This year is going to be a strange one as my children get older and we no longer go out trick-or-treating. We are all going to miss the dressing up, the trick-or-treating, and the walking around the village in the dark spotting lit pumpkins and spooky decorations. We will be carving pumpkins and eating sweets in front of Hocus Pocus as we have always done…..We will simply be handing out sweets rather than collecting them!
I’ve always loved Halloween and as the years have gone on, the celebrations seem to have gotten more elaborate and involved. But how was this stalwart of the calendar celebrated in the Early Modern period?
The History of Halloween
The 31st of October was traditionally Celtic New Year, or Samhain. This was celebrated from sunset on the night of the 31st until sunset of the 1st of November. It was said that at this time, the worlds of the living and the dead were closer and that the dead were able to walk among the living. It was a time for bonfires, blessing homes to ward off evil spirits, witches, and warlocks, and masks were worn to scare them away. This belief and celebration is echoed in traditions from around the world such as the Dea de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, in Mexico and South America.
In AD837, Pope Gregory IV ordered All Saint’s Day, the celebration of saints in the Christian Church, to be observed on the 1st of November. The day would become known as All Hallow’s Day, celebrating the souls of the devout and the eve of which, All Hallow’s Eve, or Hallowe’en, was a big part of its celebration.
Early Modern Traditions
In Medieval and Early Modern Britain, All Hallow’s was a religious festival. However, it had maintained links with the pagan festivities and many still wore masks, lit bonfires, and tried to ward off the evil spirits that would walk the earth and may even try to stop souls from getting through purgatory. Churches rang their bells and priests would bless homes. Festivities did though take a lighter turn and a number of activities may be familiar to even us modern-day folk.
Apple Bobbing and Nut Cracking – As the celebrations coincided with the celebrations of the Harvest, there was, and still is, lots of cross-over in the symbols, foods, and activities associated with Halloween.
Apples, nuts, pumpkins, and turnips were all readily available at the time of year, and so they often form the centre of traditional games and activities. Apple bobbing was a fun activity for everyone to partake in. Sugared ‘Toffee’ apples and cakes and breads containing nuts and other autumnal foods were all consumed. Jack-o-lanterns were carved from vegetables and lit to frighten away evil spirits and were the for-runner of the pumpkins we carve today.
Souling and Soul Cakes – Souling was similar to trick-or-treating that we do today. Children and the poor would go door to door, and householders would give them money or food, in particular specially prepared ‘soul cakes’, in return for them praying for the soul of a loved one. Soul cakes themselves were a small, dense, fruited cake, with many recipes for them found throughout documents and contemporary recipe books, but one recipe can be found here:
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Aimee Fleming 