HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS

Halloween is known and loved today as a time to wear costumes, go door to door asking for candy, and
watch monster movies. But the holiday's origins go back centuries to the enactment of All Saints' Day, a
Christian holiday. Along the way, it has also picked up traditions from Samhain, a Celtic festival
celebrating the start of winter.

All Saints' Day

The name "Halloween" began as "All Hallows Eve." This became "All Hallow E'en," leading to
"Hallowe'en," or Halloween. It was the evening before All Hallows Day, which was later called All Saints'
Day. (In this case, "hallows" meant "saints.")

All Saints' Day, a feast for all martyrs and saints, was celebrated on November 1st for the first time during
the 8th century, but customs varied regarding its observance. This date was officially established for all
Catholic churches in 837 by Pope Gregory IV.
Starting in the 10th century, this feast was the eve of All Souls' Day, which soon came to overshadow it.

All Souls' Day

Taking place on November 2, All Souls' Day was a day of prayer for the dead. It was believed that the
prayers of those still living could comfort dead souls, or elevate them from Purgatory. The observances
began the previous evening with prayers and the ringing of church bells.

When England moved from Catholicism to Protestantism, the All Souls' Day bell-ringing was prohibited
and no official services were conducted. Individuals and groups continued to find ways of observing the
day, perhaps out of a feeling of obligation to their dead loved ones; reports dating to the 16th century refer
to people praying in the fields by the light of torches or bonfires.

Another observance involved "soul cakes." These (and alms) were given to the poor, in return for which the
poor would offer a prayer for the dead. The poor and their children in some areas would go "souling,"
going to the homes of the wealthy and asking for soul cakes, fruit, and alms, a practice mentioned by
Shakespeare in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Samhain

November 1st also marks an ancient Celtic festival named Samhain (pronounced sah-win), or "summer's
end." While little is known for certain about its original observances, it appears to have been a pagan
calendar feast on the opposite side of the year from Beltane. There has been much speculation about the
relationship between the HalloweenAll SaintsAll Souls holidays and Samhain. Some believe that the
Christian observances were deliberately moved to November in order to take over the pagan holiday. There
is, however, no evidence for this. Others suggest that the pagan celebration may have gained its
associations with the dead from the Christian holidays, but this is also speculation at best.

Midway Through Autumn

A more likely explanation may be that the turn of autumnwith the harvest finished, the days getting
colder, the nights getting longer, and everybody getting ready to face the winternaturally leads to
thoughts of death and the unknowable. Much as many different cultures mark the start of spring with light-
hearted holidays and celebrations of fertility and renewal, autumn may attract holidays in which people
focus on the other side of the life cycle.

On the other hand, it hardly matters whether the Christian and pagan holidays were originally related to one
another; the two have been intermingled in the popular imagination for a long time.

Coming to America

The modern observances of Halloween are more recent than one might expect. The holiday had a rebirth in
North America between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, probably through an influx of Irish
immigrants. They brought with them traditions that combined features of the Celtic and Christian holidays,
and celebrated with feasting, divinations, and mischief making.

Jack-o'-lanterns and trick-or-treating in costume both became Halloween fixtures in North America, and
have since been exported back to Europe.

THANKSGIVING TRADITIONS

Each year, Americans in the United States celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday on the
fourth Thursday of November. Most families follow traditions begun on the first
Thanksgiving, but many have their own traditions that they follow each year. Here
are some of the common traditions associated with "Turkey Day."

Travel

One of the best things about Thanksgiving is spending time with family. Many people
live far from family members and travel long distances by car, train, or plane to be
with their loved ones. Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year!

The Feast
Traditional foods are a large part of Thanksgiving celebrations. Many families include
the entire family in the food preparation. Traditional foods include turkey, stuffing,
gravy, sweet potatoes, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Many
people serve pie for dessert at the end of the meal. Popular pie flavors are pumpkin,
pecan, sweet potato, and apple.

Vegetarian Foods

Some families choose to serve vegetarian Thanksgiving dinners instead of a stuffed

turkey. Some people eat vegetarian turkey, which is made out of tofu. Others prefer
to eat squash, salads, or other fruit and vegetable dishes.

The Wishbone

Some families include breaking the turkey's wishbone as part of their celebration.
The wishbone is found attached to the breast meat in the turkey's chest. After the
meat has been removed and the wishbone has had a chance to become dry and
brittle, two people each take one end of the bone, make a wish, and pull. Whoever
ends up with the larger part of the bone gets their wish!

The Turkey Pardon

Each year at Thanksgiving, the President of the United States receives a gift of a live
turkey (along with an alternate in case something happens to the official turkey). At a
White House ceremony, the president traditionally "pardons" the National
Thanksgiving Turkey and the alternate turkeys, allowing them to live out the rest of
their lives on a farm.

Helping Others

Many generous folks use Thanksgiving as an opportunity to help the less fortunate.
Some people volunteer to serve food at homeless shelters on Thanksgiving Day and
others donate to shelters or participate in canned food drives.