2008 Woodie Awards
Halloween traditions range from Celtic culture to trick-or-treaters
Forrest Bowlick
Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Features
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Halloween is upon us once more, and University of Northern Colorado students will be concerned with making mischief, eating candy and having raucous fun all through the night.
What they may not be aware of, however, is the rich history of the celebration and its evolution and migration across the Atlantic to become what we celebrate today.
Halloween began as Samhain, an important seasonal celebration of the ancient Celts (or Gaels).
"Samhain was the end of summer and the beginning of the new year," said Dr. Bettina Arnold in his lecture "Halloween Customs in the Celtic World."
Dr. Arnold is an associate professor of anthropology and the co-director of the Center for Celtic Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
"It coincided with the rounding up of the herds for culling and penning, the storing of crops and the beaching and repairing of fishing boats and gear, all in preparation for the coming winter," Arnold said.
Warfare dwindled to an end and excess grain, harvested at this time, was brewed into mead and beer. Without refrigeration, they had to be consumed quickly and in large amounts; perhaps something that modern Halloween partiers unwittingly channel deep into the night.
The spookier aspects of Halloween originated in the British Isles as well. The Celts believed that the barriers between the living and the dead dissolved.
"Humans could be tricked into passing through to the other side and might not be able to return to the world of the living," Arnold said. "While the inhabitants of the supernatural realm were thought to be able to pass more easily into our world."
Perhaps at local parties, students should look out for their great, great grandparents among the crowd.
"In Brittany (France), the dead were said to return to visit their friends and relatives on Halloween, expecting to be entertained," Arnold said.
The aspect of costuming comes from the dissolving of barriers. If the dead were wandering the Earth, then it would be best to blend in. Scottish Gael children would then go guising, dressing up as ghouls and going door to door for sweets and money.
What they may not be aware of, however, is the rich history of the celebration and its evolution and migration across the Atlantic to become what we celebrate today.
Halloween began as Samhain, an important seasonal celebration of the ancient Celts (or Gaels).
"Samhain was the end of summer and the beginning of the new year," said Dr. Bettina Arnold in his lecture "Halloween Customs in the Celtic World."
Dr. Arnold is an associate professor of anthropology and the co-director of the Center for Celtic Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
"It coincided with the rounding up of the herds for culling and penning, the storing of crops and the beaching and repairing of fishing boats and gear, all in preparation for the coming winter," Arnold said.
Warfare dwindled to an end and excess grain, harvested at this time, was brewed into mead and beer. Without refrigeration, they had to be consumed quickly and in large amounts; perhaps something that modern Halloween partiers unwittingly channel deep into the night.
The spookier aspects of Halloween originated in the British Isles as well. The Celts believed that the barriers between the living and the dead dissolved.
"Humans could be tricked into passing through to the other side and might not be able to return to the world of the living," Arnold said. "While the inhabitants of the supernatural realm were thought to be able to pass more easily into our world."
Perhaps at local parties, students should look out for their great, great grandparents among the crowd.
"In Brittany (France), the dead were said to return to visit their friends and relatives on Halloween, expecting to be entertained," Arnold said.
The aspect of costuming comes from the dissolving of barriers. If the dead were wandering the Earth, then it would be best to blend in. Scottish Gael children would then go guising, dressing up as ghouls and going door to door for sweets and money.
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