Tonight is the 31st of October .. or sometimes referred to as 'All Hallows Eve' or just 'Halloween'. But does any really know why 'Jack-o-Lanterns' are always lit during this time? And why do kids dress up as ghouls and beasties .. trying to scare the beejeezus outta everyone?
Apparently 'All Hallows Eve' is considered by the Celts ( the people, not the American basketball team ) as one of the most important days of the year, representing a mid point in the year, Samhain or summer's end. Occuring opposite the great Spring Festival of May Day, or Beltain, this day represented the turning point of the year, the eve of the new year which begins with the onset of the dark phase of the year.
The Celts believed that the normal laws of space and time were held in abeyance during this time, allowing a special window where the spirit world could intermingle with the living. It was a night when the dead could cross the veils and return to the land of the living to celebrate with their family, or clan. As such, the great burial mounds of Ireland were lit up with torches lining the walls, so the spirits of the dead could find their way.
And out of this ancient tradition comes one of the most famous icons of the holiday: the Jack-o-lantern. Originating from Irish folkfore, the Jack-o-lantern was used as a light for the lost soul of Jack, a notorious trickster, stuck between worlds.
Jack is said to have tricked the devil into a truck of a tree and by carving an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, he trapped the devil there. His pranks denied him access to Heaven, and having angered the devil also to Hell, so Jack was a lost soul, trapped between worlds. As a consolation, the devil gave him a sole ember to light his way through the darkness between worlds.
Originally in Ireland turnips were carved out and candles placed inside as lanterns lit to help guide Jack’s lost spirit back home. Hence the term: Jack-o-lanterns. Later, when immigrants came to the new world, pumpkins were more readily available, and so the carved pumpkins carrying a lit candle served the same function.
Back home here I guess Halloween is not celebrated as a major holiday ( I could be wrong, you know .. all the nightspots could be filled .. ) but I wager that our local orang minyak and pontianak would generate a whole lot more interest than a witch on a broomstick ....
Anyways .. it's Friday nite ... and any excuse is good for going clubbing ...
Have a Nice Weekend !!!
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