The spooky day started as a harvest celebration
If you want to provide a trick for the princesses, superheroes, witches and vampires who come trick or treating on Oct. 31, try this question:
Where did Halloween start?
As it turns out, the spooktacular event can be traced back to farmers.
Some of Halloween’s influences come from Samhain (pronounced SOW-in), an ancient Celtic festival celebrated from sunset on Oct. 31 to sunset on Nov. 1.
In English, Samhain translates to “summer’s end.”
The festivities marked the end of harvest, the start of winter, and the beginning of a new year.
During this time, farmers stored harvested grain for the winter, moved cattle to closer pastures and decided which animals would be processed for meat.
People also believed that between Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, dead ghosts could return to cause trouble.
To keep themselves safe from the spirits, locals wore costumes to shield their identities.
In addition, locals left out food to satisfy the hunger of the dead.
This ritual evolved over time.
In England, for example, children went door-to-door in a practice called “going-a-souling,” where they’d sing and pray for the souls of the dead in exchange for cakes and other items.
Protection from spirits also inspired vegetable carving.
During Samhain, people would carve scary faces into root vegetables like turnips and potatoes to keep evildoers at bay.
When the Europeans moved to North America, they traded root vegetables for pumpkins.
One spirit in particular caused concern for many.
A story in Irish mythology is about a figure known as Stingy Jack, also known as Jack O’The Lantern.
A noted drunkard and a trickster, Jack played so many pranks on people that the Devil became interested in Jack’s actions.
Jack was able to trick the Devil on multiple occasions.
In one instance, Jack invited the Devil to drink with him at a bar. When Jack couldn’t pay, he convinced the Devil to transform into money to cover the cost of the beverages.
When Jack finally died, God refused to let him into heaven because of his dishonest ways. And a previous deal with the Devil meant Jack couldn’t get into hell either.
When Jack asked the Devil how he would see in the dark, the Devil tossed him a coal from hell, which Jack put into a turnip to use as a?
Lantern.
Farmers are integral to modern Halloween celebrations too.
Producers of dairy, corn, cocoa, fruits and nuts all support the candy industry throughout the year with raw materials. Cornstarch is also used to make Halloween makeup.
And cotton farmers provide the fibers for costumes.
For more connections between Halloween and ag, Farms.com has multiple lists of horror movies taking place on farms:
10 Horror Movies Taking Place on Farms
10 Horror Movies Set on Farms
8 More Horror Movies with Ag Twists