1 – Halloween dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of
Samhain, approximately 2000 years ago. This day symbolized the end of warm
weather and the beginning of winter, which was also associated with human
death. It seems that in the night of October 31 ghosts returned on earth and
they would cause damage. Celtics actually set places at the table for their
dead relatives to celebrate this day.
2 – There are several superstitions on Halloween: avoid
crossing paths with black cats, walking under ladders, avoid breaking mirrors,
and stepping on cracks in the road. Their origins are probably from the Middle
Ages.
3 – There are other traditions besides trick-or-treat, and a lot
of the rituals on Halloween were focused on divination and seeing the future. It
was a popular practice to try to see your future husband in the mirror on Halloween through
different rituals and plan whether you are getting married in the next year. For example, in
18 century a matchmaking cook buried a ring in her mashed potatoes while hoping
it would bring true love to the person who found it.
4 – In Scotland
5 – In Ireland
and Scotland
6 – Soul cakes are served on Halloween and they represent
the soul of the person that will be freed from Purgatory. This tradition has been around since the Middle Ages. The cakes are usually
filled with nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, raisins, and currants and marked with a
cross. They are combined with wine as an offering for the dead, traditionally on
All Saints Day.
7 – A game played on Halloween in the 1900s was one
involving walnut shells; people wrote fortunes in milk on white paper which was
placed in walnut shells after drying. When the shell was warmed, the milk turned
brown and the writing appeared. Another game involved symbols being cut out of
paper and placed on a platter; then somebody entered a dark room and had to put
their hand on a piece of ice then lay it on the platter. The fortune (paper
symbols) of the person would stick on their hand.
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