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As one of the world’s oldest holidays, Halloween is steeped in traditions, from bobbing apples to baking Halloween cupcake recipes. Although many celebrants may not realize it, traditions like carving a jack-o-lantern and trick-or-treating have historical roots.
Trick-or-Treating
Trick-or-treating is a custom practiced primarily by children who visit houses to ask for candy. Trick-or-treating dates back to the Middle Ages, when the impoverished practiced souling, a tradition that took place Nov. 1. During souling, participants would go door to door and ask for food in exchange for prayers for the dead to be said on All Souls Day. Dressing in costumes was a tradition that is thought to have originated in Scotland, where young men dressed with blackened or veiled masks to imitate the dead.
Jack-o-Lanterns
People in the United States have carved scary or silly faces into pumpkins for decades, but the tradition actually dates back to a popular Irish myth. In the myth, a man named Stingy Jack had drinks with the devil. Jack refused to pay the bill. Instead, he asked the devil to turn himself into a coin to pay for the drinks. The devil consented. However, rather than paying the bill with the coin, Jack kept it and agreed to free the devil only on the condition that the devil not bother Jack for one year. Jack eventually passed away, and his unapologetic character was refused from both Heaven and Hell. Jack was sent away into a dark night with a lump of coal, which he placed in a turnip to light his way. Irish children imitated Jack by carrying carved potatoes or turnips. The tradition was picked up in the United States, where the more prevalent pumpkin was substituted for the turnip.
