Halloween - Samhain - All Hallows Day Part 2

Good morning my dearest pixies, bookworms and Creatures of the Old ways! Have a blessed Thor's Day everyone!

As you well guessed - not difficult really, seeing the title- this is going to be the second article before Halloween! And I'm guessing that it won't be the last! We'll see more on the history of the Jack o' Lanterns, trick or treating and the opening of the gates between the worlds today!

For those who missed Part 1 here's the link...

https://dafnahara.wixsite.com/thegate/post/halloween-samhain-all-hallows-day

Pumpkins with ghoulish faces and illuminated by candles are a sure sign of the Halloween season. The practice of decorating jack-o'-lanterns originated in Ireland, where large turnips and potatoes served as early canvasses. In fact, the name, jack-o'-lantern, comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, home of the pumpkin, and it became an integral part of Halloween festivities.

The Legend of "Stingy Jack"

People have been making jack-o’-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack.” According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form.

Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” and then, simply “Jack O’Lantern.”

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack-o’-lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack-o’-lanterns.

A far cry from the grinning pumpkins of Halloween today, the original folklore version of Jack-o-Lanterns, named for Jack O’Lantern of the Irish myth, were actually quite terrifying. They were carved from turnips or beets rather than festive orange pumpkins and were intended to ward off unwanted visitors.

Gourds were one of the earliest plant species, domesticated by humans around 10,000 years ago, mostly cultivated for their carving potential – for kitchen tools, dishes, musical instruments, toys, furniture and more. Maoris began carving them for lanterns 700 years ago – the Maori word for “gourd” and “lampshade” are actually the same.

But how did jack-o’-lanterns become associated with Halloween? Halloween is based on the Celtic festival Samhain, a celebration in ancient Britain and Ireland that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the new year on November 1. It was believed that during Samhain the souls of those who had died that year traveled to the otherworld and that other souls would return to visit their homes.

In the 8th century CE, the Roman Catholic Church moved All Saints’ Day, a day celebrating the church’s saints, to November 1. This meant that All Hallows’ Eve (or Halloween) fell on October 31. Traditions from Samhain remained, such as wearing disguises to hide yourself from the souls wandering around your home. The folklore about Stingy Jack was quickly incorporated into Halloween, and we’ve been carving pumpkins—or turnips—ever since.

Now, let's see more on the trick or treat tradition...

Trick-or-treating—setting off on Halloween night in costume and ringing doorbells to demand treats—has been a tradition in the United States and other countries for more than a century. Its origins remain murky but traces can be identified in ancient Celtic festivals, early Roman Catholic holidays, medieval practices—and even British politics.

Halloween has its roots in the ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated on the night of October 31. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, believed that the dead returned to earth on Samhain. On the sacred night, people gathered to light bonfires, offer sacrifices and pay homage to the dead.

During some Celtic celebrations of Samhain, villagers disguised themselves in costumes made of animal skins to drive away phantom visitors; banquet tables were prepared and food was left out to placate unwelcome spirits

In later centuries, people began dressing as ghosts, demons and other malevolent creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This custom, known as mumming, dates back to the Middle Ages and is thought to be an antecedent of trick-or-treating.

By the ninth century, Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted older pagan rites. In 1000 A.D. the church designated November 2 as All Souls’ Day, a time for honoring the dead. Celebrations in England resembled Celtic commemorations of Samhain, complete with bonfires and masquerades.

Poor people would visit the houses of wealthier families and receive pastries called soul cakes in exchange for a promise to pray for the souls of the homeowners’ dead relatives. Known as "souling," the practice was later taken up by children, who would go from door to door asking for gifts such as food, money and ale.

In Scotland and Ireland, young people took part in a tradition called guising, dressing up in costume and accepting offerings from various households. Rather than pledging to pray for the dead, they would sing a song, recite a poem, tell a joke or perform another sort of “trick” before collecting their treat, which typically consisted of fruit, nuts or coins.

You might think that this practice then simply migrated along with Europeans to the United States. But trick-or-treating didn’t re-emerge until the 1920s and 1930s. It paused for a bit during World War II because of sugar rations but is now back in full force.

Samhain is a Gaelic festival that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the “darker half” of the year. It falls on October 31, beginning at sunset and continuing until sunset on November 1 (All Saint’s Day), approximately halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. Samhain is one of the four primary Celtic seasonal festivals, the others being Imbolc (February 1), Beltane (May 1) and Lughnasadh (August 1).

There is evidence that Samhain has been an important celebration since ancient times. The Mound of the Hostages, a neolithic passage tomb at the Hill of Tara, is aligned with the Samhain sunrise. Samhain is mentioned in some ancient Irish literature dating back to the 10th century. Many important events in Celtic mythology begin or occur near the time of Samhain.

If Beltane (May 1) marks the livestock being driven to their summer grazing fields, Samhain marks the time that the cattle were brought in from the fields and several slaughtered for the winter. At Beltane and Samhain, bonfires were lit which were believed to have protective and cleansing powers. At Samhain in particular, during the shortening, darker days the bonfire mimicked the sun, fueling growth and holding back the darkness.

At Samhain, it is believed that the veil between the physical world and the spiritual (or “other”) world is at its thinnest. This means spirits (the Aos Si, also called fairies) can easily cross between realms and enter our world. The ancient Celts felt the need to please the spirits in order to ensure that their population and livestock did not die during the harsh winter. Food and drink were often left for the fairies, and occasionally an animal was sacrificed to appease the spirits.

Souls of the departed were believed to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. In some cases, a place setting of food or drink was put on the dining table in anticipation of the visit. Mumming, or wearing disguises were part of the festival and involved people going door to door in costume or disguise, reciting verse in exchange for food. Trick-or-treating, anyone?

At household festivals throughout the ancient Celtic world, rituals were believed to tell the fate of the gathered celebrants, particularly as relates to marriage and death. Apples, associated with the spirits and immortality, and hazelnuts, associated with divine wisdom, were often used in the rituals.

One of the most common games was apple bobbing or suspending apples from string and trying to take a bite while blindfolded. Apples were peeled with one long peel being tossed over the shoulder. The shape the peel formed was said to be the first initial of the future spouse’s name. Two hazelnuts were roasted on the fire; one for the person roasting them and one for the person they desired. If the roasting nuts jumped away from each other, it was believed to be a bad match.

Small items were hidden in food, usually a fruit bread called barmbrack. Upon eating, if you found one in your piece of cake, the type of trinket foretold your future. For example, a ring meant marriage and a coin meant wealth.

And now it's time for more movie suggestions, as we love to watch Halloween, spooky and witchy movies on this special time of the year and some of us... all year long! :P

1) The Witches (1990)

The Witches is a 1990 American dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Nicolas Roeg, produced by Jim Henson and starring Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Rowan Atkinson, and Jasen Fisher. Based on the 1983 book of the same name by Roald Dahl, the story features evil witches who masquerade as ordinary women, and a boy and his grandmother who must find a way to foil their plans.

The film was produced by Jim Henson Productions for Lorimar Film Entertainment as the last theatrical film to be produced by Lorimar before the company was merged into Warner Bros. in 1993. The film was very well received by critics, and it developed a cult following over the years.

During a vacation with his grandmother Helga in Norway, 8-year-old American boy, Luke Eveshim, is warned about witches, female demons who immensely hate children and use various methods to destroy or transform them. Helga tells Luke that unlike ordinary women, real witches have claws instead of fingernails which they hide by wearing gloves, bald heads which they cover by wearing wigs that give them rashes, square feet with no toes which they hide by wearing sensible shoes, a purple tinge in their pupils and a powerful sense of smell which they use to sniff out children. To a witch, clean children stink of dog's droppings; the dirtier the child, the less likely she is to smell them. Helga says her childhood friend, Erica, fell victim to a witch and was cursed to spend the rest of her life trapped inside a painting, aging gradually until finally disappearing a few years earlier.

2) Hocus Pocus (1993)

Hocus Pocus is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Neil Cuthbert and Mick Garris. The film follows a villainous comedic trio of witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy) who are inadvertently resurrected by a teenage boy (Omri Katz) in Salem, Massachusetts, on Halloween night.

The film was released in the United States on July 16, 1993, by Walt Disney Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from film critics at the time of its release. It was not a critical or commercial success upon its release, possibly losing Disney around $16.5 million during its theatrical run. However, largely through many annual airings on Disney Channel and Freeform (formerly ABC Family) all throughout the month of October, Hocus Pocus has been rediscovered by audiences, resulting in a yearly spike in home video sales of the film every Halloween season. The annual celebration of Halloween has helped make the film a cult classic among Americans born in the 1980s and early 1990s.

A sequel, written by Jen D'Angelo, directed by Anne Fletcher and set for a 2022 release, is currently in development as a Disney+ original film.

On October 31, 1693, in Salem, Massachusetts, Thackery Binx witnesses his little sister, Emily, being whisked away to the woods by the Sanderson sisters, three witches named Winifred, Sarah, and Mary. At their cottage, the witches cast a spell on Emily to absorb her youth and regain their own, murdering her in the process. Thackery confronts the witches, but is transformed into a black cat cursed to live forever with his guilt for not saving Emily. Suddenly, the townsfolk, led by Thackery's friend, Elijah, and Binx's father, arrest the sisters and sentence them to be hanged for the murder of Thackery and Emily. Before their execution, Winifred casts a spell that will resurrect the sisters during a full moon on All Hallows' Eve when any virgin lights the Black Flame Candle. Thackery decides to guard the cottage to ensure no one summons the witches.

Three centuries later, on October 31, 1993, Max Dennison is feeling unsettled from his family's sudden move from Los Angeles, California, to Salem. On Halloween, Max takes his younger sister Dani out trick-or-treating, where they meet Max's new crush Allison. In an effort to impress Allison, Max invites her to show him the Sanderson house to convince him the witches were real.

One of my favorite composers, John Debney... makes history!

3) Beetlejuice (1988)

Beetlejuice is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The plot revolves around a recently deceased couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who become ghosts haunting their former home, and an obnoxious, devious poltergeist named Betelgeuse (pronounced and occasionally spelled Beetlejuice in the film and portrayed by Michael Keaton) from the Netherworld who tries to scare away the new inhabitants (Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones, and Winona Ryder).

Beetlejuice was a critical and commercial success, grossing US$73.7 million from a budget of US$15 million. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards: Best Horror Film, Best Makeup, and Best Supporting Actress for Sylvia Sidney. The film's success spawned an animated television series, video games, and a 2018 stage musical.

Married couple Barbara and Adam Maitland are spending their two week vacation in Winter River, Connecticut, in an idyllic country home, which real estate agent Jane Butterfield, Barbara's pushy cousin, pressures them to sell. Returning from a trip to the hardware store, they swerve to avoid a dog and their car plunges off a bridge and into the river. Back at home, they cannot remember driving there, and do not remember the accident. Attempting to leave the house, Adam finds himself in a strange desert (later identified as Saturn), inhabited by monstrous sand-worms. He quickly returns to the house, where they find a book titled Handbook for the Recently Deceased, and realize they drowned in the crash and are spirits trapped in their house.

And as usual in Tim Burton's movies... our beloved Danny Elfman is holding the keys to the music fantasy world <3

4) The Nightmare before Christmas (1993)

Yes.. yes... YES! Another of Burton's masterpieces.. and Danny Elfman! :P And this is actually my top one!!!

The Nightmare Before Christmas (also known as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas) is a 1993 American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy holiday film directed by Henry Selick (in his feature directorial debut) and produced and conceived by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, the King of "Halloween Town" who stumbles upon "Christmas Town" and becomes obsessed with celebrating the holiday. Danny Elfman wrote the songs and score, and provided the singing voice of Jack. The principal voice cast also includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, and Ed Ivory.

The Nightmare Before Christmas originated in a poem written by Burton in 1982 while he was working as an animator at Walt Disney Productions. With the success of Vincent in the same year, Burton began to consider developing The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short film or 30-minute television special to no avail. Over the years, Burton's thoughts regularly returned to the project and in 1990, he made a development deal with Walt Disney Studios. Production started in July 1991 in San Francisco; Disney initially released the film through Touchstone Pictures because the studio believed the film would be "too dark and scary for kids".

The film met with both critical and financial success, earning praise for its animation (particularly the innovation of the stop-motion art form), characters, songs and score. It has grossed $91.5 million worldwide since its initial release and garnering a cult following. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, a first for an animated film. The film has since been reissued by Walt Disney Pictures, and was re-released annually in Disney Digital 3-D from 2006 until 2010.

I must share at least another one of this amazing original score...

HEY! I said AT LEAST ONE more...

5) Corpse Bride (2005)

Yeeep! Tim Burton again!!! We love the guy...

Corpse Bride (also known as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride) is a 2005 stop-motion animated musical fantasy film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton with a screenplay by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pettler based on characters created by Burton and Carlos Grangel. The plot is set in a fictional Victorian era village in England. Johnny Depp leads the cast as the voice of Victor, while Helena Bonham Carter voices Emily, the titular bride. Corpse Bride is the third stop-motion feature film produced by Burton and the first directed by him (the previous two films, The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, were directed by Henry Selick). This is also the first stop-motion feature from Burton that was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was dedicated to executive producer Joe Ranft, who died in a car crash during production.

The film was a critical and commercial success. Although the film won the National Board of Review for Best Animated Feature, the film was nominated for the 78th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which also starred Bonham Carter. The film won the Annie Awards Ub Iwerks Award for Technical Achievement in 2006, where it was also nominated for Best Animated Feature, Best Character Design, and Best Direction. It was shot with Canon EOS-1D Mark II digital SLRs, rather than the 35mm film cameras used for Burton's previous stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).

In an unnamed Victorian town, Victor Van Dort, the son of nouveau riche fish merchants, and Victoria Everglot, the abused and unloved daughter of impoverished aristocrats, prepare for their arranged marriage, which will simultaneously raise the social class of Victor's parents and restore the wealth of Victoria's family ("According to Plan"). Although they fall in love instantly, the nervous Victor ruins their wedding rehearsal by forgetting his vows and accidentally setting Lady Everglot's dress on fire. Fleeing to a nearby forest, he practices his vows with a tree and places his wedding ring on an upturned root. However, the root is revealed to be the finger of a dead woman named Emily, who rises from the grave claiming that she is now Victor's wife, and spirits him away to the Land of the Dead.

The best recipe ever made... on tim Burton's movies... original scores by Danny Elfman <3

I must stop now... otherwise you won't do anything else during the day but read this article! I enjoyed it more than anything so far, hope you feel the same! Enjoy Halloween or honor Samhain!!! We'll see each other soon... on different planes of existance maybe... when the Gates are open and the Veil is thin... take care.. Jack's out there ;)

Happy and blessed Halloween bookworms of the worlds!