Halloween is here in Vannucchi Art Studio.
We had a lot of fun celebrating the Halloween party and thank to my new friends who made Halloween cards
using watercolor technique with me and I gave them a little bit spookiest holiday Halloween.
A celebration of all things wicked and scary, it’s the only time of year that being a ghost, werewolf or vampire not only allowed, it’s
encouraged.From trick -or- treat to carving jack-o’-lanterns, the history of Halloween is filled with unique tradition, but did you ever
wonder how they came to be? To learn more, TODAY.com asked experts to weigh in on how Halloween began, and you might be
surprised to know that there are two different schools of thought on the evolution of the holiday.
You’ll also find out some interesting facts, like how Halloween got its name, what the legend of “Stingy Jack” has to do with
carving pumpkins , as well as the possible reasons behind why we dress up in costume, which actually might be based on an old
Christmas tradition called “belsnickeling.”
You’ll also learn about Samhain, the Celtic festival thought to be the origin of modern-day Halloween, as well as the reason why
black and orange are the colors that have come to symbolize the holiday. So, settle in and prepare to learn all kinds of Halloween
trivia about October 31. By the time you’re through, you’ll be an expert, too.
Many people believe that Halloween originates from an old Druid festival called Samhain. But according to at least one expert,
that might not necessarily be the case.“Scholars, especially folklorists, for the last hundred years or so, have been associating it
with ancient Celtic times, saying that there was some festival of the return of the dead on October 31th.
Halloween took root in the U.S. sometime around the 19th century, when the Irish immigrated to America,
bringing their traditions and celebrations, including All Saints’ Day, with them. All Saints’ Day was a feast day on
the Catholic calendar. “November 1 was the day on which you celebrate all the people that have gone to
heaven.”
The night before All Saints’ Day, people would hold vigils for the souls that hadn’t yet gone to heaven and were trapped in
purgatory. In essence, it was night to pray for the dead — and thus Halloween was born.
Lisa Morton, author of “Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween,” views the history of Halloween timeline somewhat differently, citing
Christian missionaries who came to convert Irish Celtics and discovered them celebrating Samhain (pronounced SAH-win), a
festival celebrating all about ghostly stories and moving into a darker time of year.
“If you look at the Celtic lore that they recorded, some of it is genuinely very scary,” Morton tells TODAY.com. “Even now, some of
the stories that the Celts told each other at Samhain are really, really creepy.”
However, she doesn’t totally disagree with Kelly’s thinking. In fact, Morton says that the Halloween we celebrate today is likely a
mix of both Samhain and All Saints’ Day.
And while Halloween has been celebrated in the U.S. since at least the late 1800s, Morton says it really took off in the 1900s after
retailers began mass producing Halloween cards, decorations and costumes, pushing the holiday into the mainstream.
How did Halloween get its name? Defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as the eve of All Hallows’
or All Saints’ Day, the origin of the word “Halloween” has evolved over time.
According to Kelly, the name is a combination of the Scottish words “hallow,” which loosely translates into “saint” or “holy person,”
and “een,” which means “evening.” In essence, Halloween means “holy evening,” which makes sense given its Christian ties.
Around 1773, the Scots began combining the two words and referring to October 31 as “Hallow-e’en.”However, it was Scottish
poet, Robert Burns, who put the words together in his 1786 poem, “Halloween,” that ultimately sealed the deal and the name stuck.
Why do we trick-or-treat on Halloween?Fun costume parties and trick-or-treating have become
synonymous with Halloween, but according to Morton, that wasn’t always the case.
For many years, she says Halloween was a night devoted to tricking or pulling pranks on unsuspecting people. By the 1930s, the
pranks turned into full-blown vandalism, resulting in millions of dollars of damage to major U.S. cities. “[People] were smashing
light fixtures and setting fires and tripping people on sidewalks, and, in 1933, vandals did so much damage it became known as
‘Black Halloween,’” says Morton.After Black Halloween, many cities contemplated banning the holiday altogether, but instead
decided to adopt a popular Canadian tradition.
“The idea seems to have been that if you offer treats, the kids won’t go around and play tricks,” says Kelly.According to Kelly, the
idea picked up speed in the United States in the ‘30s and ‘40s resulting in today’s Halloween ritual of ringing doorbells and
shouting “Trick or treat” in hopes of scoring candy.
Why do we wear costumes on Halloween?Halloween is an open invitation to dress up and play
pretend. But where did the concept of wearing Halloween costumes come from?
While many people attribute the practice to the ancient Celts and Samhain, Morton begs to differ, pointing out costumes are a
somewhat very modern tradition.
The reason why we don costumes remains somewhat of a mystery to both Morton and Kelly.
In the 1920s, magazines featured kids draped in sheets pretending to be ghosts, however, Morton says it’s possible that
costumes were worn well before then.
In fact, wearing costumes might actually be linked to Christmas and an old custom called “belsnickeling,” where costumed
children would perform plays for their neighbors in exchange for treats, not unlike modern-day Halloween.
Why do we carve jack-o’-lanterns?Carving jack-o’-lanterns can be traced back to Ireland and the
concept stems from the old tale of a man named “Stingy Jack.”
“Jack was a legendary trickster,” Morton tells TODAY.com, noting that there are hundreds of variants of the “Jack” folktales all
over the world. As folklore goes, Jack — a drunkard and evil-doer — cheated death three times throughout his life by tricking the
devil out of taking his soul. When he finally died, Jack was barred from heaven and refused entry into hell by the angry devil.
Sentenced to walk through the dark worlds of good and bad for eternity, Jack carries a carved-out turnip with a glowing ember
inside to light his way. Sound familiar? Jack-o’-lantern.
According to the Library of Congress the “Stingy Jack” story likely inspired the Irish to carve faces into turnips in an effort to ward off evil spirits.
“When the Irish and Scottish came to America, they found these gorgeous native pumpkins and (they) were even better than
turnips,” says Morton. Not to mention their size made them easier to carve. However, the custom of carving pumpkins into jack-o’-
lanterns is still relatively new, says Morton. “It’s a bit of misconception to say that the Irish and Scottish were carving pumpkins
200 years ago,” she explains. “They didn’t have pumpkins 200 years ago. Those are strictly new world fruits that they found when
they came here.”
Why are orange and black Halloween colors?Much like Christmas is associated with red and green,
Halloween has its own signature color scheme: Black and orange.
According to Morton, that’s likely because their origin is inspired by the holiday itself, surmising that orange represents pumpkins
and black pays homage to the night and other objects commonly associated with Halloween, including black cats and bats.
“Black and orange is recent,” she says. “If you look at (catalogs) from the very early part of the 20th century, they say that brown
and yellow are the colors of Halloween.”
Over time, Morton says that decorating companies latched onto the orange and black color theme, “and that seemed to be very popular.”
I LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING MORE OF MY ART AND EXPERIENCE WITH YOU.
EGGPLANT MOUNTAIN TOP– ABSTRACT – MOUNTAIN TOP COLLECTION.
UNIQUE ART PIECE MADE IN 2023.
YAHAIRA VANNUCCHI.
UNITED STATES.
PAINTING OIL ON CANVAS.
SIZE : 40 W X 30 H X 1.1/2 D.
PROFESSIONAL SHIPPING INCLUDED.
WITH LOVE,
YAHAIRA COHINTA VANNUCCHI.
VANNUCCHI ART STUDIO ® BY YAHAIRA VANNUCCHI © 2024.