YOUPOST 1

A spooky Halloween to all of you !

The estimates for this years Halloween per capita expenditure on costumes, decorations and candy lie at about 90$. That amounts to nearly seven billion dollars spent all in all, keeping in mind that this statistic only covers the United States. Beforehand mentioned numbers raise Halloween to the second largest feast, right after Christmas.

This typical American tradition evolved... – wait, is it actually American? Almost everyone of my friends in former times as well as myself were told by family that this tradition from overseas should not have been shipped to Europe because we already have our own customs. We do not need to walk from door to door begging for sweets. Pumpkins are not European, so Halloween cannot be either. We already have got Carnival, why should we dress up twice a year?

Thinking about the topic for more than just one minute, probably lets you discover that there could possibly be a relation between All Saints´ Day and Halloween. If so, you are totally right.

2000 years ago, the tradition was born in the form of a festival called Samhain which meant Summers´ end in the Celtic language. It was celebrated on the first of November, whereas the 31^st of October was believed to be the day on which the dead reasserted their presence. Nobody wanted to face the spirit of a deceased person, thus citizens disguised before walking out of their houses, in the hope to confuse the ghosts or be mistaken for a fellow one. They left food and wine on their doorsteps and lit bonfires in order to soothe the restless souls. Priests even tried to foretell if a village was able to get through the last night of October or not.

In the 8^th century, Catholic church weakened the ancient tradition by imposing the first of November as either All Saints´ Day or All Hallows. The relation to Halloween is obvious.

Nevertheless, the Irish kept on doing what they were used to and when they immigrated to America, they introduced and mixed up their customs with those of other cultures, hence the festival as we know it, with trick-or-treating, Jack O´Lanterns, decorated yards, dressed up children and adults, arose.

Some creative, modern Jack O`Lanterns

By the way: Jack O´Lanterns refer to the carved pumpkins with a candle in them. They are named after Stingy Jack, a man who tricked the devil. God did not want to welcome such an underhand person in heaven and of course the Devil prohibited him entry to hell, so Jack had to wander around on earth. The only thing the Devil gave him, was a burning coal that Jack put into a turnip to be able to light his way.

When this myth was finally brought to America, the pumpkin substituted the turnip. In England, for instance, they used large beets.

There is actually quite a big difference between the various versions of Halloween, depending on the culture. The Dia de los Muertos, an example that surprised me in some way, is held from the 31^st of October to the 2^nd of November in many Spanish speaking countries. The bereaved family and friends construct an altar in honor of the dead and celebrate “together with the spirits of the deceased”. On the last day they assemble at the graveside to picnic, reminiscent and simply have fun thinking about the good old times.

To each his own.

After my intense research on the origins, myths and legends around the 31^st of October, my opinion on the subject has definitely changed. Although the commercial part dampens my enthusiasm, I like the former ghoulish, now rather funny basic idea of the tradition.

Now go and spread the word: Halloween is not American!