Customs and traditions: You need to know these 7 facts about Halloween

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Halloween has its origins in the Christian festival “All Saints’ Day”. But Christians weren’t the first: The Celts celebrated the 11th full moon festival, “Samhain,” around October 31. To achieve success the following year, the Druids burned people. Preferably a man, a woman, a child and a pair of each animal species. In the Caribbean, the festival, mixed with African voodoo rituals, is celebrated as “Día de los Muertos”, that is, Day of the Dead.

The word “Halloween” comes from the word “All Halloween Eve”, the eve of All Saints’ Day. In slurred Irish dialects this became “Halloween” and later Halloween.

Traditional and always “scary”: the ghost of the skeleton and the sheet. The most popular costumes include witch and zombie outfits. But cowboy or Superman costumes are no longer welcome. With each horror movie released in theaters, the range of disguises expands. Over the last few years we’ve witnessed a particular Hollywood Halloween trend: stars dressing up as other stars.

The tradition of asking for “sweet” (treat) or threatening with “sour” (trick/prank) originated in America in the 1930s. Children go door to door teaching their neighbors how scary they are. If the owner of the house doesn’t bring the sweets he wants, as if by magic, the mailbox may end up being filled with shaving cream.

The successful horror film series about psychotic serial killer Michael Myers dates back to John Carpenter’s “Halloween – Fright Night” (1978). The movie “Halloween is Over” is released in 2022. In this episode, former babysitter Laurie Strode meets serial killer Michael Myers again after 40 years.

Pumpkins are part of Halloween, just like the skull is part of the skeleton. Jack O’Lanterns, as they are called in the US, are hollow pumpkins with spooky carved faces and illuminated from the inside by candlelight. Does this sound familiar? The origins of the Räbeliechtli parade, which features hollow ravens carried by children through the streets, can be traced to the same tradition.

Pumpkins, illuminated by a candle inside, shine in the dark of the night with their spooky faces on Halloween. This tradition comes from a legend that Irish immigrants brought to the United States. As the story goes, Irish blacksmith Jack Oldfield defeated the devil when he tried to take him to him. He was also not allowed to enter heaven after his death; He couldn’t go to hell because the devil had promised him he wouldn’t take him home.

So the devil sent Jack back to where he came from. The road was cold and windy, so Jack took a glowing coal from the hellfire out of pity. He put these in a hollow turnip he had taken with him as provisions. Trapped between heaven and hell, Jack’s cursed soul was now wandering in the dark. This eventually led to the tradition of hollowing out ravens and lighting them with candles. This is probably where our Räbeliechtli parade comes from. Their transformation into pumpkins is probably due to the season, as pumpkins herald the beginning of autumn and larger ones are easier, if not scarier, to cut.

Source : Blick