Halloween

Depending on your family background you may call it Shadowfest, Samhain Festival, Teng Chieh, Los Dias De Los Muertos, All Hallows Eve, Hallowe'en, or Halloween. According to Skal (2002), "all histories of Halloween inevitably wind back

to . . . the death of summer and the beginning of the Celtic new year". Even our religious background has an affect on how or if we celebrate this holiday. I will compare the traditional North American celebration called Halloween to Mexico's Los Dias De Los Muertos, and Ireland's/Celtic's Samhain Festival.

It is believed that the Irish brought Halloween to North America when they fled the Potato Famine of the 1840's. The Irish were not the only ones that contributed to what North America calls Halloween. The English immigrants brought their traditions and merged them with the Irish. The combination of these two cultures is the beginning of what North America calls Halloween (Mackinnon, 2005).

In North America we put lit pumpkins in our widows and call them jack-o-lanterns. The jack-o-lantern, is a hollowed out pumpkin with a carved face. A candle is then placed inside to illuminate the face at night. The name jack-o-lantern is derived from a combination of British and Irish folktales. The soul named Jack Ð''O Lantern was barred from heaven, and hell, and forced to wander the earth with his single ember in a lantern to light his way (Australian Media Party Ltd, n.d.). Originally the Irish folktale had Jack using a hollowed out turnip to carry his ember. When the Irish came to North America turnips were hard to find, so they used pumpkins, which were plentiful (Mackinnon, 2005).

North America also has the tradition of trick-or-treat, in which, children dress up in costumes and go from house to house soliciting candy or other treats. Each homeowner is greeted with a costumed child stating "trick or treat", which suggested that a prank would be played on the homeowner unless they gave a treat. Trick-or-treating is thought to have it roots from 9th century in England. In early England Christians would go door to door on All Souls day, November 2, and beg for 'soul cakes' (bread made with currants). The person begging for the cake would promise to say a prayer for the donor's dead relatives. It was believed that this would speed up their dead relative's soul passing into heaven (Mackinnon, 2005). The tradition of trick or treat changed in the 1970's. In the fact many parents started going with their children and pranks became less destructive and almost all eventually went away. The reason for this change is partially attributed to the rumors of homeowners getting their revenge by poisoning the candy (Lanford, 2006).

Mexico's holiday called Los Dias De Los Muertos (The Days of the Dead), is compared to North America's Halloween. They celebrate this holiday very different from the North American tradition. Los Dias De Los Muertos, is directly related to the returning of the Monarch butterflies, which they believe bear the spirits of the departed. The spirits of their relatives are honored during Los Dias de los Muertos (Holidays on the Net, 2005). In Mexico, it is a festival that begins on October 31st and ends on November 2nd. Sue Creamer from MEXonline states, "The traditions and myths concerning the dead vary from region to region, however the belief underlying all ceremonies is that the dead (or their spirits) return to earth on this day to be with their families and loved ones" (Creamer, n.d.).

The roots of this holiday are a combination of Europe and Mexican history. The beliefs of today's Mexican are based on the complicated blended cultures of Aztec, Maya, and Spanish invaders, layered with Catholicism. The invading Spaniards arrived to find a two-month celebration honoring death, the fall harvest, and the New Year. The Spaniards thought that death is tragic, and it should entail prayer and considered the celebration of Los Dias De Los Muertos to be sacrilegious. The Spaniards perceived the indigenous people to be barbaric and pagan. In their attempts to convert them to Catholicism, the Spaniards tried to kill the ritual, but the ritual refused to die. The Spaniards decided to make the holiday more Christian by moving it to All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (Nov. 1 and 2), which is celebrated today.

Since Los Dias De Los Muertos is celebrated slightly different in every region of Mexico , I am providing only general information regarding the celebration. In Mexican culture this holiday can be very important cultural event, defining social and economic responsibilities, and a religious observance featuring actual worship of the dead (Salvador, 2003). Salvador also states "In general, the more urban the setting within Mexico the less religious and cultural importance is retained by observants, while the more rural and Indian the locality the greater the religious and economic import of the holiday. Because of this, this observance is usually of greater social importance in southern Mexico than in the northern part of the country".

In general this holiday consists of families welcoming back their dead relatives. Families visit the graves of their close relatives and spruce up the gravesite by decorating it with flowers, enjoying a picnic, and interact with others from the community that have also gathered at the cemetery. The festive interaction with both the living and the dead is an important social ritual, and is a way of recognizing the cycle of life and death that is human existence (Salvador, 2003).

Large altars are also erected in homes, for Los Dias De Los Muertos, even the poor spare no expense when decorating their altar. The altar is prepared in a place of honor in the home, using empty boxes on a table to form a pyramid of three or more levels, and a white tablecloth covers it all. Four candles are placed on the top level to represent the cardinal directions. A candle is lit for each dead family member and one extra so that nobody left out. The candles, which represent hope and faith, burn during the night, so that there is no darkness. While most altars are laden with the favorite foods, sweets, drinks, and harvest fruits of each family spirit, even the most basic altar includes three basic needs: water to quench the thirst and for purification, salt to season the food and for purification, bread to represent the food needed for survival. A washbasin, soap, towel, mirror and comb are placed nearby so the spirits can clean up when they return (King, 2006).

Skeletons are a large part of Los Dias De Los Muertos. Chocolate skulls, marzipan coffins, and white chocolate skeletons. Special loaves of bread are baked, called pan de muertos, and decorated with "bones". Handmade