The historic Halloween

When witches go riding, And black cats are seen, The moon laughs and whispers, ‘Tis near Halloween. —Unknown

Today, November 1st, all roads in the Philippines lead to the cemetery. November 1st is All Saints Day, historically referred to as All Hallows or Hallowmas, and has become a day for revering our honored saints and those who have attained the Beatific Vision of the afterlife. Sir Thomas Aquinas, a noted theologian, considers the Beatific Vision the ultimate attainment of human existence; it is the moment when the departed directly perceive the goodness of God in Heaven. In other countries, November 2nd is called All Souls Day and celebrates those who have passed on but not yet attained the Beatific Vision. However, in the Philippines, the celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day occur at the same time, on November 1st.

November 1st then becomes a day of festivities in cemeteries around the country. Families gather not only to pray and honor the dead, but to celebrate with extended relations and rekindle familial ties. Other Roman Catholic countries celebrate All Souls Day in much the same manner (if only on November 2nd). In Mexico, the celebration is called Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead (here Araw ng mga Patay) and actually takes place over November 1st and 2nd. The Mexican and Latin American festivities are joyous, colorful and eclectic events that also involve bringing presents and food to gravesites. The holiday that precedes these two, Halloween, has become equated more with the American vision: scary movies, trick or treating, costumes and candy. Halloween is a holiday of ancient history; it tickles at the old fears of what evils may lurk in the dark.

Halloween has gone by many names through history: All Hallows Eve, All Saints Eve, Hallows End and Samhain. Samhain was the Gaelic celebration of the end of summer and the harvest season, but was also a day of danger. The Gaels thought that on October 31st, the barriers between the living and supernatural dissolved; leaving the living at the mercy of these capricious spirits. Customs that we now commonly associate with Halloween grew out of this belief. To protect themselves from potential harm, they had a variety of customs: building bonfires and carve out lanterns from gourds and wearing masks and costumes in an attempt to copy these spirits and hopefully placate them. As Halloween was a harvest festival in Scotland, they made a practice of offering food to the faeries or evil spirits to protect their homes for another year. Children would dress up in costumes to allow them to ‘blend’ with the spirits and be protected. When the children would approach homes, the residents would offer them food and treats in the hope of also placating any evil spirits that may be lurking amongst them. This custom called “guising” is likely the historical antecedent of the modern custom of “trick or treating” and dressing in costume.

The Pagan celebration of All Hallows Eve was always celebrated on October 31st and November 1st. The original Christian celebration of All Saints Day was first celebrated on May 13. Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV, however, moved All Saints Day to November 1st and effectively Christianized the pagan celebration. Many celebratory traditions survived: the honoring of the dead, the giving of food and sweets, trick or treating, dressing up in costumes, and even fire motifs (seen in candle-lit carved pumpkins in the United States). Today, Halloween is a night of fun, of treat or tricks, costumes and horror movies. While All Saints Day / All Souls Day remains a time of celebrating with family and remembering those dearly departed. Eat, drink and be scary!