Unearthing the skeletons of spooky season
The hauntings of nature can be found throughout the festival of Halloween
Imagine another bank holiday!
Like many holidays, Halloween is rooted in nature, think Yule tide, Spring equinox, Midsummer etc. In fact, Halloween falls halfway between the autumn equinox and winter solstice, making it a key seasonal festival and transition point in the solar year.
The tradition of Halloween dates back over two thousand years to the ancient Celts and the festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-ain). Celebrated from the 31st of October to the 1st of November, Samhain celebrates the bounty of autumn and prepares for the darker, colder months of winter.
The really spooky part though, at this time of year the boundary between this world and the next gets thinner, meaning it’s easier for evil spirits to pass through and wreak havoc. To ward off these poltergeists of pandemonium believers would light bonfires, wear scary masks and tell fortunes. Following these traditions helped to ensure the safety of the family and homestead throughout the bleak mid-winter, when food could be scarce, arriving safely into spring.
Survival of the fittest
In order to ensure your loved ones made did indeed make it through to May, people would go door-to-door offering a prayer in exchange for food; the chocolate and sweets that send children hyper have only became part of the festivities this century and are probably more to do with the explosion of consumerism, but let’s not get into all that- doughnut anyone?
What’s Jack got to do with it?
The pumpkin is now arguably the most iconic symbol of Halloween, but the Jack-O’-lantern hasn’t always been orange…
During the 19th century many Irish emigrated to America due to devastating potato famine. They took with them the story of Stingy Jack, who managed to trick death and then freely roamed the earth with his creepy turnip lantern.
It was only upon arriving in the USA they found the pumpkin easier to grow and carve. In the UK it is estimated that we now buy a whopping 39.9 million pumpkins every year, 22.2 million of which will go to waste.
In the UK 22.2 million pumpkins will go to waste
A bad deal for Bats and Spiders
Two species that are represented most during Halloween, bats and spiders are awarded the honour perhaps due to their less than cuddly appearance more than anything else. It’s likely that bats would have been a common site at rural bonfires, feasting on the swarm of bugs that would be attracted to the blaze. Meanwhile, arachnophobia is one of the most common phobias in the world and as Halloween is all about the eerie and the evil what better species to include?
The Full Moon
It is actually very uncommon that Halloween will coincide with a full moon. It is likely that the symbol of the full moon comes from the association of lunar calendar with fortune telling- an art form fully entwined with the supernatural. That and during liminal times (like the start and end of a moon cycle) it’s easier for evil spirits to return and harm people, animals and crops…. creepy.
