myhousestats t1_iue31fc wrote on October 30, 2022 at 5:07 PM

What are lesser known details about the origins and practices that were done in Halloween in the past?

jezreelite t1_iueaxpl wrote on October 30, 2022 at 5:59 PM

Trick-or-treating probably derives from the Medieval English and Irish practices of souling: on All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day, people would go from door to door asking for soul cakes in exchange for saying prayers for the deceased relatives of the cakes' givers to lessen their time in purgatory.

Dressing in costumes, otoh, is probably related to the medieval practice of mumming: groups of people in costume going door to door to act short plays or sing in exchange for food. Mumming was strongly associated not along with All Hallows' Ever, but also Easter, Christmas, New Years' Day, and Plough Monday.

myhousestats t1_iuecnuv wrote on October 30, 2022 at 6:10 PM

That's the same information I've learned about costumes and trick-or-treating.

What about bonfires and hollowed, lit pumpkins? Some sources say that the pumpkins were burnt fat of the human and animal sacrifices that were burned in the bonfires.

jezreelite t1_iueeqof wrote on October 30, 2022 at 6:23 PM

Carved pumpkins were originally carved turnips and rutabagas meant to scare off evil spirits and also referenced a folk tale about a greedy man named Jack.

Carving pumpkins became a thing when British and Irish people began colonizing North America and began using pumpkins instead, which had the advantage of being bigger, easier to carve, and more abundant in the Americas than turnips or rutabagas.

While it's often popular to try to connect these practices to ancient Celtic polytheism, the truth is the actual evidence is quite lacking. Not much is actually known about any ancient Celtic religion or its practices.