The Origin of Halloween and Halloween Traditions

Halloween, originally Samhain, is a holiday with its roots firmly entrenched in paganism. It is said to be the time of year when the veil between the land of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest, and the spirits of those long departed can travel back and visit those of us still breathing. The reason this is said to happen at this particular time of year is because of its position between summer and winter, the seasons of life and death, respectively. Many of the Halloween traditions we take for granted have been passed down from the pagan celebration.

The Costume
To the pagans, dressing up on Halloween was a bit more than good-natured frivolity. This was a time when spirits and demons were all too real to the general populace, and the people dressed themselves up like spirits or fairies in order to confuse the true spirits and avoid being dragged off to the Underworld.

Trick-or-Treating
This popular Halloween ritual probably began as a practice called "Souling," where the poor went door-to-door, praying for the dead of each family in exchange for food and drink.

Jack-O-Lanterns

No, the pumpkin thing didn't start out in Europe. Pumpkins were a product of Central America, originally, like corn, squash, and potatoes. The tradition began with a hollowed-out turnip. People only began to use pumpkins after the Europeans came to the Americas.


Sources:
www.history.com
http://www.albee.org/halloween/jackolantern.htm
[Jack-O-Lantern carved by Yours Truly]

"His fur was the color of a starless night, and his eyes like burning coals."

Okay, it's about time I posted SOMETHING. I put up a poll on the Facebook page promoting this blog, asking whomever cared, from whence I should draw my next myth. The vote was nearly unanimous: Japan. Now, I don't know very much about Japanese folklore, so a relative of mine suggested I research the kitsune.


The kitsune are, to sum it up in a couple of words, Japanese fox spirits. That's the Mythology-for-Dummies version. Some stories portray them as trickster spirits, as foxes are often portrayed in myths throughout the world. Other myths tell of them as fiercely loyal companions, and even wives or lovers.They are said to be very intelligent and possess magical powers. They also live a very, very long time. Oh, and they can have up to nine tales.

Kitsune have the power to shapeshift into human form. They often use this power to change into young girls, old men, or beautiful women (in which form they often marry men and even bear children). Some tales say that even though a transformed kitsune looks nearly identical to a regular human being, there is some trait (usually the tail) that it retains. Dogs seem to be able to sense whether a man or a woman is actually a fox in disguise, and often the very presence of a dog can make a kitsune change back to its original form and flee.


Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune  (Okay, I know it's not the best source, but I was lazy.)

Song lyric in title:
"The Black Fox" by Heather Dale