10.31.2013

Fright or Bite?


Urban legend has it that it's officially trickster and prankster day! Ever wonder where it all came from?

The name Halloween (originally spelled Hallowe'en) is a contraction of All Hallows Eve, meaning the day before All Hallows Day (better known today as All Saints Day), a Catholic holiday commemorating Christian saints and martyrs observed since the early Middle Ages on November 1.

This auspicious time of year is more than just playing your favorite tricks and munching your favorite treats. It’s a time of year when the physical and supernatural worlds are said to be closest and that magical things could happen.

It was the custom of Mumming (which was originally associated with Christmas) that inspires today’s ghouls and goblins to parade in costume and play-act in their mischief making and among the practices associated with Halloween during the Medieval period were the lighting of bonfires, evidently to symbolize the plight of souls lost in purgatory, and “souling” which consisted of going door-to-door offering prayers for the dead in exchange for "soul cakes" which were treats traditionally made for All Souls’ Day (November 2nd, the day after All Saint’s Day). 

Traditionally each cake eaten would represent a soul being freed from Purgatory. The practice of giving and eating soul cakes is often seen as the origin of modern day Trick or Treating, which now falls on Halloween

Tonight is the night of honoring the dead and freeing your soul. 

What sorts of witchy mischief will you be up to tonight?

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