Halloween Origins
With Halloween coming up this Saturday, coinciding with a full moon, we were curious of the holiday's origin. The tradition comes from an ancient Celtic festival called "Samhain," (actually pronounced: sah-win) a festival accompanied by bonfires and spooky costumes designed to ward off evil spirits. Originally, Samhain was celebrated on November 1st.
A Cover Up!
Throughout history, the Romans were notoriously famous for borrowing traditions and figures from other cultures and reforming them into their own. It's most obvious with Greek Mythology: Zeus became Jupiter. Athena became Mars. Hermes became Mercury. Hades became Pluto. Poseidon became Neptune and perhaps the laziest: Heracles became Hercules. Like Greece, the Celtic culture wasn't immune to Roman cultural appropriation. In the earlier part of the eighth century, Pope Gregory III declared November 1st "All Saints Day," borrowing many of the traditions from Samhain but adopting connotations that fit more appropriately with Roman Catholic dogma. The evening before All Saints Day was originally called, "All Hallows Eve," and later "Halloween."
Trick or Treat and Other Halloween Traditions.
The Ancient Celts believed that on the night before Samhain, the lines between the living and the dead became fine and blurred. They believed that on this night, the dead would return to the realm of the living and play tricks on the them. Some tricks were believed to be harmless nuisances but others more detrimental, like sending frost to destroy the harvest. The priests advised ways to scare them off but some suggested that the dead might be pacified with gifts and sacrifices: Hence the term, "Trick or Treat."
Later, once Rome had begun to reshape the traditions of Samhain into Halloween, they incorporated their previous celebration from October 1st, "Feralia," known as "The Day of The Dead," alongside another Roman October holiday celebrating "Pomona," the goddess of fruit trees. This is more than likely the reason why bobbing for apples is a popular way to celebrate Halloween.
The Jack-O-Lantern does make several appearances in more modern lore in association with Halloween but more than likely can be traced back to Samhain as well. However, we're unsure if it was used as a measure to scare off the dead and evil spirits with a ghoulish glowing face or if it was originally part of a harvest sacrifice to appease them. Let us know what you think!
Our Favorite Scary Movies!
This year's been pretty tough and we know it can be hard getting into the holiday spirit. If you're having trouble getting into the Halloween Spirit we recommend watching these movies to get you into that spooky vibe!
J's Top 5
1. Army of Darkness
2. Ghost Busters
3. Beetle Juice
4. Hocus Pocus
5. Friday The 13th
Honorable Mention- Halloween (Original)
Bonus- TV: Ash vs The Evil Dead
Book: Edgar Allen Poe Complete Tales and Poems
Kyle's Top 5
1. Darkness Falls
2. Ernest Scared Stupid
3. Little Shop of Horrors
4. Silence of The Lambs
5. Young Frankenstein
Honorable Mention- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984 Original)
Bonus TV: The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Book: The Dream Catcher
Don't Wear These Costumes in 2020!
(If you want to be original, that is)
If you've procrastinated and are still looking for a Halloween Costume for this weekend be sure to avoid these ideas. They're either in bad taste or were so popular in 2019 you won't be able to avoid hearing, "Oh, I went as that last year!"
5. Spider Man
Spidy is awesome but with Spider Man "Far From Home" being released in 2019, a whole bunch of kids and adults alike donned our friendly neighborhood super hero's costume. It might be a good idea to pick a different MCU favorite this year.
4. Pennywise
Did you see "It Chapter Two" last year? A bunch of people did and all got the same original idea to go as Pennywise for Halloween. And yes, that includes the "girl version." It might not be the most original idea for 2020.
3. Anything Fortnite
While this lends itself to a little more originality, Fortnite was (and still is) the top grossing game in 2019. SO many kids (and parents) sported a character from Fortnite (and probably had to explain what it was to their grandparents).
2. Harley Quinn
To be fair... It's not ok any year, LOL! This has been THE most popular choice as a Halloween costume (along with a Joker date) every year since 2016. Don't get us wrong, Suicide Squad did a great job reinventing the character but you don't want to be "that couple" that shows up to the socially distanced Halloween Party. And honestly, we checked a lot of our favorite costume stores and they're sold out... again.
1. A Covid Patient/ Corona Virus
We all like jokes but we don't think this one will age well. It's kinda like that girl that went as a Boston Marathon Runner in 2013. Stay safe and tasty!
Postponed Episode of Van Philosophy Vlogcast...
We go live every Wednesday Night on our YouTube channel! However, tonight we'll have to postpone as J is recovering from a pretty intense ear infection. You can watch previous episodes on on our channel. We'll see you next week!
Special Thanks To Our Supporters On Patreon!
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Nancy B, Renne T, Spence R, Steve B, Rachel E & Nadia M!
You can get your name added to this list by supporting us on Patreon for just $1/month.
If you'd like to make a one time contribution this month like Jeff C, William H, David M Grass Cutters and Nancy B you can below. We'll have a special thank you package filled with our latest releases with donations from $1-$25 sent straight to your email. Thanks so much! It means the world to us!
Halloween Cover of Monster Mash!
Last week we released our version of the Halloween Classic, "Monster Mash." It was a lot of fun to make. If you haven't gotten a chance, you can download it for free for the remainder of October at roshambeauxmusic.com/monster-mash
Halloween Apparel!
We have a special design out on our Apparel Store available until November 1st in Hoodies, Tees, Sweaters, Long Sleeve Tees, Face Masks & Baby Onesies! Get them this week before they're gone!