By Savannah Hess
Why hello my fellow readers! This is my first article ever for the amazing Krista Martnelli’s long-standing, legendary online magazine Around Wellington. It’s such a pleasure to be with all of you. My name is Savannah Hess, and I’m a senior at Park Vista Community High School in Boynton Beach. I have big dreams to make it as an actress, historian, linguist, and many more things. I’ll be doing monthly entries, and Krista likes to call my column “Teen Talk.” And that’s just what this is. A talk with all you teenagers out there! Well, despite the fact I’m 17 and could be considered an old soul. But either way…it’s lovely to be with you all today. I’m so grateful to be able to be a part of this huge community!
Me about to watch Somewhere in Time for the thousandth time – feeling Victorian as usual.
So this month’s theme is Halloween. Fall is fast approaching. At the time of my writing this, October is merely a day away. When did Halloween start? Well, I have plenty of books and websites to help me out with that question. Let’s go back in time!
Yes, you guessed it. No, you didn’t – be honest. Halloween began roughly 2 millennia ago- preceding even Medieval Times. According to Good Housekeeping, Halloween “originated around 2,000 years ago, when Celtic people in Europe celebrated the end of the harvest and the start of a new year in a festival called Samhain. Everything goes back to the Celtics, the ancestors of modern-day Irish people. Halloween has been called a multitude of things, according to Lisa Morton’s book “The Halloween Encyclopedia”. The first part of the word, hallow, until 1500 CE, meant holy in Old English. Most interesting.
A picture I found in said book I mentioned
However, this was almost 2,000 years later in Ireland – time sure flies when you’re enjoying Halloween, I suppose.
I actually remember learning about Samhain on another website called BrainPop. People in the early kingdoms of Scotland, England, and of course, Ireland dressed up in terrifying getups to ward off evil spirits. Remember in this part of history everything went back to the church. Whatever the church said, people did. And people could barely read, except for their prayer books, of course. Imagine that!
Let’s proceed further. Halloween is a combination of two holidays – America’s Thanksgiving and Europe’s Martinmas (this holiday is celebrated on November 11th instead of at the end of the month). It also combines the Ancient Egyptian feast of the dead, commemorating the death of Osiris (the sun god), the Greek Anthesteria, and the Roman festivals of Lemur and Feralia. There are more but I don’t wish to bore you. Just know it’s both a festival celebrating autumn and a celebration of the dead. As Allison says in Hocus Pocus, “It’s the one night of the year where the spirits of the dead can return to Earth.” Exactly right! (See film clip at end).
Halloween became more and more popular in Europe and of course the States. So many countries have such incredible traditions for these magical 2 days. Like many, I love decorating for Halloween with my brother- we get so excited! I don’t trick or treat anymore, but I still love dressing up and having a good time with my friends. In the early 20th century, trick-or-treating became popular in the U.S. A lot of the costumes back then were so different and honestly awesome. It’s so cool to think one of my favorite holidays has its roots so far back in time. Especially since I want to be a historian someday.
Anyway, I hope you have a fantastic Halloween, and get all the candy you want! I’ll be going as Princess Mononoke- I hope to see you around. Thanks so much for reading and have a great day/night! See you all in November!
*Starts cackling like a witch*
-Savannah Hess
PS Hocus Pocus celebrates its 30th anniversary this year! This movie is a classic for the ages.