Halloween is this Sunday, and there are a plethora of scary activities going on. That night the 2005 and 2007 Class Councils will pair up with Phi Delta Alpha fraternity to present their Haunted House from 8-11 p.m. This Saturday, the Hanover Recreation Department and the College are sponsoring another Haunted House behind the Hanover Town Hall at 6 p.m. Additionally, on Sunday, the Dartmouth Film Society is showing "The Old Dark House" at Spaulding Auditorium. Made by the same director as "The Bride of Frankenstein," the film is purported to be the ultimate Halloween movie -- a masterly mixture of macabre humor and gripping suspense.
So scary houses, scary movies, lots of candy and lots of crazy costumes await us this weekend. Not that this is any surprise -- we all know about Halloween. It's that commercialized day when the candy business reaps millions. It's those cheesy, overpriced costumes lining the aisles of Wal-Mart. It's kids running from house to house with huge pillow cases stuffed with candy. But have you ever wondered what Halloween really is? Where did it come from? Why do we still celebrate it today?
Halloween dates back 2000 years. The Ancient Celts, who lived in present-day Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France, celebrated their new year on Nov. 1, a day that marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter. Summer was a time they associated with life, and winter was a time associated with death. On New Year's Eve, Oct. 31, the portal between the living and the dead was opened, and it was said that the dead returned to the earth to wreak havoc. The Celts built large bonfires and wore ferocious costumes of animal heads and skins to keep the dead at bay.
By 43 A.D., the Romans had conquered the Celts. In the next 400 years the Roman traditions would mix with the Celtic ones. Two Roman festivals were combined with the Celtic New Year: Feralia, the holiday of the dead and Pomona, the holiday of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona, the apple, is the reason we "bob" for apples today.
The ninth century saw the rise of Christianity. In an attempt to combat the old superstitions and pagan festivals, Pope Boniface IV declared Nov. 1, the traditional Day of the Dead, All Saints Day. The day was also called All-hallowmas, from the Middle English word "Alholowmesse." The night before All-hallowmas was called All-hallows Eve, which would became known as "Halloween." Eventually, the Church would declare Nov. 2 All Souls Day, a day to recognize the dead. The Celtic tradition continued in the form of bonfires, parades and costumes. Costumes had a religious basis: People dressed up as saints, angels, and devils.
Today, Halloween is celebrated in a variety of forms. Mexico, Latin America and Spain still honor the dead by celebrating All Souls Day. Families construct an altar in their homes to honor deceased relatives. They decorate the altar with candy, flowers, photographs and samples of the deceased's favorite food and drink. In order to help the dead find their way home, candles and incense are burned. This is also a time of year where relatives tidy grave sites and decorate them with flowers. Thus, the holiday was less a fright fest than a time to honor loved ones.
Ireland, like the United States, celebrates Halloween with bonfires, candy, costumes and bobbing apples. Children are also known to play tricks on their neighbors leading to the development of "Trick-or-Treat."
Ireland is also the home of the Jack-O-Lantern. Jack was an Irish man who tricked the devil and was banned from hell. His ghost was trapped on earth with only a single coal to light his way. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern." Irish immigrants brought this legend to America, and we carve Jack's eerie face into pumpkins and illuminate it with ghostly candle light.
Now the tales of ghosts, costumes, and bonfires have a context. So this weekend when the freshmen are running around the big bonfire or when you're wearing that creepy Halloween mask out to the frats, know that for over 2,000 years people have been celebrating the horrific, the wild and the mysterious.
