Lifestyle

7 Facts About Halloween You Probably Didn’t Know About

2017-10-25 , 12:05 pm

Last Updated on 2022-09-25 , 11:16 am

Halloween is one of the many underrated festivals in Singapore, but with every year, it is gaining traction and popularity, especially among the young generation—I am looking at you, millennials.

While it may not be a public holiday, there are countless events scattered all over Singapore to get you into the Halloween spirit.

You can even binge-watch horror flicks on Netflix!

But before you revel in it, here are seven facts about Halloween that you probably didn’t know

Halloween was originally celebrated by the Celts

It originated from an ancient Celtic holiday—Samhain, it was believed that the change of seasons (from autumn to winter) was a bridge to the world of the dead.

Dressing up

Before the “gentrification” of Halloween, Celts would actually wear costumes made up of animal heads and skins to ward off spirits.

Of course, now, we wear whatever is funny instead.

Halloween did not originate from America

Most of us would think that Halloween originated from America but that is not the case.

As mentioned, it was celebrated by Celts in the area that is now, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Northern France.

Jack O’ Lantern

You might be wondering who the heck is Jack.

It is actually the name of the lantern you’re familiar with:

But how did it start?

It is an Irish myth—a man named Stingy Jack invited the Devil for a drink and true to his moniker, he didn’t want to pay for his drink.

He convinced the Devil to transform himself into a coin which would be used to buy their drinks.

However, Jack decided to keep the coin next to a silver cross; preventing the Devil to change back.

The Devil made a deal with Jack—the devil wouldn’t bother Jack for a year and he would not claim his soul when he die—and Jack took it.

But Jack was the real devil: he tricked the Devil once again by asking him to climb a tree to pick a piece of fruit.

But the Devil could not come down as Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark.

He then made a deal with the devil to make sure he wouldn’t be bothered by him for the next ten years.

When Jack eventually died, God didn’t want someone like him in heaven. He couldn’t go to Hell either, cause the Devil kept his end of the bargain.

Where else can he go?

The devil sent Jack off in the middle of the night with a burning coal to accompany him.

Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip, a makeshift lantern, and has been roaming around the Earth ever since.

Turnip was the official mascot for Halloween

Like the said story, Celtics actually used Turnips to carve out Jack-O-Lanterns to ward off Stingy Jack from their homes.

When they migrated to America, they brought this tradition as well.

But, they found out that pumpkin is the native fruit of American and luckily for them, pumpkin is a perfect substitute.

Trick or Treat

It is common in America for kids to dress up in cute costumes and ask for sugary delights from their neighbours (even Singaporeans are jumping on the bandwagon).

But back in the day, it was a must to perform dances, songs, prayers and plays if you want to get any sweets.

I guess that is why it’s called Trick or Treat.

Sounds like barter, to me.

Soul searching

Some people tend to find their soulmate during this spooky holiday—in some parts of Ireland, they will play romantic fortune-telling games.

These games would predict their love life, like when will they get married or who will they get married to.

Just make sure your soulmate isn’t a literal walking soul gallivanting around Earth since the beginning of time.

Now that you know all the myths and legends of Halloween, you are all prepared to head out and have some ghoulish fun.