The ancient Celtic origins of Halloween
While we have the church of around 700 A.D. to give thanks for the name of thisholidaycelebrating the “ holy eve ” before All Saints Day , we have ancient Celts and their Druid priests to give thanks for the usance . Decorating with pumpkins , apples , and corn stalk spring up about 2000 years ago with ancient Celtic peoples who lived in what we now know as the British Isles and northern France . The autumn festival forebode “ Samhain ” ( sound out SAH - win ) mark the transition between the destruction of summer ( its harvest was celebrate with cornstalks , leaves , fruits , and vegetables ) and upcoming dark wintertime day . In their tradition , it marked the boundary between the living and the drained .
The Kelt believed that on the last day ofOctober , ghosts of the dead would walk among them . To ward off vicious spirits , big bonfires were lit . From this custom evolved the carving of bombastic Brassica rapa or beets with face , and put glowing coal or candela inside , to guard off such evil flavor . When the Irish immigrants arrived in America , they found Cucurbita pepo abundant and much easier to carve than turnips . And thus , the tradition of turning pumpkins into diddly-squat - o - lanterns began .
Another legend has it thatStingy Jackwas a canny farmer , drunkard and prevaricator , who tricked the daemon . He supposedly carved a cross on a tree diagram to essay and get the devil to climb it , and so trap the devil . In return for this attempt , the devil gave Jack only one small igniter in a scooped out turnip ( translated to pumpkin when immigrants came to America ) to illuminate his way as he wandered perpetually in darkness .
How to predict the future with apples, cabbage, and nuts
We ’re all familiar with the Halloween party secret plan , “ bobsled for apple ” . This customs , too , has ancient line of descent as apples were held sacred by the pagans . This practice in particular may date back to the Roman fete of Pomona , combining a water ritual of Druids with homage to the goddess of yield trees .
During the priggish era , the apple played a significant use in square up a young girl ’s future tense . By slip an Malus pumila under her pillow on Halloween eve , she was sure to woolgather of her sweetheart . At midnight on Halloween , a girl would brook in front of a mirror and brush her haircloth three time while eat an apple . The image of her succeeding husband was said to then seem in the mirror over her shoulder joint . Once she see his boldness , she peeled an orchard apple tree in a undivided strip . She tossed the Robert Peel over her left over shoulder using her right hand . The peel would form the first initial of his name , as described in a democratic rime of that time .
Another mode to learn about one ’s succeeding spouse was to visit thecabbagepatch on Halloween . Both youthful men and women conform to this rite , rushing into the garden to piece the first cabbage they come across . If the bread had a short stalk , the spouse would be short ; a long stubble , the spouse would be improbable . Dirt on the leaves meant the one who pick the industrial plant would marry full-bodied .
If a new maiden could n’t choose between two suer , on Halloween night she took a pair of filbert , each for one of her swell , then tossed them into the fire . The nut that burned the brightest or bolt down the flashy indicated which man was to be hers . In England , this Nox became known as Nutcrack Night .
Nuts were used for other married predictions too , and not just at Halloween . If an engaged duo each discombobulate a ballock on the fire and these burned quiet , the marriage would be fluent ; yet if the nut cracked and hissed , the marriage would be unsmooth . If just the woman put two nut on the fire , one for herself and one for her lover , their family relationship was foretold to be pugnacious if the Nut scranch .
Herbs for protection from evil spirits and witches
Other plant and herbaceous plant have also been associated with Halloween . In Mediterranean countries , prior to the 14th century , rosemary was placed over the cradles of babies to protect them , not just on Halloween , but year - orotund . Rosemary was often burned with Retama raetam and thyme as a means of cleanse a room of witch and bad spirits .
Rue , a powerfully scentedevergreen bush , was hang from doorways and windows to ward off vicious spirit and prevent them from entering the house , as was oregano , caraway , and fennel . Rue also was carry about to ward off evils such as snake bite and poisons .
Legend has it that thyme should be carried to protect against beldam . Angelica and dill were grow in monastery garden and were believed to offer protection from witchcraft . Salvia , which is also known as meadow sage , was considered a symbol of immortality . When planted on Robert Graves in burial site , this perennial was believed to give the numb “ eternal life . ”
This year , when you ’re carving pumpkins , decorating with cornstalks , or bobbing for apples , consider the bloodline of these traditions and the ancient the States of herb . In celebration of the end of another grow time of year , and hopefully plentiful harvest , have a Happy Halloween .
( Some of this information was adapted from an article by former Extension press editor Lisa Halvorsen . )
This clause in the beginning appear on the University of Vermont Extension , Halloween Horticulture .
