All Hallow's Eve Revealled

Ok, so we all know that Halloween is partially a result of Hollywood's American filmmakers and classic novelists like, Mary Shelly, author of Frankenstein. But, how exactly did we come to start dressing up in gory, bizarre, fantastical costumes? Where does the word Jack-O-Lantern come from?

Halloween is rooted in the Gaelic culture. This fall festivity is a result from the Gaelic festival of Samhain, which celebrated the end of the summer aka the lighter half of the year and the beginning of the dark year.

Gaels believed that during the time of Samhain, the border between our world and the OTHER world wore thin...allowing spirits to cross over.

To ward of ghosts, the Gaels wore costumes and masks to appear as a threat to the dead.

The term Jack-O-Lantern finds its origin in the tale of Stingy Jack, an Irish gambling drunk who tricked the devil into climbing a tree bu carving a cross in it and capturing him. The devil, in revenge, condemned Stingy Jack to wander the world at night with only the candle he had burning inside a turnip.

So, now you know a bit of history that you never really questioned as a kid, probably because October 31st means pillow cases of candy, so who cares!

Information provided by Wikipedia

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