But where does this celebration of fear come from?
At Atelier St Eustache, we like to go all the way. So after offering you 3 pairs of socks ideal for the famous night of horror, we wondered what the origin of Halloween was.
So here is how to answer it.
The name Halloween is a contraction of the English "All Hallows-Even" which actually means " The eve of all hallow's day " in modern English. It can be translated as "the eve of all saints". Halloween is not at all an American holiday , as many of us believe. It is a folk and pagan holiday originating from the Anglo-Celtic islands . It is celebrated on the night of October 31, the eve of All Saints' Day - a Christian holiday aimed at paying tribute to the dead.
But we should not be fooled by its name of English and Christian origin. In fact, Halloween is a legacy of the pagan festival of Samhain . Samhain was celebrated at the beginning of autumn by the Celts and constituted their New Year's festival as we see it today on December 31.
Doubts began to creep in from the 8th century when Pope Gregory III moved the feast of All Saints to November 1st . Before this change, All Saints could be celebrated until after Easter or after Pentecost. This decision consequently Christianized the feast of Samhain.
In fact, Halloween is known as " Oíche Shamhna " in Gaelic. It is a celebration that has remained extremely popular in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This geographical area is very rich in historical evidence of the existence of Halloween.
And what about the pumpkin?
Well, here again, the answer lies in an Irish legend . Having become very popular in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, the event has given rise to many legends, including that of the " Jack-o'-Lantern ". The emblem of Halloween is a lantern made from a hollowed-out pumpkin with a candle inside.
According to legend, the character of Jack would have pursued the devil for 5 years. He was a miser, a drunkard, an egocentric and a wicked man. One evening, at the turn of a tavern he meets the devil who demands his soul . Jack negotiates an extra drink, the devil transforms himself into a 6 pence piece to allow Jack to pay for his tankard. But Jack is greedy, he decides then to put the coin in his purse and imprison the devil. After several complaints from his prisoner, Jack agrees to release him on condition of obtaining 10 more years to live .
10 years later, when they meet again, Jack tricks the devil again by placing him on top of a tree and asking him to never chase him again. Then comes the day of Jack's death . He is obviously denied entry to heaven, but the devil also refuses him entry to hell . Jack convinces the devil to give him a piece of hot coal to light his way in the dark. He then places the coal in a hollowed-out turnip and creates a lantern. He is condemned to wander aimlessly. He is then named Jack-o'-Lantern . Jack reappears every year, on the day of his death, on Halloween.
Halloween arrived in the United States at the same time as its inventors, the Irish and Scottish. Following the Great Famine in Ireland, a wave of immigrants from Celtic countries flooded into the new continent . Halloween really became popular in the 1920s and it was in America that pumpkin lanterns appeared. Pumpkins grew en masse in the United States, unlike turnips, which were originally used.
And today?
Halloween is widely celebrated in Ireland, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, the United States and New Zealand (the English-speaking countries). The horror festival is celebrated on a smaller scale in many other countries.
Modern tradition has it that children dress up as terrifying creatures such as ghosts, witches, monsters or vampires and go knocking on doors to ask for sweets . They use the phrase " Trick or treat " which means "Trick or treat". This tradition of door-to-door shopping already existed in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Indeed, during this festive night, children and the poor would sing and recite prayers while asking for food .
And there you have it, now you know more about this mysterious holiday.
And by the way, at Atelier St Eustache, we also went for Halloween colors! Here is a prototype of the Tokyo model that never saw the light of day . But we decided to show it to you for the occasion, what do you think?
