Halloween

1. Halloween History of Halloween

2. Common Core • 5.C.1.2 Exemplify how the interactions of various groups have resulted in the borrowing and sharing of traditions and technology. • 5.C.1.4Understand how cultural narratives (legends, songs, ballads, games, folk tales and art forms) reflect the lifestyles, beliefs and struggles of diverse ethnic groups.

3. Vocabulary • Calves- baby cows or goats • Solstice- when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point • Equinox- when day and night are equal in length • Bonfire- large fire • Myth/Legend- stories that are passed down from generation to generation that may not be true but the culture strongly believes in

4. Vocabulary • Pastures- fields where animals graze/eat • Druids- ancient Celtic fortune tellers • Celts/Celtics- people of Ireland • Prophecies- predictions that many people believed may come true • Fortunes- predictions about an individual person

5. Vocabulary • Famine- when there is not enough food, major shortage of food • Potato Blight- Bug that got into the potatoes in Ireland in the 1850’s and rotted them • Ward Off- scare off • Volatile- something that changes all the time • Turnip- a vegetable that Jack-O-Lanterns first came from

6. Vocabulary • Imbolc- (I-Molk) Ancient Irish Festival • Beltane- Ancient Irish Festival • Ewe- female sheep • Lughnasadh- (Loo-nay-say) Ancient Irish Festival • Samhain- (sou-in) Ancient Irish Festival • Slaughter- cut up a cow for its meat (beef)

7. Ireland • Everything started in Ireland before Jesus was even born • Halloween exists because everyone wanted to know the future • Ireland broke their year into four parts • After each of the four parts they had a festival/celebration • Imbolc • Beltane • Lughnasadh • Samhain

8. Imbolc • Imbolc (I molk)- meaning in the belly, was a festival that was celebrated February 1st or 2nd to honor the Irish mythological Goddess Brighid • Brighid was the Irish goddess of poetry & healing • Irish believed that this goddess would deliver new calves for the spring

9. Imbolc • Irish believed Brighid would keep them safe in the ewe’s belly • Irish depended on these calves to grow up and produce milk and meat for the people • The festival was celebrated halfway between the Winter Solstice & Spring Solstice

10. Beltane • Beltane marked the beginning of summer and was celebrated on May 1st each year • This was a end of springtime festival that was celebrated in hopes for a good crop yield for that year • It was also the day where the herds of cattle were brought down to the pastures for the first time of the year to graze

11. Beltane • Irish would light bonfires to symbolize the power of the sun to ward off any diseases to the cattle or people that year • The people and cattle would then walk between the bonfires as a cleansing ritual for the year

12. Beltane • There was an old Irish myth that if the bonfire stayed burning for the whole night that the people and animals would be safe from disease but if it burned out there would be disease that year • This festival was celebrated halfway between the Spring Equinox & Summer Solstice

13. Lughnasadh • Lughnasadh (Loo-nay-say)- A festival that the Irish hold in honor of the Irish Mythological God Lugh • Irish God Lugh is said to have started this festival to honor his mother

14. Lughnasadh • His mother’s name was Taltaui and she died of exhaustion clearing Ireland’s fields so the people could plant potatoes • Festival takes place August 1st of every year to celebrate a good harvest

15. Samhain • Samhain (Souw-in) which means November in Gaelic, is an Irish festival that marks the end of the harvest and the year on the Irish calendar and the beginning of a new year (New Years) • The festival/celebration was held after the sunset of October 31st which was halfway between the Autumnal Equinox & Winter Solstice

16. Samhain • This was the time that the Irish would bring their cattle back down from the pastures and slaughter them for meat for the long winter • The meat would keep because the winter in Ireland was so cold

17. Samhain • The Irish believed that the night before the new year the gods drew nearer to Earth than at any other part of the year • Irish believed that the gods would open the portal of the dead to have access to the living on this night

18. Samhain • The Irish believed that on that day all manner of beings were allowed on the earth (ghosts, fairies, & demons) • Because the portal to the other side was open on this night the Celts believed it was easier for Druids to tell prophecies & predictions about the future • Fortunes offered hope for the people in a volatile natural world

19. Samhain • After the sunset on October 31st all the druids from the town would go to the hillside and build bonfires • The people would wait until they saw the bonfires and then dress up in costumes of animal heads & skins to keep the evil spirits away and go and dance around the bonfires until just before the sun came up the next morning

20. Samhain • Before they would leave to go to the bonfires they would leave food & wine on their door steps as a gift to the spirits • Then they would put masks of animal heads and skins on so that the evil spirits would think that they were one of them

21. Samhain • They would then take a piece of red hot coal and put it in the inside of a carved out turnip to their houses and started a fire in their own hearths with the red hot coal • As long as that fire continued to burn the people would have good luck that year • Everything was going great for the Celtics until….

22. Roman Influence • Nobody knows for sure how Roman influence began in Ireland but most historians believe that the Romans invaded in the about 400 A.D. and took over Ireland • They began living there and began trying to convert the Celtics to Christianity • The most famous man to convert many Irish to Christians was a man named St. Patrick (but we will talk about him in March)

23. Pope Gregory III • Years after the Romans have taken over and converted much of Ireland into Christianity Roman Catholic Pope Gregory III allows the Irish to keep their long lasting tradition of Samhain but he puts a Catholic twist onto it • He lets the Irish continue to practice their traditions of bonfires & dressing up but changes the name of the celebration to All Hallows Day

24. All Hallows Day • All Hallows Day becomes the day that the Roman Catholics honored all Saints known and unknown on November 1st of each year • The people of Ireland & Europe accepted the new holiday but still practiced their night before traditions • Samhain became known as All Hallows Eve • From there within the next half century it became known as Halloween

25. All Hallows Eve • Samhain became known as All Hallows Eve (The night before All Hallows Day) • From there within the next half century (50 years) it became known as Halloween

26. Puritans Came To America • The Puritans/Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock came to America • Pilgrims/Puritans were very religious and did not believe in ghosts & goblins so when they came to America they didn’t even practice the Halloween tradition • Halloween was dead in America until…

27. The Potato Famine • The Irish relied on Potatoes as a staple crop to feed themselves • They ate Potatoes like we eat bread • In the mid 1800’s a bug called the Potato Blight Bug caused the Potato Famine • During the Potato Famine many Irish Celtics starved because of the lack of Potatoes or if they did eat the Potatoes many died of disease

28. Emigrating to the United States • Following the Potato Famine over 1 million Irish Emigrated to the United States • When they emigrated they brought their tradition of Halloween with them • Just like that Halloween was back

29. The New American Halloween • During the mid 1800’s many people were immigrating to the United States from all over the world • America became a melting pot for every cultures traditions • Halloween started to celebrated by not only the Irish but by other cultures as well

30. New Traditions • The roaring bonfires of Ireland became lanterns carved from pumpkins • Animal heads and skins became costumes of witches & tigers & bears • Trick or Treating became popular

31. Make Money Money!! • Halloween is huge business • Today Americans spend over 2.5 billion dollars just in costumes per year • Americans spend over 3.5 billion dollars on candy every Halloween • Second most expensive holiday of the year (Christmas)

32. Where Does Trick or Treating Come From? • Nobody knows for sure but most historians think that Trick or Treating comes from an ancient traditions called Souling & Guising • Souling & Guising were developed much after the original Samhain

33. Souling • On All Souls Day the poor would beg for soul cakes • In return for the food they would pray for the souls of people’s dead relatives

34. Guising • Young people would dress up in costumes and collect food & wine or even money from people • In exchange the young person would sing a song, read the person a poem, or tell them a joke

35. Why Do We Have Jack-O-Lanterns? • Two different legends • The first legend says that Jack-O-Lanterns were used to ward off vampires • It was thought that a Jack-O-Lantern allowed a person to identify the vampire and once the vampire was identified it would give up the chase for you

36. Why Do We Have Jack-O-Lanterns? • The Second Legend is the more accepted legend and it goes like this… • There once was a very tricky man named Jack. Jack liked to steal and was a pretty bad man. One day Jack was running from some villagers from whom he had stolen when he met the devil. The devil said tonight is the night you die.

37. Why Do We Have Jack-O-Lanterns? • However Tricky Jack was so clever & smart that he tempted the devil with a chance to trick the church going villagers who were chasing Jack. He asked the devil to turn into a coin for which Jack could use to pay for the stolen goods. Because the Jack knew the devil could take any shape he wanted he could disappear after he was put into one of the villagers pockets. The devil agrees.

38. Why Do We Have Jack-O-Lanterns? • He turned himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack had also picked up in the village. Jack had closed the wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was trapped. Eventually Jack got away. He agrees to let the devil go only if the devil agrees not to take his soul. The devil being tricked agrees never to take Jack’s soul.

39. Why Do We Have Jack-O-Lanterns? • After some years pass Jack dies as all humans do. Jack has been too sinful to go to heaven and he can’t go to (the other place) because the devil has agreed not to take his soul. Jack is stuck. He asks both God & the devil where will I go because I see no light?

40. Why Do We Have Jack-O-Lanterns? • The devil turns and laughs at him and tosses him a piece of coal that will burn forever. Jack takes his favorite food (turnip) and carves out the middle and puts the piece of coal in there. He begins endlessly wandering the earth for a resting place. The people that see him now call him Jack of the Lantern or Jack-O-Lantern.

41. Important Points • Irish Celtics first started Halloween with their festival called Samhain • Samhain was New Years Eve for the Irish • Irish believed it was the night where the dead could enter the world of the living • Roman Pope Gregory III changed Samhain into All Hallows Day which honored the Christian saints. All Hallows Day quickly was shortened into being called Halloween • Halloween was brought to the United States when over 1 million Irish emigrated to the United States • Halloween has become a multi billion dollar industry in the United States (3.5 billion in candy)(2.5 billion in costumes) • Legend of the Jack-O-Lantern

42. Halloween Videos • http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/videos#bet-you-didnt-know-halloween • http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/videos#all-about-the-pumpkin • http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/videos#candy-corn • http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/interactives/halloween-by-the-numbers