The festival of Halloween is originally an agricultural holiday and a time of harvesting the crops.The origin of Halloween goes back over 2000 years. It is a time of physical activity and great abundance. Halloween also marks the end of the warm weather days and the beginning of the cold weather days. In the northern hemisphere of the world, the air is becoming brisk, the leaves are falling from the trees, and plants are shriveling up and shedding their fruits and seeds. The warm weather birds are migrating south, and wild animals are getting ready to hibernate. It is a time to prepare for the coming of winter.
This is also a very colorful time of the year, with the leaves turning different shades and the variety of produce that is available. Some of the most popular autumn fruits and vegetables are squash, apples, beets, cabbage, pears, carrots, garlic, onions, and, of course, the celebrated pumpkin. Pumpkins and other varieties of squash are native to North and South America. Along with beans and maize, squash was one of the staples in the crops of Native American people.
Halloween reminds us that the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer. The further north you live, the longer the nights become. This has to do with the cycle of Earth’s movement around the sun. Halloween is a cross-quarter day between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. In the old days, when everyone was completely dependent on the cycles of the seasons, they paid close attention to these shifts in the weather and the length of the days. Survival was based on knowing when to plant and when to gather the harvest.
Those who love Trick or Treating should thank the Celts. It was their belief that during the night the souls of the dead roamed the streets. As is depicted today not all the souls were friendly spirits. In order to ward off the evil spirits and to try and safeguard the villages and streets as well as ensure that the next years crops would be bountiful they left out gifts and treats. This eventually came know to be “Trick or Treat”.
Celebrating the cycles of the year and the changes of the seasons helps us to appreciate the wonders of nature and the connections we have with our family, friends, and the world around us. Halloween is the beginning of the American holiday season, followed with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Enjoy your holidays!
Conny Jasper