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HALLOWEEN LEGENDS AND ODDITIES

Halloween History and Customs
Halloween is absolutely the best annual celebration of the year. It is the favorite for many as there is no stress, no overload, and no " Holiday Depression”. It's just absolutely scary fun but just what is it actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom originate? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it just a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual?

The word Halloween actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.

One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.

Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.

Probably a better explanation of why the Celts extinguished their fires was not to discourage spirit possession, but so that all the Celtic tribes could relight their fires from a common source, the Druidic fire that was kept burning in the Middle of Ireland, at Usinach.

Some accounts tell of how the Celts would burn someone at the stake who was thought to have already been possessed, as sort of a lesson to the spirits. Other accounts of Celtic history debunk these stories as myth.

The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century AD, Samhain was assimilated into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which might explain the origin of our modern tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.

The thrust of the practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief in spirit possession waned, the practice of dressing up like hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role.

The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine. At that time, the favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates.

The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes," made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul's passage to heaven.

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Jack-O-Lanterns
The Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil that, if he would never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree.

According to the folk tale, after Jack died, he was denied entrance to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the frigid darkness. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer.

The Irish used turnips as their "Jack's lanterns" originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. So the Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember.

So, although some cults may have adopted Halloween as their favorite "holiday," the day itself did not grow out of evil practices. It grew out of the rituals of Celts celebrating a new year, and out of Medieval prayer rituals of Europeans. And today, even many churches have Halloween parties or pumpkin carving events for the kids. After all, the day itself is only as evil as one cares to make it.

Halloween Funny Stuff
Did you know? Kids beware! About 9 out of 10 parents admit to sneaking a treat from their kids treat bag.

Halloween Quotes

• "Home is where the haunt is!"

A Witches Poem By William Shakespeare

The Witches Caldron

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog"
"Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing"

"For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and babble"

"Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and caldron bubble"

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Witches
Witches have had a long history with Halloween. Legends tell of witches gathering twice a year when the seasons changed, on April 30 - the eve of May Day and the other was on the eve of October 31 - All Hallow's Eve. The witches would gather on these nights, arriving on broomsticks, to celebrate a party hosted by the devil. Superstitions told of witches casting spells on unsuspecting people, transform themselves into different forms and causing other magical mischief.

It was said that to meet a witch you had to put your clothes on wrong side out and you had to walk backwards on Halloween night. Then at midnight you would see a witch.

When the early settlers came to America, they brought along their belief in witches. In American the legends of witches spread and mixed with the beliefs of others, the Native Americans - who also believed in witches, and then later with the black magic beliefs of the African slaves.

The black cat has long been associated with witches. Many superstitions have evolved about cats. It was believed that witches could change into cats. Some people also believed that cats were the spirits of the dead.

One of the best known superstitions is that of the black cat. If a black cat was to cross your path you would have to turn around and go back because many people believe if you continued bad luck would strike you.

Halloween Cartoon Archives

If you would like to visit Halloween Cartoons then go to Halloween Cartoons Archives to view scary Halloween Cartoons!

Halloween Jokes

• Why did the vampire go to the orthodontist? To improve his bite!
• What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman? Frostbite!
• Why do witches use brooms to fly on? Because vacuum cleaners are too heavy!
• How do witches keep their hair in place while flying? With scare spray!
• What do you get when you cross a werewolf and a vampire? A fur coat that fangs around your neck!
• Do zombies eat popcorn with their fingers? No, they eat the fingers separately!
• Why don't skeletons ever go out on the town? Because they don't have any body to go out with!
• What do ghosts add to their morning cereal? Boo berries!
• What is a vampire's favorite sport? Casket ball!
• What is a vampire's favorite holiday? Fangsgiving!
• What would a monster's psychiatrist be called? Shrinkenstein!
• What did one ghost say to the other ghost? "Do you believe in people?"
• What do you call someone who puts poison in a person's corn flakes? A cereal killer!
• Why do mummies have trouble keeping friends? They're so wrapped up in themselves!
• What kind of streets do zombies like the best? Dead ends!
• What does the papa ghost say to his family when driving? Fasten your sheet belts!
• What is a vampire's favorite mode of transportation? A blood vessel!
• What is a ghost's favorite mode of transportation? A scareplane!
• What type of dog do vampire's like the best? Bloodhounds!
• What is a ghoul's favorite flavor? Lemon-slime!
• What does a vampire never order at a restaurant? A stake sandwich!
• What is a skeleton's favorite musical instrument? A trombone!What do birds give out on Halloween night? Tweets!
• Why do vampires need mouthwash? They have bat breath!
• What's a vampire's favorite fast food? A guy with very high blood pressure!
• Why did the Vampire subscribe to the Wall Street Journal? He heard it had great circulation!

So send some funny paper Halloween Cards and spread some scary Happiness!

All the above Halloween information was spooky entertainment and scary fun but if you want to view Caddylak Graffix humorous and haunting Halloween Cards for laughs or your Halloween shopping needs, then click this Halloween Cards navigational link.

Click "Hungry Vampire" Cartoon to view Funny Halloween Cards!

"Thank you to all who submitted Halloween facts, legends and funny stories. Keep sending us this Halloween spooky information and we'll keep putting it up on this Halloween Legends & Oddities page and give you the credit!" -Says, Caddylak Maxy