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I watched another Halloween show on the History Channel last night and although I missed the beginning of it (the most important part!) I was able to learn how the holiday progressed in Western culture to the point it's at now. Its origins were well-connected with All Saints Day on November 1st as celebrated by the Catholic Church. When the Protestant Reformation swept across Europe the Saints were either disregarded or put on the back shelf and so was the importance of Halloween, at least in some circles. When the Puritans came to the New World in the 17th Century they made sure Halloween was not celebrated. However, colonies such as Virginia were more populated by Catholics and Anglicans who did, in fact, celebrate the holiday. Meanwhile, as we have been discussing in another thread, Guy Fawkes Night - and the pomp and costuming that came to be associated with the day - sort of intermingled with Halloween because the dates (October 31st and November 5th) were so close together. The customs of "A penny for the guy" and "trick or treat" were easily comparable between the two festivals.Later on in the Victorian Age of America some of the earlier customs associated with Halloween were brought to new life. With many Catholic Irish immigrants who came to America the festival kept going, though the practice of carving turnips was replaced by the pumpkin during this age. The Victorians put a new face on Halloween (as they tended to do with things) which was a kinder and more elegant than the way it had been celebrated in the past. After the First World War Halloween was marked by its ugly side - that of vandalism and "trickery" - which marred the night. And World War II brought the holiday to a halt as America has more important things to tend to. Interesting to note is that through the 50s, and perhaps the 60s and 70s, Halloween was considered primarily a children's holiday. It wasn't meant for adults in those days. During our own days in the 1980s and 1990s, howevever, Halloween's importance spread through generations - or more accuarely was never abandoned by certain generations. The result is that Halloween is now celebrated by adults and children alike and is one of the most popular of holidays throughout the year.
Adding on to this thread, last night I saw a show on the Food Network which discussed “Soul Cakes” which were traditionally given out by homeowners from perhaps Medieval times through the 1600s. As explained by the show, people would go door to door and offer to pray for the homeowner or perhaps someone at the house (or maybe a deceased relative?) and the homeowner was supposed to offer a treat, such as a Soul Cake. When the homeowner wouldn't offer anything in return, the wanderers would do some sort of prank to the house (perhaps this meant throwing tomatoes at it!). At least this is what I recall from the brief overview they gave on the show. These Soul Cakes were similar to bread cookies - including a mixture of flour, butter, spices, and the yeast-containing foam that was produced in the process of making beer. The old recipe that was used on the show to bake a batch didn't come with specific measurements, so these had to be estimated. Perhaps I should bake a batch of Soul Cakes some day and relive the traditions of "Old Tyme Hallow'een".....
If it was the haunted history of halloween you were watching, then I have seen it. the beginning talked about its origins among the Celtics and how almost all the halloween traditions can be traced to them.
