Holiday’s history unearths Celtic, Christian roots
■Trick-or-treating, jack-o
lanterns and end-of-October
festivities are recent additions
to Halloween traditions
By Kara Westervelt
for the Emerald
Every tr at the end of Octo
ber, sonn ing peculiar happens.
Children roam around the neigh
borhood and ignore the cardinal
rule of “never take candy from
strangers." Instead of cleaning up
real spider webs, people put up
fake ones and call them decora
tions. Rather than throw away the
hollowed-out carcass of a large
orange gourd, they put a face on
it and proudly display it on the
front porch.
And some people wear colorful
costumes to school or social func
tions.
It must be Halloween.
In some form or another, peo
ple have been celebrating this
time of year for centuries. Ac
cording to Daniel Wojcik, a pro
fessor of folklore at the Universi
ty, the earliest roots of Halloween
come from the Celtic people of
Ireland. The time of year sur
rounding Oct. 31 was known as
Samhain (pronounced SAUW
een) and used to mark the end of
« -d d
one year and the beginning of the
next, he said. Nov. 1 was the
Celtic New Year, and Oct. 31 was
New Year’s Eve.
Samhain is more than just a
harvest celebration, however, and
the rituals are still alive today.
Norma Joyce, the high priestess of
the local group Women in Con
scious Creative Action, said,
“There are two worlds: the over
world and the physical world.
They rotate in a manner that they
come closer together starting in
October, and (on Samhain) they
touch.”
This is a “limital period,” Woj
cik said, “where the souls of the
dead return to the earth and the
veil between the two worlds lift
ed.”
Joyce calls this time an astro
logical “tension point” and said
that it is “our time to go through
the veil and communicate more
easily with the dead.” Joyce said
the actual date of this “intersec
tion of worlds” has changed
based on the movement of the
stars and planets and is now actu
ally on Nov. 6.
Most of the modern manifesta
tions of Halloween do not come
from the original Celtic celebra
tion of Samhain, Joyce said. As
with other holidays celebrated in
America, Christianity has had an
influence. According to Wojcik,
in 601 A.D., Pope Gregory told
his clergymen to allow the people
to continue with their native be
liefs and practices, but to incor
porate them into Christian cele
brations. Nov. 1 was deemed All
Saints’ Day, and as the name sug
gests, it was a day to commemo
rate all the Catholic saints, Woj
cik said. The evening before was
All Hallows Eve, he said.
“The rules of society
can be lifted a bit. Children
have a night where they
can threaten adults
with mischief and get
away with it.”
Daniel Wojcik
University professor of folklore
The various symbols and ritu
als associated with Halloween are
a mixture of Christian and Celtic
practices, Wojcik said. While no
one knows for sure where trick
or-treating started, he said, “in
some regions it was believed in
this time of ‘supernatural pres
ence’ that by setting out food and
drink to appease the wandering
spirits, the mischievous ‘tricks’ of
the otherworldly beings could be
avoided.”
As the tradition developed,
children and beggars would mask
themselves and go door to door,
promising a “trick” if they didn’t
get a “treat,” Wojcik said.
“Being generous at this time
was believed to bring one good
fortune throughout the year,” he
said.
Joyce recognizes this practice
as a way of “paying off the evil
spirits.”
The origins of the jack o’
lantern — a carved pumpkin illu
minated with a candle — are as
unclear as most Halloween tradi
tions, according to the book “Hal
loween,” written by Wiccan
Priestess Silver Raven Wolf.
“Folklorists have not been able
to pinpoint the birth of the tale of
Jack and his frightening lantern,”
RavenWolf wrote. However, “the
theme of the story appears to
have Christian roots.”
According to Joyce, two possi
bilities exist: Christians might
have used jack-o’-lanterns to
“warn away the devil,” or the
Celts may have used them as a
way to call the souls of their de
parted loved ones back.
Wojcik also offered an interpre
tation of Halloween’s function in
modern society. Halloween gives
people a chance to “break the
rules” and behave in a fashion
that is normally not acceptable,
he said.
“The rules of society can be
lifted a little bit,” Wojcik said.
“Children have a night where
they can threaten adults with
mischief and get away with it.”
Adults also take advantage of
this “suspension of rules,” he
said, allowing them to “explore
their own fears or desires” in
their costuming and behavior.
The modern American celebra
tion of Halloween is, more than
anything, an excuse to party and
“release tension,” Joyce said. For
the members of her group, howev
er, Samhain is “a sacred time,” not
a time to party, she added. Wicca
will have a ritual to commemorate
this time of “the lifting of the veil
between two worlds,” she said.
Joyce recognizes the need for emo
tional release, however.
“Because of the spiritual ten
sion,” she said, “people need a
way to get it out — either through
ritual or a party.”
Kara Westervelt is a freelance reporter
for the Oregon Daily Emerald.
Eugene clubs get a bit spooky with various Halloween festivities
■ Local night spots will feature Halloween events with one or more
bands, DJs, a witches’ ball and a drag show
By Erin Cooney
for the Emerald
All Hallows’ Eve is almost here,
and Eugene bars and venues are
planning to celebrate with gusto.
Many local hotspots are hosting
i
special events to celebrate the
spooky holiday. Costume contests,
prizes and music are only some of
the reasons to hit the town this
Halloween.
Chuck Hare, the owner of Olym
pus, is planning a big night for the
dance club. A costume contest is
scheduled for Halloween night, and
the grand prize is a trip for two to Ja
maica with lodging and airfare in
cluded. Tickets are available in ad
vance for $10 at both Olympus on
West 6th Avenue and Taylor’s Bar
and Grille on East 13th Avenue. Tay
lor’s, Hare’s other bar, is celebrating
mYomttmomw**
Join us at the Downtown Lounge
and Diablos for Frightful Fun and Prizes
on Halloween Nite! Wed. 10-31
-Costumes and Accessories
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-Wigs
Make-Up
-Tights
Clothes Shoes md More tor Guys Girls and Ghouls
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Sunday 10/28 & Monday 10/29
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Tuesday 10/30
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Wednesday 10/3 I
* J^S> off all Halloween costumes
Eugene Stores
I 10 E. I Ith 344-2115
1880 W. I Ith 683-8284
2345 W. Broadway 345-0595
705 S. Seneca 345-8036
201 Division 762-7837
2699 Roosevelt 689-1695
Springfield Stores
501 Main St. 747-581 I
2289 Olympic St. 747-8365
012826
Halloween early with the OM Trio,
scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 30.
Olympus is not the only club
hosting costume contests — Rock
’N’ Rodeo and adjoining Kokomo’s
Island Grill & Bar at the corner of
West 7th Avenue and Willamette
Street are hosting Halloween
themed evenings as well. Festivi
ties begin tomorrow with a Hal
loween party and prizes for best
costumes. Tomorrow only, people
can compete to win the title of best
island costume at Kokomo’s. On
Halloween night, $700 in cash
prizes are up for grabs for the win
ners of categories such as best cos
tume, best group costume and best
couple costume. The weekly “diva
foxy lady” costume/karaoke con
test is also on the agenda for Hal
loween night with a bigger prize of
$100 for first place. The Cheese
burgers, a Jimmy Buffett-style
band, is scheduled to perform at
Rock ’N’ Rodeo in between DJ sets.
DJ Mark Gatlin said last year’s
turnout was so impressive, owner
Spencer Whitted decided not to
charge a cover this year.
Diablo’s Downtown Lounge at
959 Pearl St. is charging a cover, but
the $20 advance tickets will buy a
lot of entertainment. The Down
town Lounge’s entertainment direc
tor, Rocco, (“like Cher,” he said) or
ganized the bash, dubbed
“Halloween in Hell 2,” and he said
it promises to be a great night of
adult-themed entertainment.
Pool tables will be hauled off to
make more room for dancers, and
throughout the evening, the bar
will host a total of 13 DJs and two
bands. Advance tickets are on sale
now at the Downtown Lounge,
Delphina’s and CD Game Ex
change. Better get them soon,
though — Rocco said the club had
to turn people away last year.
Doors will open at 7 p.m.
The Downtown Lounge will be
kicking off Halloween this week
end with The Deep Eynde from
Los Angeles, and Rocco promises a
great punk/rockabilly/Halloween
show. DJs Brothers of Beat are
opening, the show starts at 9 p.m.
and the cover is $3 after 10 p.m.
Campus bar Neighbors is also on
board the Halloween bandwagon
early. Tonight the bar is hosting a
drag show/costume party, with
drag queen Shebang as emcee. The
cover is $5 on Saturday and
Wednesday. General Manager
Michael Lowe is optimistic about
this year’s turnout.
“(Wednesday is) a really busy
night for us. We play pretty hot
music,” he said.
Speaking of music, John Henry’s
is hosting two ’80s cover bands
Halloween night. Regular John
Henry’s DJs Chris and Jen per
formed as Loverboy last year and
“brought the house down,” owner
James Carroll said. This year, John
Henry’s will host the bands Choco
late Death and Vanildo for its
“Scary ’80s Halloween Bash.” Be
tween the bands, DJs will be spin
ning ’80s hits. The cover is $2, the
same as last year.
Bars are not the only places
planning special Halloween
events. Tomorrow, the WOW Hall
is hosting its seventh annual
Witches’ Ball in association with
local pagan organization Cauldron
of Changes. Bands Onomatopoeia
and Serpentina Ala Nar are per
forming. Doors open at 8:30 p.m.,
showtime is at 9 p.m. and admis
sion is on a sliding scale of $6-$10
at the door.
Halloween night, the WOW Hall
is hosting The Disco Biscuits, a
four-piece band from Philadelphia
that MTV.com has dubbed “the
Forefathers of Techno Jam Rock.”
Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at
the door and are available at CD
World, Face the Music, House of
Records, Taco Loco, the EMU Tick
et Office and the WOW Hall.
With all the events planned for
the coming weekend and through
Wednesday night, Halloween par
ty-seekers have plenty of options.
Erin Cooney is a freelance reporter
for the Oregon Daily Emerald.
This paper can be
Recycled!