Falling on Oct. 31, Halloween is the year’s spookiest holiday. On that day we carve faces in pumpkins, dress in horrible costumes and go out trick-or-treating.
The traditions associated with modern-day Halloween find their roots in ancient Ireland, in the fifth century B.C. Oct. 31 signaled the end of the Celtic year and the beginning of winter. On this day, the Celts commemorate Samhain (pronounced “Sow-wen”), a festival that celebrates the final harvest and the food stored for the winter ahead.
The presence of witches, ghosts and cats in Halloween traditions originates with the Druids, an order of priests in ancient Gaul and Britain who believed that ghosts, spirits, fairies, witches and elves came out on All Hallows’ Eve to harm people. They thought that cats had once been people but were changed as punishment for their evil deeds.
Over the centuries, the holiday evolved from its pagan Irish origins. In the seventh century A.D., Pope Boniface IV introduced All Saints’ Day, to replace the pagan festivals honoring the dead. The holiday was also known as All Hallows’ Day, and the preceding night was named All Hallows’ Eve, which has become shortened to “Halloween.”
In Ireland grew up the custom of carving out the insides of turnips and lighting them with embers to represent the souls of the dead. In the 1840s, Irish immigrants fleeing their country’s potato famine brought the tradition to America. They replaced turnips with the more abundant pumpkins. From pumpkins they created jack-o’-lanterns, and the practice spread.
In 1921, Anoka, Minn., celebrated the first official citywide Halloween with carved pumpkins, a costumed square dance and two parades. After that, it didn’t take Halloween long to go nationwide. New York started observing Halloween in 1923 and Los Angeles in 1925.
What do you call an empty hot dog? Answer: A hollow weenie.
Here’s a menu of Halloween treats for the holiday. I know you won’t be able to resist goblin up this full-corpse meal. Bone appétit!
• Ghost Toasties
• Scream of wheat
• Brain muffins
• Pentagram crackers with poisonbury jam
• Hungarian ghoul ash, • Frank ‘n’ stein
• Stake sandwitch with grave-y
• Holloweenie
• Cape-on
• Blood pudding
• Littleneck clams
• Black catfish
• Bagel with warlocks and scream cheese
• Deviled eggs
• Strangled eggs
• Artery-chokes
• Skullions, scarerots
• Ghost liver pâté
• Pickled bats
• Spook-ghetti
• Gangreens • Baked bones
• Adam’s apples
• Necktarines
• Eye scream
• Boobury pie
• Boo meringue
• Ghoul whip
• Terrormisu
• Ladyfingers
• Ghoulda cheese • Monster cheese
• Creep suzette
• Ghoul ade
• Coffin with scream
• Apple spider
• Bloody Mary
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