[15] This was a time for stock-taking and preparing for the cold winter ahead;
[11] cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and livestock were slaughtered.
[15] In much of the Gaelic world,
bonfires were lit and there were rituals involving them.
[15] Some of these rituals hint that they may once have involved
human sacrifice.
[16][11] Divination games or rituals were also done at Samhain.
[15]
Samhain (like
Beltane) was seen as a time when the 'door' to the
Otherworld opened enough for the souls of the dead, and other beings such as
fairies, to come into our world.
[17][18] The souls of the dead were said to revisit their homes on Samhain.
[19] Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them.
[20] Lewis Spence described it as a "feast of the dead" and "festival of the fairies".
[21]
However, harmful spirits and fairies were also thought to be active at
Samhain. People took steps to allay or ward-off these harmful
spirits/fairies, which is thought to have influenced today's Halloween
customs. Before the 20th century, wearing costumes at Samhain was done
in parts of
Ireland,
Mann, the
Scottish Highlands and islands, and
Wales.
[22]
Wearing costumes may have originated as a means of disguising oneself
from these harmful spirits/fairies, although some suggest that the
custom comes from a Christian or Christianized belief (see below). In
Ireland, people went about before nightfall collecting for Samhain
feasts and sometimes wore costumes while doing so.
[22] In the 19th century on Ireland's southern coast, a man dressed as a
white mare
would lead youths door-to-door collecting food; by giving them food,
the household could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'.
[23] In
Moray during the 18th century, boys called at each house in their village asking for fuel for the Samhain bonfire.
[24]
The modern custom of trick-or-treating may have come from these
practices. Alternatively, it may come from the Christian custom of
souling (see below).
Making jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween may also have sprung from
Samhain and Celtic beliefs. Turnip lanterns, sometimes with faces carved
into them, were made on Samhain in the 19th century in parts of Ireland
and the Scottish Highlands.
[25]
As well as being used to light one's way while outside on Samhain
night, they may also have been used to represent the spirits/fairies
and/or to protect oneself and one's home from them.
[26] However, a Christian origin has also been proposed.
[27]
Christian influences
Halloween is also thought to have been influenced by the
Christian holy days of
All Saints' Day (also known as
All Hallows,
Hallowmas or
Hallowtide) on November 1 and
All Souls' Day on November 2.
[28] They are a time for honoring the
saints
and praying for the recently departed who had yet to reach Heaven. All
Saints was introduced in the year 609, but was originally celebrated on
May 13.
[29] In 835, it was switched to November 1 (the same date as Samhain) at the behest of
Pope Gregory IV.
[29] Some have suggested this was due to Celtic influence, while others suggest it was a Germanic idea.
[29]
By the end of the 12th century they had become
holy days of obligation across Europe and involved such traditions as ringing bells for the
souls in
purgatory. "Souling", the custom of baking and sharing
soul cakes for "all crysten
christened souls",
[30] has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating.
[31]
Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door on All
Saints/All Souls collecting soul cakes, originally as a means of praying
for souls in purgatory.
[32] Similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy.
[33] Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas."
[34]
The custom of wearing costumes has been linked to All Saints/All Souls
by Prince Sorie Conteh, who wrote: "It was traditionally believed that
the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints' Day, and
All Hallows' Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance
on their enemies before moving to the
next world.
In order to avoid being recognised by any soul that might be seeking
such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes to disguise their
identities".
[35] In
Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Nicholas Rogers explained Halloween jack-o'-lanterns as originally being representations of souls in purgatory.
[27] In Brittany children would set candles in skulls in graveyards.
[36]
Families picking pumpkins for Halloween in Maryland, United States, 2012
In Britain, these customs came under attack during the
Reformation as
Protestants berated purgatory as a "
popish" doctrine incompatible with the notion of
predestination.
[28] This, coupled with the rising popularity of
Guy Fawkes Night (5 November) from 1605 onward, led to Halloween's popularity waning in Britain, with the noteworthy exception of Scotland.
[37] There and in Ireland, they had been celebrating Samhain and Halloween since at least the early
Middle Ages,
[12] and the Scottish
kirk took a more pragmatic approach to Halloween, seeing it as important to the life cycle and
rites of passage of communities and thus ensuring its survival in the country.
Pumpkin Carving
That's enough education. Getting back to the more important and relevant topic now, yes cool pumpkin carvings.....
Yesterday I made a post about Ray Villafane and his excellent work. Ray has recently established a VERY talented team of pumpkin carvers. Here are a couple of bits about a couple of that team.
First is sculptor
Andy Bergholtz. I love this guys work, he is a great sculptor. Yahoo have done a great feature on him which you can read
here.
Here is his Joker pumpkin....
The Yahoo article article shows a time lapse video of Andy sculpting to, so be sure to check that out.
Next an interent buddy of mine, Alfred Paredes. Alfred is a very talented sculptor, doing fine art work, resin garage kits featuring comic book and horror characters and pumpkins, recently joining Ray Villafanes team. Alfred has featured on national TV and his pumpkins have appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show amongst others.
You can see a video of Alfred on TV demonstrating and talking about pumpkin carving
here....
Happy Halloween everone!
