Picture this: You walk into Home Depot for a simple light bulb and suddenly you’re in a zombie apocalypse. That’s how I felt last Halloween when I made that very trip. To be fair, when I was a kid, I thought Halloween was a fun holiday. I got to dress up in a costume, go from house to house and collect candy, and then savor all that sweetness until it was gone. But over the years, as Halloween has evolved, I’ve found myself wondering how we ever got to ten-foot-tall zombies in hardware stores and horror movies that could make you sleep with the lights on for a month.
Halloween’s Beginnings
As a child, I had no inkling of Halloween’s symbolic weight. I didn’t know that it once represented the transition from autumn’s harvest to winter’s ‘death.’ Or that it was a time to celebrate the eternal cycle of life, death, and renewal. And I had no clue that Halloween was once a time when people tried to ward off evil spirits with sacred rituals. As the saying goes, that was then. This is now.
Last year, I walked into Home Depot to pick up some irrigation parts and a few other things. What I discovered was that things have changed over the last couple of hundred years. Instead of trying to scare away the evil spirits, you can now buy your very own ten-foot tall animatronic zombie. Instead of scaring off those evil spirits, we’re now installing them in our front yards. Clearly, we’ve evolved.
From Carving Turnips to Pumpkin Patches to…
Celtic traditions involved carving turnips, potatoes, and other root vegetables during Samhain (the precursor to Halloween) to keep away bad spirits. They even put candles inside the root veggies to help the good spirits find their way. When the Irish moved to America, however, they discovered something wonderful—the pumpkin. Bigger, softer, and easier to carve than those old turnips, pumpkins quickly replaced turnips.
Why Are Those Pumpkins Called Jack-O’-Lanterns?
Have you ever wondered why those carved-out pumpkins are called Jack-O’-Lanterns? Well, once again, Irish folklore provides the answer. The practice of turnip carving eventually led to another bit of Irish folklore, the story of a man named Stingy Jack. The story goes that Jack tricked the devil (on several occasions) and was cursed to roam the earth in eternal night with only a burning coal as his light. Jack placed the coal into a carved-out turnip and carried it as his lantern as he roamed the earth. Irish folklore refers to this ghostly figure as ‘Jack of the Lantern’ and that led to what we now call Jack-O’-Lanterns.
Final Thoughts and Looking Ahead
Halloween has evolved from a sacred ritual into retail chaos, a financial juggernaut that the storeowners love. While I enjoy the change of the seasons, I find myself focused on getting through rather than enjoying Halloween.
What about you? Do you think Halloween is a fun holiday? Do you dress up? Or do you have Halloween horror stories to tell? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to include your time on the puzzle! Next week, I’ll have another travel post! See you then!
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Nice puzzle. My time was 10:58.
6:43, we still give out candy for the kids but this year we only had eight takers. Maybe not next year.
6:45, Halloween is my favorite holiday.
7:37 I like Halloween for when the children dress up in cute costumes and ring the bell for candy. I do think that it has become too commercialized as most holidays have.
8:45 I used to love Halloween, but not so much anymore. I started to visit with my mother when she became too old to jump up and down to give out candy. Then there were tales of older teenagers causing problems and forcing their way into homes (fact or fiction?). At that point we decided to go to a movie on Halloween night and ignore the kids. Now I just drive v e r y c a r e f u l l y home after work because too many costumes give the kids poor vision. Plus they are so jacked up on sugar they dart instead of looking. I know. Fun times for them, but not for us drivers.
My time was 9:44. I really appreciate learning about the Celtic traditions and how Halloween started. I had no idea it was Irish traditions. I have only heard of the Hispanics celebrating the Day of the Dead. Thanks for another informative story and cute puzzle.
10:34 that was fun!!
10.39 cute puzzle! Happy Halloween!
I got 9:43. I like watching the kids trick or treat, but I don’t like how evil it seems to have become. I hate those huge skeletons that people put up! Plus, all of the movies at the theaters are horror during this season.
6:30 not a fan of Halloween either, but love baked pumpkin foods!
6:44
My time today was 5:20. Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday either. I’d rather just celebrate fall, especially all the pumpkin spice offerings. Thanks for a fun history lesson!