Origin of Halloween (Part 6)

After World War I broke out, America pretty much "lost it's innocence and began to grow up". The mentalities of Halloween and other such holidays were skewed, and stopped being celebrated by adults, thus it became a children's holiday. It became a popular tradition for kids to roam the streets at night, but as they did so it began a resurgence of the dark side that had demeaned the holiday in the past. Thus it became known as "Mischief Night."

In the years following WWI, there were many acts of vandalism during the night of Halloween. One year, in 1930s New York, kids broke an estimated 1000 windows in the Queens borough. It wasn't uncommon that the pranks would sometimes be deadly. So, some towns tried different methods to quell the beast. One such town is Anoka Minnesota, who decided it would be a good idea to hold the first American parade/festival on the night of Halloween. It was a success for the most part.

But again, WWII broke out and many Halloween festivals were ignored. Many kids disregarded Halloween at that time, putting most of their time and energy into the war effort (i.e. food or metal scraps). But, after the second great war, came an extreme resurgence in Halloween. Post WWII America, there was a baby boom and such a boom also happened with the Halloween holiday.

To make sure kids went home on time (primarily to avoid vandalism), radio stations would hold prizes to all kids who could get home within 30 minutes of the broadcast. Events like organized trick-or-treating helped subdue Halloween's more mischievous side.

But in 1970s Detroit, this night soon became known as "Devil's Night", as many houses were lit up in flame as simple, but deadly pranks. People began fearing for their lives and the lives of their children and their homes on Halloween. Rumors began to spread that kids were dying because of trick-or-treating because of razor-blades and poison in the treats. And although it was true that razor-blades were found pushed inside apples and poison was found often in candy, many police investigations realized that these were, nine out of ten times, domestic attacks within the family. Still, many parents began accompanying their children in trick-or-treating.

Today, many modern day Neopagans and Wiccans consider Halloween one of their most sacred nights of the year, believing like their Celtic ancestors, that the veil is thinner on this night. Unlike their Celtic ancestors though, they instead invite these dead loved ones and spirits bak from the grave.

Americans today spend a rough estimate of $2.5 billion a year on Halloween, making it the second most expensive holiday. More than half of all homes get decorated, and most kids trick-or-treat. Many dress-up, it's a popular custom to bob for apples, to tell ghost stories and to put faces on pumpkins. Now you know why. Although the past few decades have turned Halloween into a primarily childish holiday, it isn't uncommon for adults to celebrate it now too.

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And that's the origin of Halloween. But wait... what ever will I do for the seventh part tomorrow?

Origin of Halloween (Part 5)

Alright, so here we are on day 5 of our journey to attempt and fully discern the full history of Halloween and why it's celebrated like it is today. Today we'll start in America. Puritan America, actually.

Puritans, like I mentioned yesterday, were the religious group of people that sprung up once Martin Luther went against the Catholic Church for their skewed doctrines, and tried to get away from all the pagan practices of the Church by starting a new one. Many of these Puritans found themselves forced to move because of religious persecution they faced in Europe, and relocated into America. Between 1629 and 1640, it's estimated that over 21,000 puritans moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Puritans were strongly against practicing Halloween.

So against it and other forms of paganism, that it eventually became their undoing. The most famous Witch Hunt in Salem, Massachusetts occurred 1692. Dozens were accused of being witches, and 20 ended up dying because of the extreme superstition and their blind common sense: 19 by hanging, and 1 was crushed to death by rocks.

On another Colony, Halloween continued to live on, unabated by the efforts of the Puritans. This colony, Virgina, would be the birthplace of American Halloween. It was popular to have parties on this night, where many of the guests would partake in ghost stories and bob for apples, amongst other games. Many popular games included divination. Women would look for their future husbands faces to appear in food they cooked in fire. Some girls would leave a wet towel hanging and as superstition went, the boy that the girl loved would come and make a fold in the towel overnight. Play parties, as they were called, during the time of Halloween, were very popular.

At the turn of the 19th century, the Irish began to swarm into the country and they breathed new life into many practices that had already taken hold here, such as ghost stories, which became even more popular in the late 1800s. You see, many of the Irish never truly did stop celebrating their Celtic Samhain, although the belief patterns amongst people had drastically changed since then and many by this time had no clue what Samhain was. The pumpkins which were very prevalent in America, were much easier to carve into than the turnips of Ireland, and this is a great example of how American culture turned darker traditions into light-hearted fun. By the end of the 19th century, this previously adult holiday would become celebrated by those younger and younger.