Countdown to Halloween: Trick-Or-Treating Through Time
by Marisa
Costumes, masks, and trick-or-treating. Fun stuff, associated with costume parties and the collection of candy, right? Sure, in contemporary American society, but the original Pagan associations were a more literal matter of life and death.
To the ancient Celts, the thin veil between the living and dead on Samhain night allowed for both reverent reunion with departed loved ones and possible harm from more malicious wandering spirits. To protect against the latter, Pagans donned masks and costumes of the dead, hiding their identity as living beings, and allowing them to walk unharmed among Samhain’s spirits.
How did these masquerades coincide with trick-or-treating? To best understand this evolution, we need to make a pit-stop at guising – a Scottish tradition in which goblin and ghoul-costumed folk sang and danced their way among neighborhood homes, intimidating any evil spirits in their path. In exchange for their performance, residents would provide a treat – that is, the smart residents would, as in absence of said treat, guisers were prone to, well, tricks. Christmas wassailing, dating from the Middle Ages, is another example of the Celtic exchange of song and sustenance – as is the medieval practice of souling, in which peasants would travel door to door across the British Isles, receiving soul cakes in return for their Samhain prayers for the dead.
So while the Samhain stakes have dropped with time, and the urgency of dressing as a ghost, goblin, witch, or ghoul to avoid detection among the dead has transitioned into a more playful variation, creative fun still abounds in this long-standing tradition. Maybe this year add some soul cakes (see recipe) to your Halloween spread, or favor a ghostly ensemble over more contemporary trends. You’ll be treating friends to a Halloween tale, and avoiding the tricks of those wandering spirits all in one.
| 10/28/07
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Beliefs
