Witches, ghosts and pumpkins

Halloween is originally a Celtic feast of Irish origin: the Celtic New Year! About 3000 years ago, the Celtic calendar did not end on December 31st, but on October 31st. And this last night of the year was the night of the god of death (Samain or Samhain).

In October, the nights get longer and the legend tells that the ghosts took the opportunity to visit the living. So to avoid ghosts coming to haunt them, the Celts had some rituals, including dressing up in terrifying costumes to scare the ghosts and get together to party on the evening of October 31st. It was the Irish immigrants who brought with them the Halloween tradition to the United States!

With the arrival of Christianity, Catholics decided from the ninth century to celebrate All Saints ("all saints") on November 1st. And if we take a closer look at the English word Halloween, it's kind of a shortcut to the phrase "All Hallows Eve," which means "the evening of all the saints," that is, the eve of All Saints, October 31st!

Originally, the halloween symbol was ... a turnip! From the legend of Jack-o'-lantern (Jack to the lantern, the character who inspired the Strange Christmas of Mr. Jack!), Condemned to wander forever in the darkness between hell and heaven in s' illuminating with a shrine placed in a carved turnip. In the United States, the turnip has been gradually replaced by the pumpkin that grows in October and is much easier to carve! So the pumpkin has given its orange color to the current version of Halloween.

Come and see us in store on October 31, we will certainly have surprises for the little ones!