Time for Tricks & Treats!

As we wind our way through October, kids and adults across the country are getting their spooky costumes out for the scariest night of the year (we can only imagine that this must be a dentist's favorite holiday).  Even the youngest of toddlers can tell you that October 31 means tons of free candy.  While kids young and old alike all know what Halloween is, few can tell you where the traditions or even the name came from.

These days Halloween as we know it is pretty much an American holiday; however, the traditions we observe on Halloween have their roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.  This festival was one during which the end of the harvest was celebrated and the population prepared for the long winter by checking their food supplies and killing livestock.  Fortunately, Halloween today is more about sugary treats and less about carving steaks on your neighbor's doorstep, but it wasn't that long ago when a bad harvest meant the difference between life and death, and elaborate festivals were held to bring good luck and to ward off evil spirits, which, it was believed, could do great harm to the living.

"Halloween" is an abbreviation of "All Hallows' Even" and 'even' is an older, shortened word for 'evening' as All Hallows' Eve was the evening before All Hallows' Day (All Saints' Day), on which the departed saints were celebrated.  During the Middle Ages this religious celebration began to merge with the more secular, Pagan traditions.  A handful of countries actually celebrate Halloween, and aside from a few that have adopted the American pop culture activity of going door-to-door for sweet handouts, most of their traditions are similar to those of the Celts.  In all cases, however, the traditions are closely related to the harvest and involve some connection between the living and the dead.

Older traditions of Halloween, such as dressing up, lighting bonfires and shooting fireworks to scare off evil spirits, are still celebrated in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, while other countries such as Japan, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand take part in the more modern American fun of trick-or-treating.  In the countries of the southern hemisphere, however, Halloween falls at the beginning of spring, which hardly makes October 31 a spooky night in those countries.
 

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